|
End of long road in Bosnia
Rob Watson
BBC
Thursday, March 1, 2007
The decision to withdraw 600 UK troops is the end
of a very long road for the British military in Bosnia.
It has been almost 15 years since the first British troops arrived.
First they were wearing the blue berets of the UN, then serving
under Nato and now finally with the EU.
It has certainly been a much longer mission than originally planned.
When Britain's then defence secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, was asked
in 1992 how long British troops would be needed, he predicted their
presence would probably be required for 12 months.
Changing role
Over those 15 years the role has changed dramatically. At first
under the UN they were engaged in escorting aid convoys as Bosnia
descended into bloodshed and ethnic cleansing.
Often, thanks to political restraints, they were uncomfortable onlookers
to the carnage.
But in 1995 they took on a far more muscular role as Nato tired
of what it saw as Bosnian Serb bullying and under prompting from
the US decided to intervene.
The fighting finally came to an end with the Dayton Peace Accords
in 1995, which at first was enforced by Nato until the EU took over
command at the end of 2004.
Of course the EU's decision to scale back its military presence
is part of a long-term trend.
It is worth remembering that at one point Nato had 60,000 troops
on the ground. Now the EU is cutting its troop strength from 6,500
down to 2,500.
So this is not a sudden move, but rather part of a process.
The gradual "draw-down" has been possible because the
international community now believes Bosnia is stable enough not
to require so many foreign troops in the county.
'New stability'
EU officials point to the recent parliamentary and presidential
elections and Bosnia's desire for partnership with Nato as proof
of that new stability.
That is not to say the scars of the war and ethnic cleansing are
completely healed.
There are still some 1.8 million internally-displaced people and
prominent indicted war criminals, such as Ratko Mladic, are still
at large.
But British defence officials have been saying for some time that
in military terms it's a case of mission accomplished and that British
troops are now largely playing a policing role that should therefore
be handed over to the police.
Although the departure of British troops is part of a broader EU
decision to restructure its operation in the country and not a unilateral
move by London, it is nonetheless welcome news for defence chiefs
here.
Most make little secret of the so-called "overstretch"
to the UK's armed forces because of their commitments in Iraq and
Afghanistan, so Bosnia is one less mission to have to worry about.
INFOWARS:
BECAUSE THERE'S A WAR ON FOR YOUR MIND
|
