Bosnia Army to Get $100 Million From Gulf States

Oil-rich Arab states in the Persian Gulf region have promised to contribute $100 million to train and equip the fledgling army of Bosnia’s Muslim-Croat federation, reviving a U.S.-backed initiative that had been stalled by European opposition to sending more arms to the volatile Balkans, the Clinton administration announced Wednesday.

“This is a crucial turning point,” a senior State Department official told reporters. “We now have the funding to move ahead quickly.”

The new pledges were obtained by presidential counselor Thomas “Mack” McLarty during visits this week to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The official, who briefed reporters on the understanding that he would not be named, declined to say if all three had agreed to participate.

He said the $100 million is all in cash and should be enough to start the program.

However, pledges so far fall short of the $800 million that the U.S. government has estimated as the cost of bringing the federation’s armed forces up to the military level of the rival Bosnian Serb army.

The U.S.-brokered Dayton, Ohio, peace accord called for measures to establish a military balance between the federation and the Serbs, either by disarming the better-equipped Serbs or arming and training the Muslims and Croats.

“The purpose of the train-and-equip program is to provide the Bosnian federation the military capability it needs to deter attacks in the future and defend its people and territory should deterrence fail,” the White House said in a written announcement of the Arab contributions.

In addition to the money from the Persian Gulf Arabs, contributions now include $100 million worth of used military equipment from the United States and $4 million worth of training from Turkey.

The State Department official said five other predominantly Muslim regimes have agreed to contribute but are not yet willing to disclose the size of their gift.

An international donors’ conference last month in Ankara, Turkey, drew 32 countries, but it fell flat when only the United States and Turkey announced contributions.

The 15-nation European Union has refused to participate in building up the federation army. European officials say Bosnia-Herzegovina is already too heavily armed.

Most of the military training will be conducted in Bosnia by a private company composed of retired U.S. military officers, although some troops will be sent to Turkey to be trained by the Turkish army.

The administration decided to hire private contractors because it did not want to compromise the neutrality of the NATO-led international peace force that was sent to Bosnia to separate the warring factions.

The State Department official said there are several U.S. firms qualified to train the Bosnian forces, but he declined to indicate which one is likely to get the business. Theoretically, at least, the federation government will award the contract.

The official said the cash from the gulf states will be enough to pay for the training contract.

The greatest remaining need, he said, is for additional military equipment.

Although a contract may be awarded in the next few weeks, the official said the training will not begin until all the foreign Islamic fighters who aided the Muslim cause during the war have left the country.