By Mr. David Taylor
First published in
SFOR Informer #86, April 26, 2000

Sarajevo - When General Wesley K. Clark stepped down from plane onto the runway of Sarajevo International Airport on the evening of 24 April, he was halfway through his last visit to Bosnia and Hercegovina in his current role as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) before his retirement at the end of the month.

He was here to salute the commanders and personnel of the Stabilisation Forces (SFOR) and to meet the Tri-Presidents of BiH. But it was also to be his last visit as a soldier to a country and a region that has absorbed a great deal of his military career since 1995 when, as Chief of Plans for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he joined the U.S. diplomatic team leading the negotiations which would finally conduct the warring factions to Dayton - and a peace accord which is known to this day by that name.

One of the leading characters of those negotiations, Richard Holbrooke, described Lt. Gen. Clark joining that team as being potentially hazardous for the career of "a West Pointer, a Rhodes scholar from Arkansas, and a Vietnam veteran (who) had been one of the fastest rising officers in the United States Army - the youngest brigadier general at the time he got his first star."

Just how successfully Clark was able to steer his way through those diplomatic waters, and how valuable his contribution to the military aspects of the peace brokering were, became evident when Clark was promoted to four-star general and appointed to the position of Supreme Allied Commander Europe on 11 July 1997.

With reference to BiH in particular, Clark's years as SACEUR saw a consolidation of the work of SFOR in BiH, and such progress in the security situation that SFOR was able to go through a restructuring programme beginning late 1999 and just recently completed. Clark also oversaw the activation of the NATO-led Strategic Reserve Force - an over-the-horizon force capable of intervening in the Balkans area. Moreover, elections have taken, a major Balkans Stability Pact Summit was held in Sarajevo last summer, and the disputed area of Brcko was resolved through arbitration and the area de-militarised.

Also during Clark's assignment as SACEUR, SFOR detained twenty Persons Indicted For War Crimes (PIFWCs).

Despite this activity, PIFWCs remain at large and, at a 25 April press conference, Clark stated "There was a lot of discussion when I took the job about three years ago about whether SFOR was going to be able to take these actions. Twenty war criminals have been arrested. There is no question that SFOR takes action at the appropriate time and in the appropriate way. We've always said that when we encounter these people, we will detain them. So, I think the record speaks for itself. SFOR will act. But, I want to underscore what I just said a moment ago. The responsibility, the primary responsibility lies here with the authorities in Bosnia and Hercegovina. That's where it must be. These people are living among people. They're not hermits somewhere. People know who they are. Police, members of political parties, they know where these war criminals are. It's up to the people of Bosnia and Hercegovina to move into the 21st century. We can help. We cannot, the International Community cannot, do all the work. It has to be initiated and started and carried out here. It's a public responsibility here in this country."

During the conference Clark had a message for NATO personnel past and present as he was asked his feelings upon leaving his assignment as SACEUR:

"Basically, I leave the position very pleased that I've had such good support from the nations in the Alliance. We've had great military leaders who served here on the ground and great troops on the ground in Bosnia, in SFOR missions. And I've done my duty as a soldier fully and to the best of my ability, and I'll look forward to moving on to other challenges and other opportunities."

At the end of a hectic programme of visits around BiH, Gen. Wesley Clark, SACEUR, reserved his final comment for the citizens of BiH: "The people in Bosnia and Hercegovina have welcomed NATO. We've enjoyed your hospitality. We've been grateful for it. We thank you for it, and I leave with a tremendous sense of hope and optimism about the future based on my relationships with the people here. Thank you very much, and good luck."