CALLING WASHINGTON

The U.S. may meet the Bosnian demands with or without consent of the U.N., which has withheld approval of NATO airstrikes precisely because the Serbs have retaliated by taking U.N. hostages. At an Oval Office meeting today, White House advisers said they would ask a crucial, six-nation meeting Friday in London for unilateral permission tostep up NATO attackson the Serb positions and a new command structure that bypasses the U.N. The White House is also considering a European request to broaden the U.S. military commitment in Bosnia by transporting European U.N. troop reinforcements into the war zone. But TIME's J.F.O. McAllister says the White House has already voiced doubts that the 1,000 U.S. soldiers sought by Europe would suffice. Instead, he says, "the U.S. is likeliest to reinforce Sarajevo instead and try to break the siege there. It's the least militarily risky option and the most likely to succeed."