For the following reasons, ignored or not understood by nay-sayers, I support the president in sending troops for the peace-keeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegenovia.

!. Our times are very different form those when generals Washington, Jackson, Grant, Pershing, Eisenhower, and even Powell earned their fame. Theirs were wars of independence from tyranny, to secure the unity of our country, and to oppose tyranny and aggression overseas. Our s is a very interdependent world.

2. We have to assume that those who volunteer for our armed forces understand that there are risks and that they might be separated from their families and be put in harm’s way. They swear to protect the security and Constitution of our country in whatever ways the Commander-in-Chief says they are needed. Their duty, whatever the problem, is to help restore peace and stability, not only in our country, but also for the world.

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3. Why the world? We now live in a world whose people and nations are increasingly interdependent, and our country’s security can be served only in the context of world peace. Isolation is no longer an option.

4. The Bosnian peace-keeping effort must be seen in this light, and it should be accepted as a new kind of military mission appropriate for the 1990’s. Appropriate military action need not always involve killing the enemy or driving tanks through villages or sending smart bombs into buildings. Keeping the peace is appropriate military action.

%5. Of course, the Bosnian mission is not risk-free. Some of our volunteer military personnel are likely to be killed, just as they might be on a training exercise in this country or on the streets of our cities. We should not forget that civilian life in this country is not risk-free either.

6. We must participate in the peace-keeping force to remain credible as a world leader and show the world that we will use our military might in support of moral and ethical principles regarding aggression, violence and human rights.

I applaud the give-and-take among the warring factions that took place in Dayton, and we now must follow through to do our part in the peace-keeping effort.

Professor Emeritus of Geography