Votes Due On Bosnia Deployment

Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole is planning votes on the U.S. deployment to Bosnia for next Wednesday, with lawmakers likely to debate an array of options from rejecting the venture to giving grudging support.

Dole, R-Kan., reached agreement with Republican colleagues Thursday on debating the deployment of 20,000 U.S. troops, according to Senate staffers, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Under the plan - still subject to objection by Senate Democrats - the Senate would vote on a measure to cut off funding for the Bosnia mission, on a less severe resolution opposing the Clinton administration policy in Bosnia but generally supportive of the troops, and on a measure crafted by Dole and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supporting the deployment, the staffers said.

Democrats might offer their own alternative giving more unambiguous support for the Bosnia mission.

The Dole-McCain measure would contain specific language requiring the United States to support arming and training Bosnian government forces.

According to a draft of the Dole-McCain proposal obtained by The Associated Press, the resolution would require that the United States “lead an immediate effort, separate and apart from the NATO implementation force, to provide equipment, arms, training and related logistics assistance of the highest possible quality” to the Bosnian government. The aid could include surplus U.S. arms.

Clinton wants to strengthen the Bosnian government military to reduce the chance of war breaking out. But administration officials warn that an overly explicit policy might lead rebel Bosnian Serbs to view the U.S. troops as partisans.