Bread & Circuses

THE IMAGES from Germany, where Bill Clinton visited the troops heading to Bosnia, were striking. Striding alongside the fatigueclad soldiers with his shoulders squared and his jaw thrust out, Clinton looked . . . taller. The President is pumped. Forget Hubert Humphrey—Clinton is the Happy Warrior. And the Commander-in-Chief is no summer soldier. Feeling on Capitol Hill for the Bosnia mission is almost as frigid as the climate in the mountains surrounding Tuzla where the First Armored Division will soon be encamped. Every other party to the Dayton Accord displays a reluctance in sharp contrast to Clinton’s enthusiasm.

National polls indicate that the public opposes deploying troops to Bosnia by a 2 to 1 margin. The Dayton Accord is not to the liking of any of the three warring factions in the former Yugoslavia, which yielded to U.S. pressure and which are only temporarily resigned to its terms. The Allies refused to provide troops without plenty of U.S. forces to keep them company. And had the Administration not presented Congress with a fait accompli, both houses would certainly have expressed their disapproval. But Clinton displayed a new-found talent for military maneuvers, outflanking his Hill adversaries.

About the Author

Kate O'Beirne

THE IMAGES from Germany, where Bill Clinton visited the troops heading to Bosnia, were striking. Striding alongside the fatigueclad soldiers with his shoulders squared and his jaw thrust out, Clinton looked . . . taller. The President is pumped. Forget Hubert Humphrey—Clinton is the Happy Warrior. And the Commander-in-Chief is no summer soldier. Feeling on Capitol Hill for the Bosnia mission is almost as frigid as the climate in the mountains surrounding Tuzla where the First Armored Division will soon be encamped. Every other party to the Dayton Accord displays a reluctance in sharp contrast to Clinton’s enthusiasm.

National polls indicate that the public opposes deploying troops to Bosnia by a 2 to 1 margin. The Dayton Accord is not to the liking of any of the three warring factions in the former Yugoslavia, which yielded to U.S. pressure and which are only temporarily resigned to its terms. The Allies refused to provide troops without plenty of U.S. forces to keep them company. And had the Administration not presented Congress with a fait accompli, both houses would certainly have expressed their disapproval. But Clinton displayed a new-found talent for military maneuvers, outflanking his Hill adversaries.