The first warship to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina in 90 years, the Nicholas (FFG-47) found a tentative country striving to rebuild.
Even as today's headlines focus on events in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States' role in Bosnia and Herzegovina must remain on our radar scope. By examining this region, the way ahead in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq can find a current reference.
The fundamental lessons of Bosnia and Herzegovina are that recovery will require decades, the costs will be significant, but that any other course will lead to chaos. Only the sustained commitment of the United States and the international community can provide the hope critical to the people of a fragmented nation. Without this hope, democracy and economic revitalization will falter and fail-and provide fertile ground for terrorists to thrive.
The View from Bosnia and Herzegovina
When she arrived in 2003, the USS Nicholas (FFG-47) was the first warship to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1914, when an Austrian warship recovered the bodies of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife after their assassinations. The sailors of the Nicholas saw firsthand that the hope provided by the United States is the greatest aid, the greatest grant, we can provide.
The Nicholas entered Neum eight years after the Dayton Peace Accords brought to a cautious close the nation's terrible civil war. In Neum, the signs of war were muted, but as we traveled inland to the once thriving city of Mostar, the reality—200,000 people killed, 20,000 women raped, and 2.5 million war refugees—came sharply into focus.
Mostar had always been the most ethnically mixed of the cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It roughly reflected the prewar population of the country: 44% Muslim (known as Bosniaks), 17% Catholic (most closely related to the Croats), 33% Eastern Orthodox Christian (most closely related to the Serbs), and 6% other. As our tour guide, the son of a Muslim and a Catholic, took us around the city, he told how the three armies would battle to occupy the mountains above the city, to enable greater ranges for shelling. We saw the devastation—huge numbers of condemned buildings, heavily damaged by the shelling; others pockmarked by hundreds of bullets from the door-to-door fighting. he showed us a few of the Muslim minarets that remained; almost all were toppled.
Most difficult to comprehend was how the combined Catholic and Muslim army split apart after nearly defeating the Eastern Orthodox Christians in the battle for the city. Only the threat of attacking Serbian forces pulled them together.
Mostar had the tentative spirit of an abused animal, unsure what to expect when someone raised a hand, and yet there were signs of progress. The United Nations Education, Societal, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had reconstructed a wooden bridge to connect the predominantly Muslim section of the city to the predominantly Christian side and was working to rebuild the historic and symbolic medieval stone bridge that helped bind the city together. U.N. Standing Forces (SFOR) conducted their rounds, appearing more like the military police they are than like soldiers guarding strategic points.
Beneath this veneer of normalcy, nationalists from all three ethnic groups still push separatist agendas. Calls for a further disintegration of Bosnia and Herzegovina into three states ring out, even though the impossibility of separating peoples intermingled by countless wars is obvious. In addition, without the ability to leverage economies of scale, separation would be economic suicide.
These separatist/nationalist agendas slow work on the real problems facing Bosnia and Herzegovina: organized crime, a black market economy, a gray market economy (black market authorized or accepted by the local government), the returning refugee impact on already high unemployment, lack of international investment, and the inability to bring war criminals to justice.
The Long Road to Normalcy
The Nicholas's visit provided the opportunity for Admiral Gregory Johnson, commander of Allied Forces South and U.S. Naval Forces Europe, to host the Tri-Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina for lunch on board. The night before the Nicholas arrived in Neum, the Tri-Presidents agreed to unite their militaries as one, a huge step in their efforts to meet the requirements for admission into NATO's Partnership for Peace (PlP).
At a reception later that day, I had the honor of presenting a Bosnia and Herzegovina flag handmade by one of our quartermasters. Petty Officer Ellic Mottram made the flag because the country was too new to have them available for purchase before we anchored. The impact of this simple gesture on the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina was unforgettable. Many of the women in attendance wept; the men had trouble putting their emotions into words. To them, the flag represented their unified country and the end of a terrible war. And because it arrived on a U.S. warship, it was a tangible sign of the United States' commitment to peace and prosperity in their nation. Finally, they were awed that a U.S. sailor would care enough to handstitch their flag to honor their small war-torn country.
Reaching out for help is foreign to U.S. citizens today, but we need only look to the efforts of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams in France and Holland during our Revolutionary War to grasp the role the United Kingdom and the United States play for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina as they look to the future. They know their country is paralyzed by the ethnic agendas of its three political parties, and they have conceded power to the Bosnia and Herzegovina High Representative, the Honorable Paddy Ashdown, as plenipotentiary.
Serving a three-year term that began in May 2002, Ashdown has very high support from the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the only leader to receive a majority approval rating of all the county's leaders. he has significant power, to include strengthening the Rule of Law by:
* Removing corrupt government officials
* Vetting various government personnel
* Imposing legislation, including to improve the judiciary, the economy, and the efficiency of governing bodies
* Auditing public companies
* Working closely with U.N. Standing Forces
The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina revere Paddy Ashdown because he is able to move them toward membership in Partnership for Peace, which will open the doors to inclusion in NATO and the European Union (EU). They know their economy cannot stand on its own and attract investors without the strong likelihood of entry into the EU.
The United States greatly facilitates the movement of countries through the PfP and NATO wickets. Conducting a bilateral exercise with the United States is a significant step forward, as nations must show their willingness and ability to meet the political, social, legal, and military obligations of membership. all of this takes time, money, and commitment, so restoring the economy of a nation after war is critical. It requires a steady course and solid resolve, but there is a proven path that already has been taken by many Balkan countries.
The Global War on Terror and the Way Ahead
Many might wonder why the Nicholas was in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first place. The answer lies in the relationships among economics, effective government, and terrorism. Currently, Bosnia and Herzegovina provides anarchists opportunities to funnel weapons, money, and terrorists into Europe. Without some growth of economic opportunities, organized crime and the black/gray economy will facilitate the strengthening of terrorist networks. Strong centralized government, on the other hand, backed by citizens with clear opportunities for long-term prosperity, will help to reduce the ethnic tensions that have marginalized Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The road to prosperity for Bosnia and Herzegovina is long and steep, but all other directions are dead ends. The United States and the international community must unite in this long-term endeavor. The Cold War lasted 50 years, but we proved we could maintain our resolve and win. We must learn from the tragedy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and maintain our commitment in the Balkans while taking the lessons we learn there and applying them to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Commander Swallow is commanding officer of the Nicholas (FFG-47). The Nicholas deployed to northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea in the summer and fall of 2003 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the global war on terrorism.