When a mortar shell killed 68 people in the Sarajevo marketplace three weeks ago, it shook the rest of the world as well. After 22 months of hand wringing and empty threats, NATO finally responded with an ultimatum. While the Serbs were finding it politic to negotiate a deal with the new U.N. ground commander, British Lieut. Air strikes would have forced Boris Yeltsin to risk the wrath of Russian nationalists or to condemn the attacks and alienate international friends. So Churkin paid his visit to Pale, carrying a face-saving plan from Yeltsin.
Outsiders reap important benefits too.
Clinton will breathe a sigh of relief if NATO planes do not have to fly bombing runs over the fog-wrapped mountains of Bosnia. A peaceful withdrawal will let him and the rest of the West claim it is the result of their toughness in facing down the Serbs. Yeltsin will score political points at home for standing by his Slav friends and abroad for his seriousness as an international peacemaker. To balance that upbeat list there is another, less encouraging, set of considerations. Freeing Sarajevo of terror bombardments does not end its siege.