Foreign Policy of The Bill Clinton Administration - The Balkans

The Balkans

Much of the focus of Clinton's foreign policy during his first term was the civil war or a war of aggression in Bosnia and Herzegovina (often referred to simply as Bosnia)(also see Bosnian War), a nation in southeastern Europe that declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1992 (see Wars of Yugoslav Succession). This declaration was the catalyst of a war between Bosnian Serbs, who wanted Bosnia to remain in the Yugoslav federation, and Bosnian Muslims and Croats. The Bosnian Serbs, who were supported by Serbia, were better equipped than the Muslims and the Croats and populated and controlled much of the countryside. They besieged cities, including the capital of Sarajevo, causing widespread suffering. Clinton proposed bombing Serb supply lines and lifting an embargo that prevented the shipment of military arms to the former Yugoslavia, a policy known as lift and strike, but European nations were opposed to such a move. In 1994 Clinton opposed an effort by Republicans in Congress to lift the arms embargo, as it were, because the U.S. allies in Western Europe were still resistant to that policy.

Clinton continued to pressure Western European countries throughout 1994 to take strong measures against the Serbs. But in November, as the Serbs seemed on the verge of defeating the Muslims and Croats in several strongholds, Clinton changed course and called for conciliation with the Serbs. After the 2nd Markale massacres carried out by Bosnian Serbs in August 28, 1995, NATO led by the United States launched Operation Deliberate Force with series of airstrikes against Bosnian Serb targets. The air campaign, along with a counteroffensive by a better-equipped Muslim and Croatian forces, succeeded in pressuring Bosnian Serbs into taking seriously into negotiation and in November 1995, Clinton hosted peace talks between the warring parties in Dayton, Ohio. The parties reached a peace agreement known as the Dayton Accords, leaving Bosnia as a single state made up of two separate entities with a central government.

In the spring of 1998, ethnic tension in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)–the state formed from the former Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro–heightened when the military forces responded in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. More than 90 percent of the residents of Kosovo were Muslim and ethnic Albanians, many of whom wanted independence from Yugoslavia. The Serbs, however, consider Kosovo sovereign territory. Serb forces were mobilized into the province to quell Albanian rebels.

Through attempting to impose the Rambouillet Agreement, Clinton, who strongly supported the Albanians, threatened the Yugoslav administration with military strikes. In March 24, 1999, military forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), led by the United States, began launching the bombardment of Yugoslavia. The strikes were not limited to military installations and NATO targets included civilian targets such as factories, oil refineries, television stations and various infrastructure. This war was not approved by the U.N. administration, General assembly or the Security Council; it was strongly opposed by Russia and China. NATO air strikes devastated Yugoslavia. It was the first time in NATO's history that its forces had attacked a European country, and the first time in which air power alone won a battle. In June 1999 NATO and Yugoslav military leaders approved an international peace plan for Kosovo, and the attacks were suspended after a Serb forces withdrew from Kosovo.