THE BATTLE TO COME

"Right now sentiment on Capitol Hill is pretty strong against U.S. troop involvement in the Balkans, and not just among Republicans," says TIME's Congressional correspondent Karen Tumulty. The House has already passed two non-binding resolutions objecting to the President's plan to send 20,000 U.S. soldiers to Bosnia to help enforce the peace. Clinton began his own lobbying effort last week with a long letter to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Today, in announcing the accord, the President argued that the American troop commitment was "essential." "Without us," he said, "the hard-won peace would be lost, the war would resume, the slaughter of innocents would begin again, and the conflict that already has claimed so many people could spread like poison throughout the entire region." Though Clinton said that the "military mission will be clear and limited," Tumulty says that may not be enough. "It's going to be a hard sell for Clinton. We won't know for sure what will happen until members of Congress come back from the Thanksgiving recess next Monday and Tuesday. But they are out in their home districts right now, listening to constituents tell them they're not too keen about sending their sons and daughters to Bosnia. If you took a vote today, you couldn't get it through." On the other hand, says Tumulty, Congress has always been reluctant to tie the hands of the Commander-in-Chief.