Military Chiefs to Meet, Review Bosnia Options : Balkans: Allied officials to gather in London. On the agenda: a French call for intervention.

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. and allied military leaders will meet in London on Sunday to review options for possible military intervention to stop the Bosnian Serb assault on Muslims in U.N.-designated “safe areas” in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the White House said Friday.

White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said the major North Atlantic Treaty Organization military chiefs will address a range of issues, including U.S. questions about a French call for stepped-up Western military action in the Balkans.

The announcement came after President Clinton’s top foreign policy and military advisers met for 2 1/2 hours to discuss the situation in Bosnia, which deteriorated further Friday as the Serbs attacked a second U.N.-protected enclave.

Immediately after the session, the White House announced that Clinton had dispatched Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to the meeting in London, which was called by British Prime Minister John Major.

The Administration remained cautious about the prospect of providing additional U.S. help for any Bosnia intervention.

U.S. officials said the meeting Sunday apparently will satisfy a deadline set by French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday for the allies to respond within 48 hours or face a French pullout from the Balkans.

There were no details about what the allied military leaders might be considering. But McCurry listed questions relating to the nature of such a mission, the chain of command to be used, the duration of any intervention and the likelihood for success.

Also unsettled was the list of countries whose military leaders would attend. The current list includes the United States, Britain and France, but officials said that other governments, such as the Netherlands, which has troops in Bosnia, will be invited.

Officials said that after the military leaders have prepared their recommendations, the foreign ministers of the same countries will meet separately in London, probably in the middle of next week, to make final decisions.

The U.S. decision to send a representative to Sunday’s session in London appeared to be the only one to come out of the meeting of Clinton’s advisers Friday.

Clinton did not attend the meeting but was briefed later by National Security Adviser Anthony Lake, McCurry said. In addition to Lake and Shalikashvili, Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Defense Secretary William J. Perry also attended the meeting.

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Earlier, the Administration had appeared to respond almost hesitantly to Chirac’s call for new allied military action. At a news briefing, State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns said that Washington needs “a more precise understanding of what the request is” before making commitments. He said the Administration expects to reply in “a matter of days.”

Chirac said that if the Western powers did not agree to intervene, he might pull French peacekeeping troops out of Bosnia--setting the stage for a full-fledged U.N. withdrawal.

Chirac turned up the heat on the allies Friday by describing the United Nations as a body suffering “congenital impotence.”

Chirac appealed to the major powers to make an effort to defend Gorazde, a third Muslim enclave southeast of Sarajevo. “If no one wants to engage enough to retake Srebrenica, we must at least guarantee the Gorazde enclave with a real defense,” he said. “If we are to leave as soon as the first Serb arrives, then it’s useless to pretend to make an effort.”

Clinton has come under increased criticism over the deteriorating situation in Bosnia, both from those who complain that the Administration is not acting forcefully enough and from those who want the allies to pull out and end a U.N. arms embargo in the Balkans. Critics say the embargo hurts the Muslim government in Bosnia, which is generally less well armed than the Serbs.

McCurry said the President still is determined to keep U.S. ground forces out of the fray, except to help evacuate peacekeeping troops should Britain, France and others decide to withdraw their U.N. forces.

Administration officials have said that if the allies want to intervene militarily against the Serbs they should use the 12,500-member European rapid-reaction force now being assembled in Croatia. But that force is not expected to be ready until early August.

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Administration officials have indicated they are resigned to the fall of Zepa, which came under attack Friday by Serbian forces. The Bosnian Serbs took Srebrenica, another U.N. safe area, earlier this week.

Although Administration officials deny it, private analysts have speculated that the allies’ next step will be to allow the other eastern enclaves--Tuzla and Gorazde--to fall and then consolidate U.N. peacekeepers in central Bosnia, where it is easier to protect them.

Burns reaffirmed that despite the American appearance of caution, U.S. officials “do stand ready to support our allies who have troops on the ground in Bosnia.”

Times staff writers Doyle McManus and Norman Kempster in Washington and Tyler Marshall in Brussels contributed to this report.