Finders Keepers

As soon as it became clear that the Hercules transport planes would be flying at a safe altitude, and without fighter escort, Clinton's plan for airdropping aid in food and medicine to besieged Moslems in eastern Bosnia, suddenly lost in importance. The applause and catcalls directed at the new U.S. Administration were equally insincere from the very start. America's allies applauded, because they realized that they were not expected to come up with serious investments in men and equipment, while hiding their real views regarding the meaning of the operation. Serbian military circles on both sides of the Drina River whistled loudly while secretly rejoicing that for the umpteenth time it would be proved that the West did not have any serious intention of unravelling the bloody Bosnian knot.

Matters sounded even less serious before the start of "Operation Provide Promise", when U.S. officials who had at first talked exclusively of humanitarian aid for Moslems, abruptly changed their tone and announced that the aid would be dropped to all warring sides. This was a transparent attempt at not admitting openly that a one ton crate, dropped in bad weather from an altitude of over 3,000 meters could fall far from its target, and come into the wrong hands. Clinton's military advisors persistently spoke of "surgical precision," while reports from the field denied them.

Pentagon kept the target area of the action secret until the last moment. The action started on the night of the last day of February and the first day of March.

It proved that the small town of Cerska was the target of the airdrop, a mountain settlement, just a few kilometers southwest of Zvornik. A more unfortunate choice could not have been made. As the base from which Moslem guerilla fighters occasionally seriously threatened the vital Zvornik-Pale corridor, Cerska had long been a thorn in the eye of Bosnian Serbs.

When the first crates started dropping, Karadzic's army was just completing a thorough artillery "softening up" of Cerska, and was preparing to start cleaning the ground. The contents of a few crates which fell where they were supposed to could only have been someone's last meal.

In the meantime, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representatives, at whose suggestion Cerska had received priority treatment, persistently tried to get permission from the Serbian authorities for the passage of humanitarian convoys over land. They did not just wish to feed the hungry - they hoped, as was unofficially confirmed by a UNHCR official, that their presence on the spot, would influence the "liberators'" behavior towards the civilian population.

The Serbian authorities understood this all too well, and the convoy to Cerska was stopped on Zvornik bridge. The condition for its passage was the Moslems' unconditional surrender. At the same time, not one single news team was allowed (with the exception of Channel S from Pale) to enter the region and report on the true state of affairs.

On Tuesday afternoon, 72 hours after the start of "Operation Provide Promise," the first crate of aid for Cerska was found. It was found, of course, by the Channel S crew. Footage showing a battered wooden crate and packages with food lying around, was offered (and sold) to a leading U.S. TV network for the "symbolic" sum of 10,000 dollars. Thus, it turned out that America's promises that Serbs would benefit from the airdrop operation, proved absolutely true.

By this time Clinton's administration realized that things were getting out of hand, and that there was danger of the whole operation turning into a media fiasco. U.S. Defence Secretary Les Aspen said on Wednesday that he was satisfied with the course of the operation, but that the airdrops were being suspended until further notice, because the Serbs had allowed the passage of aid by land. This was hard to swallow, since at the same time, pictures kept arriving from Mali Zvornik (Serbia) showing long columns of UNHCR trucks waiting hopelessly for permission to enter Bosnia. Clinton denied Aspen's statement the very same day, and announced that airdrops would be continued. He did, however, say that the airdrops were going smoothly, and asked for an urgent session of the Security Council because of the Serbian offensive against Cerska.

The Security Council proposed sending United Nations observers to Eastern Bosnia. This was too late for Cerska. Karadzic announced that the Serbian forces had started a unilateral ceasefire on Saturday noon, and that they would allow the evacuation of civilians. Judging by reports from the field, which arrived via radio amateurs before this number went to the press, the Bosnian Serb army had captured Cerska on Thursday morning, and by Saturday would probably capture nearby Konjevic Polje, thus opening the way to Srebrenica.

Clinton will soon have to undertake some concrete action, or admit to defeat and give up on Bosnia entirely. With his latest gesture, Radovan Karadzic could help him choose between these two options.

In a letter to the people of America published in the New York Times on Thursday, Karadzic urged Clinton to cease and desist with the airdrop. In the same letter, Karadzic mentions the recent explosion in the World Trade Center in New York, and warns Americans that the hell of Armageddon awaits them if their government continues to pursue such a reckless policy. Judging by the first reactions, Washington is taking this threat seriously.

In the meantime, the greater part of the 100 tons of food and medicine lie somewhere in the hills around Cerska. What is not found by the "liberators," might be found by a hungry bear.