WASHINGTON, D.C. : Bosnia NATO Chief to Be Replaced

President Clinton has nominated Vice Adm. Joseph Lopez to replace Adm. Leighton W. Smith as commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces in Bosnia and Southern Europe and of U.S. naval forces in Europe, the Pentagon announced. Navy Capt. Michael Doubleday, a Pentagon spokesman, said Smith, 56, had already served well beyond the normal end of his tour in April and that Lopez, also 56, will probably take over in a matter of weeks. The announcement followed flat denials in Bosnia-Herzegovina, elsewhere in Europe and in Washington of a report that Smith had already resigned.