THE WHITE HOUSE                        Office of the Press Secretary      _______________________________________________________________      For Immediate Release	   	     	           April 14, 1993                        TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT                         TO THE SPEAKER OF THE                     HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND                THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE                                  April 13, 1993         Dear Mr. Speaker:      (Dear Mr. President:)      As part of my continuing effort to keep the Congress fully    informed, I am providing this report, consistent with section 4    of the War Powers Resolution, to advise you of actions that I    have ordered in support of the United Nations efforts in    Bosnia-Herzegovina.      Beginning with U.N. Security Council Resolution 713 of    September 25, 1991, the United Nations has been actively    addressing the crisis in the former Yugoslavia.  The Security    Council acted in Resolution 781 to establish a ban on all    unauthorized military flights over Bosnia-Herzegovina.  There    have, however, been blatant violations of the ban, and villages    in Bosnia have been bombed.      In response to these violations, the Security Council decided,    in Resolution 816 of March 31, 1993, to extend the ban to all    unauthorized flights over Bosnia-Herzegovina and to authorize    Member States, acting nationally or through regional organi-   zations, to take all necessary measures to ensure compliance.     NATO's North Atlantic Council (NAC) agreed to provide NATO air    enforcement for the no-fly zone.  The U.N. Secretary General    was notified of NATO's decision to proceed with Operation DENY    FLIGHT, and an activation order was delivered to participating    allies.      The United States actively supported these decisions.  At my    direction, the Joint Chiefs of Staff sent an execute order to    all U.S. forces participating in the NATO force, for the conduct    of phased air operations to prevent flights not authorized by    the United Nations over Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The U.S. forces    initially assigned to this operation consist of 13 F-15 and    12 F-18A fighter aircraft and supporting tanker aircraft.     These aircraft commenced enforcement operations at 8:00 a.m.    e.d.t. on April 12, 1993.  The fighter aircraft are equipped for    combat to accomplish their mission and for self-defense.      NATO has positioned forces and has established combat air    patrol (CAP) stations within the control of Airborne Early    Warning (AEW) aircraft.  The U.S. CAP aircraft will normally    operate from bases in Italy and from an aircraft carrier in the    Adriatic Sea.  Unauthorized aircraft entering or approaching    the no-fly zone will be identified, interrogated, intercepted,    escorted/monitored, and turned away (in that order).  If these    steps do not result in compliance with the no-fly zone, such    aircraft may be engaged on the basis of proper authorization by    NATO military authorities and in accordance with the approved                                     more           	    	      	   	     	       	    (OVER)                                    2      rules of engagement, although we do not expect such action will    be necessary.  The Commander of UNPROFOR (the United Nations    Protection Force currently operating in Bosnia-Herzegovina) was    consulted to ensure that his concerns for his force were fully    considered before the rules of engagement were approved.      It is not possible to predict at this time how long such    operations will be necessary.  I have directed U.S. armed forces    to participate in these operations pursuant to my constitutional    authority as Commander in Chief.  I am grateful for the con-   tinuing support that the Congress has given to this effort, and    I look forward to continued cooperation as we move forward    toward attainment of our goals in this region.           	    	      	   	Sincerely,                    	    	      	   	WILLIAM J. CLINTON