NATO officials reduced the number of troops this year to 34,000, down from 53,000 in 1996. American soldiers make up 7,000 of this year's force. Next year's force will likely be the same size or smaller. The diplomatic presence in Bosnia is on the rise. Last month the U.S. embassy in Sarajevo tripled its staff.
Observers agree, however, that in the last year too little has changed overall.
NATO forces, he acknowledges, preside over a superficial peace that is likely to unravel if troops are withdrawn. Mr. Kuzmic is a Croatian pastor and professor who divides his time between the United States and the Balkan region. He attended Mrs. Albright's meeting with Bosnians and Croatians after Mr. Beslagic, Tuzla's mayor and a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, won the Averell Harriman Award in Washington. Mr. Beslagic is credited with preventing ethnic cleansing in Tuzla during the war. But multiethnic democracy is not taking hold elsewhere.