Alan’s TTIM Stories #39

Dayton is a modest city of 138,000 in western Ohio, located on the confluence of Great Miami River, Mad River, Stillwater River, and Wolf Creek between fields of soybeans and corn. The city is famous for the home of the Wright Brothers and Jonathan Winters (which has the higher prominence in history is a matter of perspective).

City concerns include building a post-manufacturing economy through health care and education and the success of the Dayton Flyers basketball team. A favorite childhood memory was jumping in the family car for a seasonal trip to Rike’s and Sears to purchase new school clothes.

Five thousand miles away 8,000 men, women, and children were slaughtered at Srebrenica in the worst atrocity of modern times. Sarajevo suffered a siege with artillery shells and snipers terrifying and killing thousands of citizens on the streets. How could Dayton stop the slaughter?

The worldwide deconstruction of Communism in the late 20^th Century separated sections of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. Decades of peace and tolerance ended in Yugoslavia as Serbs, Croats, and Bosnians let deep hidden religious hatred and territorial ambitions erupt in the 1990’s Balkan and Bosnian Wars.

Reports of atrocities shocked the world. Supported by the United States, NATO forces initiated a bombing campaign to target strategic military sites to slow the genocide. The show of force was also a strategy to bring the warring parties to peace talks.

Enter Richard Holbrooke, a career diplomat from the State Department. Holbrooke was an early advocate for intervention in the Balkan War.  His diplomatic strategy was described as “highly assertive” along with being a “brilliant tactician.” Other personal descriptions included being a jerk and a miserable human.

Holbrooke’s shuttle diplomacy between Balkan capitals, along with the NATO bombing, convinced the principals to gather for peace talks. Holbrooke chose a site in the United States where he had control over arrangements, dynamics, and the lack of media coverage. An out-of-the-way location that fit his parameters was Wright-Patterson Air Force Base next to Dayton. Other not-so-subtle reasons for the location were the in-your-face display of military strength and advanced technology of United States armed forces.

For twenty-one days leaders from Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina worked out details for the future of the region while candlelight vigils for peace gathered outside the fence.

Holbrooke pushed the participants with meetings lasting until 3 in the morning and resuming at 6am (sleep deprivation tactic?). He wore down the participants gaining compromise after compromise until reaching acceptable resolutions. Were the participants more frightened of a continued war or Holbrooke? He found it easy to work with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic because of his command of English, similar personality traits, and recognition of power.  

Most challenging was the division of Bosnia-Herzegovina into two sections. The country would be one nation divided into the Federation of Bosnian-Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska with one capital at Sarajevo.

After 20 days, a final agreement seemed impossible. A last minute tantrum produced results. The Dayton Accords were signed at the Air Force base on  November 21, 1995. A formal agreement was signed in Paris on December 14, 1995, to appease European partners.  Bosnia- Herzegovina settled in for a precarious peace.

Serbia grew tired of strong-arm Milosevic, throwing him out of office in 2000. He died in The Hague, Netherlands, while on trial for war crimes.

While Richard Holbrooke will be applauded for his valiant and tireless effort to end the Balkan War, his coarse personality kept him from his dream position as Secretary of State.

The history of Dayton will shine as a gem₁ for peace.

Sources:
Britannia
Wikipedia
Diplomacy State.gov
WBUR.org
The Washington Post
Association for Diplomatic
      Studies and Training.org

A photo of the official Balkan Peace Agreement signing in Paris, France, based on the Dayton Accords, including President Bill Clinton, President Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia, President Alija Izetbegovic of Bosnia, and President Franjo Tudjman of Croatia.  National Archives and Records Administration

₁ Dayton’s nickname is the Gem City

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Follow announcements of Alan’s TTIM Stories at Facebook.com/alan.vandervoort or Instagram & Treads vandervoort_author, with all available posts at www.alanvandervoort.com. Novels by the author include: Sandhills – A Novel and Key Largo Summer, found at Booklocker.com and other online booksellers.