clinton war powers resolution on bosnia the white house office of the press secretary for immediate release april text of a letter from the president to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president pro tempore of the senate april dear mr speaker dear mr president as part of my continuing effort to keep the congress fully informed i am providing this report consistent with section of the war powers resolution to advise you of actions that i have ordered in support of the united nations efforts in bosnia herzegovina beginning with u n security council resolution of september the united nations has been actively addressing the crisis in the former yugoslavia the security council acted in resolution to establish a ban on all unauthorized military flights over bosnia herzegovina there have however been blatant violations of the ban and villages in bosnia have been bombed in response to these violations the security council decided in resolution of march to extend the ban to all unauthorized flights over bosnia herzegovina and to authorize member states acting nationally or through regional organi zations to take all necessary measures to ensure compliance nato s north atlantic council nac agreed to provide nato air enforcement for the no fly zone the u n secretary general was notified of nato s decision to proceed with operation deny flight and an activation order was delivered to participating allies the united states actively supported these decisions at my direction the joint chiefs of staff sent an execute order to all u s forces participating in the nato force for the conduct of phased air operations to prevent flights not authorized by the united nations over bosnia herzegovina the u s forces initially assigned to this operation consist of f and f a fighter aircraft and supporting tanker aircraft these aircraft commenced enforcement operations at a m e d t on april the fighter aircraft are equipped for combat to accomplish their mission and for self defense nato has positioned forces and has established combat air patrol cap stations within the control of airborne early warning aew aircraft the u s cap aircraft will normally operate from bases in italy and from an aircraft carrier in the adriatic sea unauthorized aircraft entering or approaching the no fly zone will be identified interrogated intercepted escorted monitored and turned away in that order if these steps do not result in compliance with the no fly zone such aircraft may be engaged on the basis of proper authorization by nato military authorities and in accordance with the approved more over rules of engagement although we do not expect such action will be necessary the commander of unprofor the united nations protection force currently operating in bosnia herzegovina was consulted to ensure that his concerns for his force were fully considered before the rules of engagement were approved it is not possible to predict at this time how long such operations will be necessary i have directed u s armed forces to participate in these operations pursuant to my constitutional authority as commander in chief i am grateful for the con tinuing support that the congress has given to this effort and i look forward to continued cooperation as we move forward toward attainment of our goals in this region sincerely william j clinton
