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But when the time came to settle on a workable policy, Clinton found himself completely boxed in: by the West's past failures to act, by circumstances on the ground, by the public criticism from Owen and by European allies and the U.N. Security Council, which opposed any use of force. The options contracted further when Britain, France, Russia and others accepted the mediators' plan, even if the Muslims and Serbs who live there did not. Clinton considers ethnic division in Bosnia neither fair nor workable, but he was left with little choice unless he wanted to strike out on his own, and that was not realistic. "I do not believe that the military of the U.S. should get involved unilaterally," he said at his televised public meeting in Detroit. "We have to work with these other countries."
That left Washington to mount a friendly takeover of the Vance-Owen negotiations in the vague hope it could somehow make them turn out better. How much Clinton expects to change the existing plan is uncertain, though U.S. officials did vow not to force anything on Bosnia's Muslims, Serbs and Croats. Secretary of State Warren Christopher put the best gloss he could on the importance of "bringing the full weight of American diplomacy to bear." The U.S. was for the first time taking a direct role in the negotiations. Washington will send its own envoy, veteran diplomat and current Ambassador to NATO Reginald Bartholomew, to take part in the talks. His first stop was Moscow, to persuade Russia to join the peacemaking effort. Meanwhile, the U.S. will step up humanitarian-aid shipments to Bosnia and try to tighten economic sanctions on Serbia.
In other words, everyone back to the bargaining table. But what can more talk produce, especially now that the U.S. has forsworn the use of military force? After criticizing the Vance-Owen plan for shortchanging the Bosnian Muslims, Washington is not promising to increase their slices of the partitioned state. Instead, Christopher calls for a settlement "that the parties have voluntarily reached," which would be a minor miracle. Then, if that outcome could somehow be arranged, the U.S. and its armed forces would help enforce it and police the gerrymandered borders. U.S. officials claim that their willingness to defend a settlement with force will make it easier for the parties to reach one.
Although Pentagon officials say publicly the U.S. is willing to participate in a multilateral peacekeeping force, in private the tone is distinctly different. General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his colleagues at the Pentagon have been extremely reluctant to commit ground troops to Bosnia for any purpose. Military planners say they are examining contingencies for using American air power to enforce a no-fly order over Bosnia if the Security Council ever orders it and to "reinvigorate" relief efforts by flying air cover for truck convoys. "But that's it, max!" says a defense official.