Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 111 Part 2.djvu/848

 Ill STAT. 1928 PUBLIC LAW 105-85 —NOV. 18, 1997 Sec. 1227. Sense of Congress on need for Russian openness on the Yamantau Mountain project. Sec. 1228. Assessment of the Cuban threat to United States national security. Sec. 1229. Report on Helsinki Joint Statement. Sec. 1230. Commendation of Mexico on free and fair elections. Sec. 1231. Sense of Congress regarding Cambodia. Sec. 1232. Congratulating Governor Christopher Patten of Hong Kong. Subtitle A—United States Armed Forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina SEC. 1201. FINDINGS. The Congress finds the following: (1) United States Armed Forces were deployed to the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Implementation Force (IFOR) to implement the military aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement. (2) The military aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement have been successfully implemented to date with the military forces of the warring factions successfully separated and a cessation in the hostilities that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Bosnians. (3) Implementation of the civil aspects of the Da5^on Peace Agreement has lagged far behind the schedule for such implementation envisioned in the Agreement with the result that United States Armed Forces have undertaken a prolonged engagement in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (4) On December 13, 1995, the President stated in a letter to Congress, "NATO and U.S. military commanders believe, and I expect, that the military mission can be accomplished in about a year. Twelve months will allow IFOR time to complete the military tasks assigned in the Dayton agreement and to establish a secure environment, in which political and economic reconstruction efforts by the parties and international civilian agencies can take hold. Within one year, we expect that the military provisions of the Da5^on agreement will have been carried out, implementation of the civilian aspects and economic reconstruction will have been firmly launched, free elections will have been held under international supervision and a stable military balance will have been established." (5) Notwithstanding a number of assurances relating to the accomplishment of the military mission in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina by December 1996, the President, on November 15, 1996, announced his decision to extend the presence of United States forces in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) until June 1998. (6) Despite initial projections by the Department of Defense that the costs of United States operations in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina would total $1,500,000,000, the projected cost of United States operations in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina through June 1998 is estimated to exceed $7,000,000,000. (7) The fiscal year 1998 estimate of the Department of Defense for operations in the Republic of Bosnia and

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