THE LEADING EDGE

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Even as the debate on Capitol Hill begins, Defense Secretary Perry said that as many as 700 U.S. soldiers may be in Bosnia this week. "It's part of an enabling force that will set up shop near Tuzla, where the headquarters element of the U.S. sector will be," says TIME's Mark Thompson. The military plan calls for an additional 18,000 American troops, mostly from the German-based 1st Armored Division, to supplement a NATO peacekeeping force of 40,000. "It's interesting that our 700 soldiers represent 50 percent of the first wave, which is already much more than the 30 percent of the total that Clinton has said would be the American contribution to the peace force," says Thompson. The Pentagon says that the enabling force will be there for at least two weeks before the full contingent start arriving. "But they say they'll be protected by air cover," reports Thompson. And the first logistical stumbling block has arisen, says Thompson. Hungary, which NATO planned to use as a staging area, is still debating whether to grant rights to use its military bases.