Exchange With Reporters at a Meeting With Close-Up Foundation Students From Arkansas

Bosnia

Q. Mr. President, do you care to say any more about the operational details of the airlift?

The President. No.

Q. How about explaining to the American people why it's an important issue for the United States to undertake?

The President. What?

Q. Why is it an important mission for us to put people at risk for that?

The President. Well, I'll say again, General Powell believes the risk is quite limited and not appreciably more than many training flights that our airmen do every year. It's important because we believe if—number one, there are a lot of people over there who need the food and can't get it by road, so it's a humanitarian gesture. And secondly, we think if we do it, we will be able to create a somewhat better climate for negotiations, and we're pushing to try to have good-faith negotiations. So we're hoping it works out.