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<TITLE>Admiral Leighton Smith...IFOR: Successes and Challenges</TITLE>
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<CENTER><FONT SIZE="+4">IFOR: Successes and Challenges</FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT SIZE="+3">Admiral Leighton Smith</FONT></CENTER>
<CENTER><I><FONT SIZE="+1">Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Southern
Europe</FONT></I></CENTER>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT SIZE="+1">ACHIEVEMENTS ON LAND, IN THE AIR, AND AT SEA
</FONT></B></CENTER>
<P>Every country that has contributed forces to IFOR can be very, very
proud of its soldiers. They have done a magnificent job, and they
represent all of us in ways that none of us could have imagined. </P>
<P>It is sometimes necessary to remind ourselves that IFOR is a combined
land, air, and sea operation. On the sea, Sharp Guard, which has just been
suspended, successfully conducted embargo operations for a number of
years. It was the first out-of-area operation in which NATO and WEU joined
forces and very effectively carried out United Nations and North Atlantic
Council instructions to block traffic to the former Republic of Yugoslavia
and other countries. Just one example of Sharp Guard's success is the
motor vessel Lido incident, during which Commodore Alastair Ross proved
that a decisive on-the-scene commander with clear political guidance, good
rules of engagement, and the right forces can make things work the way
they are supposed to work. </P>
<P>In the air, Deny Flight changed to air support operations Operation
Joint Endeavour. Mike Ryan did a wonderful job, not only in handling
operations before IFOR but in continuing the air cover and air support to
the IFOR operations. These operations were very effective in providing
close air support to UNPROFOR and conducting some strike operations.
Without last September's strike operations, which were so professionally
planned and executed, I am convinced we would not be where we are today.
</P>
<P>The ground operations, which have involved 34 different nations, can be
described in one word: successful. Any way you cut it, we have carried out
the missions we were given in Annex 1 of the General Framework Agreement
on peace in Bosnia--and the soldiers have performed magnificently. The
dying has stopped. Roads are open. Railroads are being opened. When we
first went in, we had one airfield; now we have four, which can be opened
to commercial traffic as soon as the parties decide they want commercial
traffic to start. We do have some mine clearing to do around the Sarajevo
airport, but we expect it to open to commercial traffic in the very near
future. </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT SIZE="+1">REMAINING CHALLENGES</FONT></B></CENTER>
<P>We do still have a few problems. Freedom of movement does not exist in
Bosnia to the degree we desire, even though we have created the conditions
in which freedom of movement can occur--that is, a secure environment and
roads on which people can travel. While our surveys indicate that over
30,000 civilian vehicles crossed the inner entity boundary line during a
six-day period in late May-early June, about 50% of the buses that have
crossed it with larger groups, specifically Muslims going into the
Republic of Serbia territory, have been stopped. We are continuing to work
on this problem. </P>
<P>Another continuing problem is harassment on all sides: Muslims against
Croats, Croats against Muslims, Serbs against Muslims and Croats, and so
on. We see this as an indicator that great fear, suspicion, and even hate
still remain in that country. But we must remember that IFOR has
accomplished a great deal. </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT SIZE="+1">CAUSES OF A SUCCESSFUL MISSION</FONT></B></CENTER>
<P>One reason for IFOR's success has been Partnership for Peace
participation. Twelve nations have provided forces ranging from
engineering to infantry battalions to operations and medical personnel.
This participation has demonstrated that the exercises we initially
envisaged for the PFP exercise program were probably modest and thus we
can conduct more complex exercises in the future, using IFOR as a model.
</P>
<P>Another major part of IFOR's success has been my colleagues, the
commanders-in-chief of Allied Forces Northwestern Europe and Allied Forces
Central Europe, and the training of their forces conducted before arriving
on the scene. We could not have survived in AFSOUTH and in IFOR and in
Sarajevo if such talented people had not been sent to assist us. </P>
<P>Both AFNW and AFCENT were directly involved with Partnership nations in
the certification process before forces were sent to us. Once personnel
were in country, Liaison Control Elements worked with them to immediately
iron out any problems that occurred with their initial introduction,
command and control procedures or communication. Most of those Liaison
Control Elements have now been extracted because they were no longer
necessary. Another success, any way you cut it. </P>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER><B><FONT SIZE="+1">FUTURE IFOR COMMITMENTS</FONT></B></CENTER>
<P>Where are we going from here? We're going to build on our successes but
remember that there are still problems that we have to address. </P>
<P>In the very near future, important elections will take place, and IFOR
will be providing support needed by the OSCE to make the elections a
success. We will also provide help, as we have in the past, to other
civilian agencies. We will continue to assist in any way we can to ensure
that economic reconstruction gets on track and stays on track, that the
environment remains secure, and that conditions continue to improve. We
plan to keep the momentum going, and come out of this operation with a
full-blown success. </P>
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