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 PUBLIC LAW 105-85—NOV. 18, 1997 111 STAT. 1929 Herzegovina assumes that the level of military forces participating in SFOR will be reduced soon after the start of the fiscal year. (8) The President and the Secretary of Defense have stated that United States forces are to be withdrawn from the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina by the end of June 1998. SEC. 1202. SENSE OF CONGRESS. It is the sense of Congress that— (1) United States ground combat forces should not participate in a follow-on force in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina after June 1998; (2) the European Security and Defense Identity, which, as facilitated by the Combined Joint Task Forces concept, enables the Western European Union, with the consent of the North Atlantic Alliance, to assume political control and strategic direction of NATO assets made available for the Alliance, may be an ideal instrument for a follow-on force for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina; (3) a NATO-led force without the participation of United States ground combat forces in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina may be suitable for a follow-on force for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina if the European Security and Defense Identity is not sufficiently developed or is otherwise considered inappropriate for such a mission; (4) the United States may decide to provide appropriate support to a Western European Union-led or NATO-led followon force, including command and control, intelligence, logistics, and, if necessary, a ready reserve force in the region; (5) the President should inform our European NATO allies of this expression of the sense of Congress and should urge them strongly to undertake preparations for a Western European Union-led or NATO-led force as a follow-on force to the NATO-led SFOR if needed to maintain peace and stability in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and (6) the President should consult with the Congress with respect to any support to be provided to a Western European Union-led or NATO-led follow-on force in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina after June 30, 1998. SEC. 1203. WITHDRAWAL OF UNITED STATES GROUND FORCES FROM 10 USC 114 note. REPUBLIC OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA. (a) LIMITATION.—No funds appropriated or otherwise made available for the Department of Defense for fiscal year 1998 or any subsequent fiscal year may be used for the deployment of any United States ground combat forces in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina after June 30, 1998, unless the President, not later than May 15, 1998, and after consultation with the bipartisan leadership of the two Houses of Congress, transmits to Congress a certification— (1) that the continued presence of United States ground combat forces, after June 30, 1998, in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina is required in order to meet the national security interests of the United States; and (2) that after June 30, 1998, it will remain United States policy that United States ground forces will not serve as, or be used as, civil police in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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