ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:96041702.GWE
DATE:04/17/96
TITLE:17-04-96  KEY ARAB STATES SUPPORT U.S. TRAIN & EQUIP PROGRAM FOR BOSNIA

TEXT:
(Official briefs on T&E program for Bosnia 4/17) (770)
By Jane A. Morse
State Department Correspondent

Washington -- U.S. efforts towards the Bosnia peace initiative made
important progress this week when key Arab States committed about $100
million to fund the U.S.-led train and equip program.

The White House announced April 17 that Presidential Counselor Mack
McLarty and a senior interagency team met April 14-15 with Saudi Crown
Prince Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al-Saud; Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan
al-Nuhayyan, president of the United Arab Emirates; Sheikh Jabir
al-Ahmed al-Sabah, amir of Kuwait; and other top officials.

According to the White House Statement, "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 success of the
McLarty mission will enable the training element of the train and
equip program to move ahead in a timely manner. Combined with the U.S.
commitment of $100 million in military equipment, the start-up
training in Bosnia will provide a solid foundation for improving the
military capability of the Bosnian Federation."

During a background briefing at the State Department April 17, a
senior U.S. official said that McLarty, appointed by President Bill
Clinton and National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, emphasized to key
donor states "the priority of this project and the President's
personal interest in its success." McLarty, the official said, also
stressed "the critical importance of the need to support the creation
of a military balance in Bosnia."

The U.S. official said that the success of this presidential mission
is "a critical turning point for the train and equip project.... This
success has the direct effect of allowing the Federation to complete
the process of hiring the contractor. Once that contractor is hired,
the contractor can begin immediately assisting the Federation in
setting up their management institutions, their command and logistics
activities -- all those things that are needed to move the Federation
defense structure forward.

"But most importantly, the contractor can begin the training so
critical to developing the Federation's military capabilities."

The U.S. official said that the United States is urging the Federation
to move quickly on contractor selection.

The next step, according to the U.S. official, is passage of a
Federation defense law to create the institutions necessary to manage
the Federation's military. U.S. officials will be working with
Federation officials to help complete this law.

The U.S. official emphasized that the United States will "continue to
seek funding and equipment from a variety of potential donors. But we
are confident now with the actual implementation of this program --
getting it moving quickly -- other donors will be forthcoming."

Original U.S. estimates for funding the train and equip program came
to more than $800 million, "but most of that we expected to be
equipment in kind," the U.S. official said. The U.S. contribution in
equipment "covers many of the critical items identified in that $800
million list." The Arab States have committed cash, he said.

The U.S. official noted at the March 15 Donors' Conference in Ankara,
Turkey, here were seven countries that made commitments for donations
of the 32 countries that participated.

"There were really three things that we needed to get this program
going," the U.S. official said. "One, was funding. That issue was
resolved this weekend. We now have sufficient funding to move this
program forward.

"The other is the implementation or passage of their defense laws
which create the defense structures.

"The third is the resolution of the foreign forces issue."

The Federation, the U.S. official noted, has not yet been certified as
being in compliance with the requirement to remove all foreign forces.
But the official said, "The trends in that regard have been positive;
we have been given assurances from the highest levels that they (the
Federation) will be in compliance. We just want to be very careful
here. The United States is not yet at this moment ready to make that
certification."

He emphasized that the United States will not implement the train and
equip program until it is assured that the Federation has removed from
its borders all foreign forces.

The Federation, the U.S. official explained, must terminate military
and intelligence relationships with Iran and "reduce the official
Iranian presence in Sarajevo to what would be expected of a normal
embassy."
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