ACCESSION NUMBER:306760
FILE ID:EUR409
DATE:10/07/93
TITLE:NATO GENERAL URGES CAREFUL PLANNING (10/07/93)
TEXT:*93100709.EUR
*EUR409   10/07/93 *

NATO GENERAL URGES CAREFUL PLANNING
(Joulwan testifies before Senate)  (500)
by Paul Malamud
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- General George Joulwan, the administration's pick to be the
next supreme allied commander of NATO, told congress October 7 that NATO
and the United States must have clear tactical and strategic objectives
prior to any future commitment of troops, anywhere in the world.

Joulwan, who will also be U.S. Commander in Chief, U.S. European Command,
testified in support of his nomination before the Senate armed services
committee.

Joulwan told solons the United States "needs to stay engaged in Europe" and
that "NATO must remain viable and credible" as an alliance.  He warned that
"the world is still a dangerous place" and U.S. European forces need to
maintain adequate "readiness."

Joulwan said that, in his view, "clarity of purpose and clarity of mission
are essential" if the United States helps to police a future settlement in
Bosnia, or anywhere else.  In any future military activity, he emphasized,
"you have to be very clear in what your objectives are" before troops are
committed.

Questioned about a possible U.S. role in Bosnia, Joulwan insisted "There
should be some sort of peace settlement there before we go in."  If there
is a settlement, he said, "U.S. forces" in Bosnia "would be under the
command of NATO."

In any peacekeeping operation, Joulwan emphasized, U.S. troops must be given
adequate weaponry to defend themselves.  Joulwan called for a "discussion
of the second or third order effects of committing U.S. forces" to Bosnia,
including the possibility of guerrilla actions against NATO troops.

Asked whether former East bloc nations should be invited into the NATO
1lliance, Joulwan said "I think we ought not to close the door."  He noted
an "historic opportunity" to "try to create the conditions in Europe" for a
real "community of nations," and noted the importance of making high-level
military contacts with ex-Soviet bloc states to foster integration "in a
very positive way."

Questioned about tactical issues, Joulwan endorsed the importance of theater
missile defenses for the U.S. European command and called for emphasis on
improving the U.S. military's troop-lift capability, to make it possible to
respond to crises swiftly in any theater of operations.

Joulwan called NATO a "proven regional alliance" that is "perfectly capable"
of policing a Bosnia cease-fire.  In the future, he said, he hopes NATO
will become an alliance used to "deter conflict...in a more pro-active
way."

While amicable to Joulwan personally, Senators who spoke at the hearing
expressed impatience with any commitment of U.S. troops to peacekeeping
operations with ill-defined goals.  Senator John Warner (Va.) called the
current relationship of U.S. forces in Somalia to the U.N. military command
"totally unacceptable," and Senator John McCain of Arizona called for a
congressional investigation of what he termed the Somalia "debacle."

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