Of course, for the sake of the almighty West, NATO cannot allow France or even Russia to keep a foothold of power in the Balkans - on that point the allies are unified. We must realize that the allies' mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina varies by country. British and French troops are on the firing line, while casualty-wary Clinton tries to keep the U.S. troops out of harm's way. While the British and French troops are doing their jobs, U.S. troops are not allowed to do theirs. They are a presence, not a force.
Military commitments are secondary to relatively menial police duties and social work.
There must be peace before peace-keeping actions. The United States is the muscle behind the deliberations in Brussels, but refuses to whole-heartedly commit its forces when the going gets tough. The stated goal of this military aid program is to try to bring the Muslim and Croat forces in Bosnia to par with the already-victorious Serb forces. I understand that this is a viable flex of military superiority by the U.S., and it should be an effective scare tactic to Serbia. Clinton is only making the United States' role in Bosnia-Herzegovina more ambiguous.