This occurred far earlier than it had in the Bosnia conflict, and in the end, Mr. Clinton agreed to take on Mr. Milosevic over Kosovo.

When pressed for specifics, most voters did not cite domestic woes but, surprisingly, said they were particularly troubled by Mr. Clinton's handling of the Bosnia conflict.

Earlier in the Bosnia conflict, in 1994, the threat of NATO bombing persuaded the Serbs to stop pounding Sarajevo with heavy artillery.

"He called me a lot during the Bosnia conflict," Mr. Dole said.

In the early years of the Bosnia conflict, in 1992 and 1993, his neutrality openly warred with his sense of right and wrong.

Sir David Hannay, Britain's chief delegate to the United Nations, likens the Bosnia conflict to the long standoff between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

As the negotiations headed for more sessions, some similarities with the diplomacy that ended the Bosnia conflict were being drawn.

An estimated 100,000 Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims were killed in the Bosnia conflict.

The Bosnia conflict is an intractable quagmire.

Defense Secretary William J. Perry is wary of being drawn into the Bosnia conflict.