U.S. Rules Out Delay of Troop Pullout

U.S. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen warned that American troops will leave Bosnia-Herzegovina for good in mid-1998 even if Serbs, Muslims and Croats go back to war. Some European officials have suggested that a new peace force might be needed when the current NATO-led Stabilization Force leaves Bosnia. But Cohen said the U.S. would not participate in such a force because it already has committed about $6.5 billion to peacekeeping there and has other issues to face. Cohen, on his first overseas trip since replacing Defense Secretary William J. Perry, will hold talks with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and then make stops in Bosnia, Italy and Brussels.