Harvard To the Rescue

The University should form a working group on Bosnia.

Lyndon Baines Johnson once said that he would never get credit for anything he did in foreign policy because he didn't go to Harvard.

And while his statement was made in bitter jest, it has the proverbial grain of truth. Harvard is a haven for international relations gurus. And Harvard's expertise is not limited to dry, theoretical books and articles that collect dust in libraries. The list of Harvard graduates and professors who have filled high foreign policy positions is too long to count.

Harvard has long been, and still is, an influential institution of America's policy makers. There are several professors here who are regularly consulted by the Clinton administration; many faculty members delight in tantalizing undergraduates with stories of their weekend jaunts to Washington.

Given Harvard's history and current influence, it would seem the ideal institution to fill a very large and disturbing gap in this country's foreign policy, namely Bosnia.

While the recent ultimatum against the Bosnian Serbs appears to have been a success, it is only the beginning of NATO's involvement in the war-ravaged country. Sarajevo is just one of the many Muslim towns surrounded by Serbian and Croatian guns, and a viable Muslim state is still a distant prospect.

The specter of genocide still hangs over the country.

Unfortunately, our current administration doesn't seem to have a clue as to what our goals should be in the region. Instead, we float along, reacting more to daily CNN coverage and the whims of our allies than to any long-term plans or convictions.

Nor is it only our government that has been shallow on Bosnia policy. To be fair, pundits and commentators who have been lambasting the administration for its inaction, often very eloquently, have also been vague on what happens after we bomb the Serbs or lift the arms embargo on the Muslims.

In general, there is a dangerous paucity of reasoned, long-term thinking on the issue that has become the defining one for America's foreign policy.

That's where Harvard comes in. With its magnetic name and ample resources, Harvard could quickly gather a task force of regional experts, academics, military planners, and ex-government officials, both from inside and outside the University. This group would not be a debating society; rather it would concentrate on formulating serious action plans for Western involvement in Bosnia, with the goal of stopping the aggression and creating a just settlement at a reasonable and realistic cost to the U.S. and its NATO allies.

To avoid the pit of oblivion into which many such working groups disappear, the committee should have a prominent leader capable of capturing national attention. There are many candidates, with Margaret Thatcher and former Secretary of State George Schultz being the most obvious possibilities.

If begun quickly and run effectively, this group could have a substantial effect on U.S. foreign policy--for the better.

Harvard as an institution has been discouragingly quiet on what will be seen as the defining issue of the post-cold war era, morally and strategically.

Now, as the U.S. heads into Bosnia with little obvious leadership to guide us, Harvard can both restore itself and help a desperate situation.

David L. Bosco's column appears on alternate Wednesdays.