A War Seen From the Hill: U.S. Helsinki Commission and the War in Bosnia 1992–1995

Abstract

The aim of this article is to reconstruct how the U.S. Helsinki Commission perceived the war in Bosnia (1992-1995) and its efforts to shape the US response to it. As an independent U.S. Government agency, the Commission played an active role in drawing attention to the war in Bosnia and putting forth policy options for the U.S. Administration. Based on publicly available transcripts of Commission's hearings over the three year period, this article shows how the Commission's work was a microcosm of the wider Congressional debates on US response to the Bosnia conflict. Commission members played a significant role in efforts to lift the U.N. arms embargo and Commission hearings served as a platform for Bosnian officials to rally support towards this objective.