‘Make Them Talk to Each Other’

I was at Dayton, Ohio, inside the high wire fence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base with my late husband, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Negotiations lasted 21 dramatic days. On some of them, I helped Richard and his team cajole, browbeat, and ultimately compel the assembled Balkan warlords to make peace.

Three decades ago, the Dayton Accords ended Bosnia’s savage civil war. Amid ongoing bloodletting in Ukraine and the Middle East today, this success offers enduring lessons in the very human nature of diplomacy.

Three decades ago, the Dayton Accords ended Bosnia’s savage civil war. Amid ongoing bloodletting in Ukraine and the Middle East today, this success offers enduring lessons in the very human nature of diplomacy.

I was at Dayton, Ohio, inside the high wire fence of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base with my late husband, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Negotiations lasted 21 dramatic days. On some of them, I helped Richard and his team cajole, browbeat, and ultimately compel the assembled Balkan warlords to make peace.

Dayton remains an imperfect settlement. Richard always had a Dayton II in mind. He was eager to keep Europeans and Americans focused on the region to address its unresolved problems, from corruption to continued ethnic tension. But his sudden death in 2010 prevented him from realizing this plan.

Now, the United States, NATO, and the European Union continue to enforce the original accords in