February 4, 2013 – Washington, D.C. – The Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina (ACBH) congratulates the newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State, John F. Kerry – former United States Senator from Massachusetts. Secretary Kerry was the seventh most senior U.S. Senator and served as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee prior to his nomination.
As the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 election and a Vietnam War veteran, Secretary Kerry's dedication to public service is exemplary. Throughout his time in the Senate, Secretary Kerry sponsored and cosponsored hundreds of bills including a 1992 bill during the Bosnian War that aimed to deny most-favored-nation status to Serbia and Montenegro unless they ceased armed conflict and support of Serbian forces within BiH. During the deliberations over U.S. involvement in BiH in 1995, Senator Kerry stated: "I support the President's decision to send our forces to Bosnia but I believe just as firmly the President owes it to the American people and Congress to ensure that the operation is limited in terms of the mission, limited in terms of the goals we set for success, and limited in duration."
On August 3, 2009, Senator John F. Kerry, together with Senator Richard G. Lugar, introduced a bill (S.1559) in the U.S. Senate titled ˝NATO-Western Balkans Support Act of 2009.˝ This act supports the accession of the Western Balkans countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
ACBH looks forward to working with Senator John Kerry and his staff and hopes that in an effort to spread freedom and democracy across the globe, the U.S. takes a firm stand against the denials of genocide coming from Serbia and Republika Srpska (RS).
To learn more about the Secretary of State, John Kerry please click here.
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ACBH is an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the interests of Bosnian Americans and works to improve relations between the United States and BiH. ACBH advocates for a democratic, multiethnic, and indivisible BiH with a primary goal of advancing the integration of BiH into the EU and NATO.
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