On this day 23 years ago, the United States (USA) recognized the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as an independent state.
It is very well known that the United States, together with the European Economic Community, have played a key role in the process of recognition of political subjectivity and the preservation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At that time, the USA was one of the first countries to recognize independence and territorial integrity of B&H.
In his book “Victory in war” author William C. Martel writes about politics implemented by the United States in the Balkans, as well as their relation to the war in B&H.
“The goals of US policy at that time were to preserve the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its independence, to prevent conflict spreading to other countries, or the outbreak of another Balkan War, as well as to stop the killing of innocent people,” says Martel, adding that the Clinton administration set itself a major task to prevent genocide in B&H.
He cites Clinton who, in August 1992, stated: “We cannot ignore the thing that looks like an intentional and systematic extermination of people because of their ethnicity.”
Furthermore, Martel highlights that Americans were significantly involved during the entire war, especially by sending humanitarian aid.
After the war, Clinton wrote a series of articles about the war in Bosnia, and one of them says:
“In the summer of 1992, when the television and print media finally published stories about the horrors in camps run by the Serbs in the north of Bosnia, I began to advocate the NATO strikes and America’s role in them. Later, it was clear that the Serbs were involved in the systematic killing of Bosnian Muslims, particularly targeting local leaders, and I proposed lifting of the arms embargo. Instead of that, Europeans have concentrated on putting an end to violence “.
He pointed out that the United Nations continued arms embargo for the Bosnian government, which was a measure imposed for the whole of Yugoslavia in 1991.
“The problem with this measure was that the Serbs had enough weapons and ammunition to fight for years, and for the Bosnians, it was almost impossible to defend themselves. Somehow they managed to find their way in 1992, taking away the weapon from the Serbian forces, or with the help of small packages coming from the Croatia despite NATO blockade of the coast, “said Clinton.
(Source: Klix.ba)
