UP 01/05
By STEVEN HEILBRONNER
   WASHINGTON (UPI) -- Two days after he signed a pact aimed at
lowering the threat of nuclear war, President Bush travels to West
Point Tuesday to lay the groundwork for the use of military force in
the post-Cold War era.
   The remarks, at the U.S. Military Academy in New York, comprise
the second half of Bush's foreign policy valedictory, just two weeks
before leaving office.
   In his first speech on Dec. 15 at Texas A&M University, Bush
credited his administration with foresight in ending the Cold War
and trumpeted democracy's endurance over communism, which he said
was "destroyed by its own internal contradiction."
   A White House official said that in his West Point address the
president would "take the next step" with regards to the proper use
of force but avoid citing direct examples.
   "It's a broader ranging type speech than picking sides," said the
official."There are obviously a lot of situations in the 'new world
order' that could possibly require the use of force."
   Bush would define "when is it appropriate to use force in this
post Cold War world," the official said.
   The speech comes two days after Bush and Russian President Boris
Yeltsin signed a sweeping arms pact that would reduce their nation's
nuclear arsenals to one-third of the current levels by 2003.
   In his Texas speech, Bush did not revisit the doctrine he had
introduced as the "new world order" following the end of the Persian
Gulf War. Nor did he define the guiding principles of U.S. military
force, other than support for violence when U.S. vested "values" and
"interests" are threatened.
   With the massive U.S. military effort begun in Somalia Dec. 9,
Bush essentially has moved American foreign policy to a new arena,
one he acknowledged was confusing and without precedent.
   Speaking of the moral imperative of feeding a starving nation
wracked by war and deprivation, Bush said in Texas that "a failure
to respond to massive human catastrophes like those in Somalia would
scar the soul of our nation."
   He gave rise to the new, yet undefined roadmap by adding, "There
can be no single or simple set of guidelines for foreign policy --
we should help."
   But the comment raised questions about whether or not Bush
believes the United States should intervene purely for humanitarian
reasons. If Somalia today, why not Haiti and Kurdistan tomorrow?
   It also underscored that the end of an era has brought new
challenges, not the least of which is that President-elect Bill
Clinton, more than any modern president, will have to revise or
revamp the nation's foreign policy.
   The most vexing problem which is cruising for a deepening
disaster lies in the Balkans, where Serbia's aggression against
Bosnia's Muslims and Albanian minorities goes unchecked and
threatens to spread further.
   With a nod toward Bosnia and the rest of Europe, Bush said the
United States would not bear the world's "burdens all alone."
   Bush inched toward the unified front he has sought when on Sunday
he and French President Francois Mitterrand agreed on methods to
enforce the U.N. Security Council flight ban on Serbia.
   But they said military moves would await the completion of talks
among Bosnia's warring factions, which began in Geneva on Monday and
broke up hours later. They are expected to resume next weekend.