Speaker Criticizes U.S. Reluctance To Consider Intervention In Bosnia

Writer and publisher Leonard Fein spoke yesterday at Hillel, criticizing the U.S. government's "reluctance to seriously consider" military intervention in Bosnia.

Fein, a former professor at MIT, said there has been a lack of information available to the public about Bosnia's political status and encouraged debate on the issue.

"Each episode that suggests intervention should fully be considered," Fein said.

Former President Bush and President Clinton, Fein said, have justified the lack of intervention by pleading insufficient public support for the cause.

"It is impermissible in a democracy to deny public information," he said.

Fein criticized remarks made by government officials concerning Sarajevo after the outbreak of conflict. He said former President Bush's refusal to take action indicates the government's reluctance to intervene in a war unless victory is guaranteed.

"What is happening now in Sarajevo is called abandonment," he said. "The fact that another European people is being abandoned is absolutely appalling."

He compared the Bosnian situation to the plight of Jews earlier in the century, whom he said were abandoned by other nations.

While Fein said he doesn't necessarily advocate intervention, he said the U.S. could help create a "solid framework" to ensure the protection of all cultures.