BOSNIAN CONFLICT ELUDES SIMPLE SOLUTIONS, ANSWERS

What is going on in Bosnia? It is a question not readily answered. There's a civil war, of course, pitting rebel Serbs against the Bosnian government that in 1992 seceded from the former Yugoslavia.

But of what interest is this war to the United States? Certainly when inhumanity and brutality anywhere in the world reaches an apogee that arouses the ire of more civil societies, Americans traditionally heed the call to intervene. Such intervention typically carries a cost, which must be assayed before U.S. troops are risked on behalf of another nation, regardless of the intensity of its suffering.

In Bosnia, it is difficult to believe such analysis has gone before our impending intercession into affairs that ought not concern us. An immoral arms embargo prevented the Bosnian government from adequately defending itself from aggressor Serb rebels. But instead of lifting the embargo, U.N. peacekeepers moved in to accomplish ... what? An end to hostilities that are centuries old?

Recently, NATO responded to Serbian transgressions -- after a firm nudge from the United States -- by bombing a Serbian ammunition dump. That prompted the Serbs to shell a safe area, killing more than 70 people. It was then that the Serb rebels began taking U.N. peacekeepers hostage.

The response from NATO and President Clinton has been utter bewilderment. When an American F-16 pilot was shot down while enforcing a no-fly zone over Serb-held territory in Bosnia, the president apparently was ill-prepared for such an eventuality, offering nothing to show he had a plan -- any plan -- that would successfully protect our troops while at the same time serving our allies in NATO.

Meanwhile, about 1,500 U.S. troops and attack helicopters were preparing to move from Germany to Italy, and world leaders debated the role of a rapid deployment force of up to 10,000 troops being assembled by Britain and France.

The U.S. troops and some 50 Apache and Blackhawk helicopters will train in Italy to ensure they are ready. But ready for what? An invasion? It is doubtful. The idea is for the troops to be deployed to help withdraw U.N. peacekeepers from Bosnia.

But Clinton's assurances that U.S. troops won't be used for such purposes in Bosnia increasingly ring hollow. If U.N. peacekeepers are to withdraw, mission unaccomplished, what were they doing there in the first place?

That the Serbs began late last week releasing captured U.N. peacekeepers is a good sign. Not that it indicates an end to the war in Bosnia, but it is helpful if Clinton needs an excuse to pull American troops out of there.

But some Bosnia officials are saying the hostages were released only after the Serbs received assurances there would be no more NATO air strikes against Serb targets. In other words, we may have come full circle: Air strikes prompted Serb retaliation and hostage-taking, and the promise of no more air strikes has secured the hostages' release and the opportunity for U.N. withdrawal. Again, what has been accomplished? What is the U.N. mission in Bosnia?

Meanwhile, fighting continues amid the diplomatic maneuvering. Two civilians were killed Tuesday and another wounded when five shells hit the northwestern Bosnian city of Bihac, a U.N.-declared safe area. There was also fighting near the eastern Muslim enclave of Gorazde, and two people were wounded by sniper fire in Sarajevo.

Even with the best military leaders, tactically superior troops and a trustworthy U.S. commander-in-arms, intervention in complicated ethnic, political and religious conflicts is something that demands clear objectives and proper rationale. That such an endeavor is taking place in Bosnia under the command of the United Nations, with the blessing of an American president whose foreign affairs track record is spotty at best, ought to concern all Americans.

It is time to get our troops out of Bosnia and leave this war to those factions with a vested interest in its outcome. The United States has nothing to gain be escalating its role in Bosnia and a great deal to lose.