When finally the West, and the Clinton administration in particular, became outraged enough to seriously consider military action, the Serbs quickly scurried to sign the plan, which the Bosnians and Croats had already signed.

Make no mistake, the decision to sign was motivated by fear and nothing else.

Their signature is a promising, but still essentially meaningless step. The "Bosnian Serb parliament" still must agree to the plan, and even if they do, their compliance is far from assured. Signing the plan could be nothing more than a gimmick to defuse building world pressure.

So all the talk about who deserves credit for making the Serbs capitulate is woefully premature. Military action will likely still be necessary to truly convince the Serbs that their gimmicks will no longer work. The war is far from over.

It is not "time for apologies" now, it is still time for action. When the time for apologies does come though, Vance and Owen should be near the front of the line.

When the time comes for apologies, Vance and Owen should be near the front of the line.