AS THE YEAR 1995 CAME TO A CLOSE, with people around the globe in festive spirits chiming in the new year, a drama was unfolding in Bosnia that was anything but festive. The world observed, through the eyes of CNN, how a US army engineering battalion tried to cross the Sava River from Croatia into Bosnia, setting up pontoon bridges to pave the way for entry into Bosnia by the NATO implementation force (IFOR). The crossing, conducted in poor weather conditions, took days longer than anticipated. One could observe the engineers and troops battling nature in the form of mud and dirt on the banks of the Sava River. The operation symbolized a new beginning for the war-torn state of Bosnia. …