Dr. Nedzib Sacirbey Political Analysis Bosnia and Croatia
Croatia has a key role to play in the evolution of the former Yugoslavia, as does the United States. The success of both the Dayton peace agreement and Hague war crimes tribunal will depend in large part on cooperation and support from the Republic of Croatia. The U.S. relationship with Croatia has suffered twists and turns this year: the first official trade mission to Croatia, led by for mer U.S. Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, and expected to bring much needed foreign investment, ended in tragedy in April. In May, media fallout from the unearthed, unofficial White House policy to ignore the flow of arms from Iran to Bosnian government forces via Croatia inflamed members of Congress and the public. Currently, there is widespread editorializing about President Clinton's motives as he backs the Bosnian presidential elections, scheduled for September 14. Under provision of the Dayton accords, the elections must be 'free and fair,' a seemingly impossible condition at this p...