We are arming and training the forces of the Muslim-Croat Federation.

It will take many months, the minister said, to work out the details of merging his government's institutions with those of the Muslim-Croat Federation.

So did the new Muslim-Croat Federation brought into being by the United States.

The Croatian and Muslim parties led a combined attack against the moderates in the Muslim-Croat Federation, he said.

Bosnia, now divided into a Bosnian Serb republic and a Muslim-Croat Federation, is under international administration.

The Muslim-Croat Federation created last year under Washington's sponsorship remains a fiction.

Bosnia's intelligence service, which was set up during the war, was supposed to come under control of the Muslim-Croat Federation.

The internationally created Muslim-Croat Federation has no authority and has been unable to raise revenues.

The move is meant to strengthen the Muslim-Croat Federation so American forces can withdraw from Bosnia within a year.

The admiral said the police officers could remain as long as they respected the laws of the Muslim-Croat Federation.