According to Richard Johnson, who headed the State Department Yugoslavia desk from 1990 to July 1992, the reason for avoiding the term is obvious: “Senior US government officials know that Serb leaders are waging genocide in Bosnia but will not say so in plain English because this would raise the pressure of US action.” “State Dept. Official Says US Ignores ‘Genocide’ in Bosnia,” New York Times, 4 February 1994, A4.

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