"We've had it very clear to the Bosnians that our obligation to equip and train their forces is completely conditional on the foreign forces being gone"

The quote by Warren Christopher, a previous U.S. Secretary of State, shows a conditional position taken by the United States government concerning its support for Bosnian forces throughout the Bosnian War, a dispute that happened in the early 1990s following the breakup of Yugoslavia. The quote recommends that the U.S. wanted to support the Bosnian government in strengthening its military abilities through gearing up and training, however this assistance was explicitly contingent upon the elimination of foreign forces from Bosnia.

In the context of the Bosnian War, "foreign forces" likely describes the participation of external military systems, such as those from Serbia and possibly mercenaries or worldwide jihadist volunteers who had signed up with the fray on Bosnian soil. The U.S. position highlights a crucial element of global diplomacy and military intervention: the requirement for regional stability and self-sufficiency as requirements for external assistance.

Christopher's statement highlights the significance of Bosnian sovereignty and autonomy in fixing the conflict. By making U.S. help conditional on the lack of foreign forces, it strengthens the idea that enduring peace and self-determination in Bosnia might not be attained under the impact or pressure of external military entities. This condition aimed to encourage a political solution that appreciated nationwide borders and reduced external influence, which was a crucial action towards accomplishing a thorough peace contract like the Dayton Accords, which eventually brought an end to the dispute in 1995.

Moreover, the quote shows wider U.S. foreign policy principles of the time, which favored multilateral arrangements and conditional assistance to make sure that American intervention resulted in sustainable and self-dependent outcomes in post-conflict areas. In essence, it reveals the complexities and strategic factors to consider involved in international military help and the complex balancing act of promoting peace while preventing becoming entangled in drawn-out foreign conflicts.