Wolfowitz meets, praises peacekeepers

Stars and Stripes ^ | 5/17/03 | Ivana Avramovic

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By Ivana Avramovic, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, May 17, 2003

EAGLE BASE, Bosnia and Herzegovina -- During an unusual town hall meeting Friday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz praised peacekeeping troops for their service and role in providing stability in the world.

Wolfowitz met with more than 100 troops of all ranks, answering their questions at Peacekeeper’s Hall here.

"The mission that you're doing here in Bosnia is extremely important for our country, for Bosnia and for the stability in the world," Wolfowitz said. "This mission has gone on longer than it was expected, although that should've been expected. It remains and is [as] important to us as it was on the first day."

As the situation in the country progressed, the number of troops has steadily been reduced. From the initial 20,000 Americans contributing to 60,000-strong stabilization force when the mission started in late 1995, about 1,500 American soldiers remain. The total force has come down to 12,000.

Wolfowitz said he did not expect any changes in the number of American peacekeepers in the Balkans in the near future.

"I think the key to success is going to be more and more to get the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina themselves to step up to the task, the responsibilities and their own decisions."

In 2000, 49th Infantry Division was the first National Guard division to take over the active-duty troops.

"[National Guard troops] are every bit as valuable as active-duty troops," Wolfowitz said. "We could not be doing the things we're doing without the guard."

He mentioned how hard it was for Maj. Gen. Robert Halverson of 49th Infantry Division, the first National Guard unit to run the peacekeeping operations in Bosnia, to convince the leadership that guardsmen are prepared for the task.

Most SFOR rotations since then, including the current 35th Infantry Division, have been composed of citizen-soldiers, and the rotation going in to Kosovo will be composed of national guardsmen as well.

Wolfowitz reiterated that sending troops to peacekeeping operations is not a bad use of the force, but rather a good way of preventing conflicts.

Besides serving humanitarian purposes, it also serves the U.S. national security by creating a more stabile world.

As part of his four-day overseas trip, Wolfowitz will also visit Kosovo, Macedonia, France and Romania.

Before leaving Bosnia, he laid a wreath at the memorial site in Potocari where the first 600 of more than 7,000 killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre are buried.

"We are not in any way going to leave the mission where this place goes back to kind of tragedies in the past," he said.

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U.S. Deputy Defense Paul Wolfowitz addresses U.S. soldiers serving with the NATO-led peackeeping force in Bosnia on May 16, 2003 in the northern town of Tuzla. Wolfowitz is on his four-day visit to Europe including stops in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, France and Romania. REUTERS/Danilo Krstanovic

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U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz delivers an address to US soldiers at US Eagle base near Tuzla, on Friday, May 16, 2003. Paul Wolfowitz visited US soldiers deployed in Bosnia peacekeeping mission on Armed Forces Day during his one-day visit to Bosnia. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

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U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz shakes hands with US soldier Spc.Fernando Alvarez, of Omaha, NE, at US Eagle base near Tuzla, on Friday, May 16, 2003. Paul Wolfowitz visited US soldiers deployed in Bosnia on a peacekeeping mission on Armed Forces Day during his one-day visit to Bosnia. (AP Photo/Amel Emric)

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U.S Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz, left, is briefed by an unidentified U.S soldier serving in NATO-led peacekeeping mission during his visit in Kosovo on Saturday May 17, 2003 in the U.S military base Camp Bondsteel. Wolfowitz is on a one day visit to Kosovo to express his gratitude to U.S soldiers serving as peacekeepers. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

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U.S Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz, right, meets with U.S troops serving in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission during his visit to Kosovo Saturday May 17, 2003, at the U.S military base Camp Bondsteel. Wolfowitz is on a one day visit to Kosovo. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

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U.S Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz meets with U.S troops serving in NATO-led peacekeeping mission during his visit to Kosovo Saturday, May 17, 2003, at the U.S military base Camp Bondsteel. Wolfowitz is on a one day visit to Kosovo. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu

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U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence, Paul Wolfowitz meets U.S. soldiers during his short visit at Camp Bondsteel, a military base near a southern town of Urosevac, some 40 kilometres from the Kosovo's capital of Pristina, May 17 2003. Wolfowitz, is on a four-day visit to Europe including stops in Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, France and Romania. REUTERS/Hazir Reka

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PRESS ADVISORY

052-P
May 15, 2003

Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz to Travel to EuropeDeputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz will depart Andrews Air Force Base, Md., today for a five-day trip to Europe.

His travel will include stops in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, France and Romania. On Friday, May 16, at 9 a.m. local time, he will meet with U.S. troops in Tuzla for a town hall meeting in honor of Armed Forces Day.

Wolfowitz will return to Washington, D.C., on Monday, May 19.