[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 8, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                 BOSNIA

  Mr. EXON. Madam President, I will now turn to another subject, an 
overriding international subject that is on the minds of many Americans 
and many of us in the House and Senate this day. That has to do with 
Bosnia.

  Madam President, I have discussed this matter before. I say again, I 
hope that we will listen to the advice of our military leadership and 
never, ever commit American ground troops to be involved unilaterally 
or as a part of a United Nations effort to restore order there until 
and unless there is a cease-fire that looks like it has a chance to 
hold. That is not in the offing as of now.
  I will simply say to the President and our other decisionmakers that 
I hope we will be very careful and very cautious as to what we do and 
not do. Naturally, with the recent atrocities that happened there--the 
killing of civilians--there is a tendency to move and move now.
  I will simply sum up my position by saying that we should not get 
further involved there unless and until we think through what the 
ultimate situation might be. I think it might best be summed up, in my 
mind at least: Do not go without a workable goal.
  Let me repeat that: Do not go without a workable goal.
  The superpower of the United States of America cannot and should not 
be involved as the ultimate policeman of the world. On many occasions, 
I have said that I am fearful that we are becoming the police force of 
the United Nations. The United Nations has done a lot of good over 
there, I think, in many things, and certainly the efforts of the United 
Nations today have alleviated some of the problems there.
  But if we are going to enter into some arrangement with the United 
Nations and limit that only to selected bombing of gun emplacements of 
the Serbs around Sarajevo, then I think the word of our military 
leadership that has been stated over and over again will likely come to 
pass: It will not be effective.
  I simply say in using the phrase ``do not go without a workable 
goal'' that we should tell the United Nations, we should tell our 
allies in NATO that if we are going to be involved in such a situation 
with them, we have to look beyond as to what will happen if the 
selected bombing raids do not work, which I suspect they will not for a 
variety of reasons.
  I simply say, Madam President, that unless the United Nations and 
unless our NATO allies are willing and agreeable to what would happen 
as the next step if the selected bombing in the combat area does not 
work, what do we do then, it seems to me that we ought to cross that 
bridge that has been talked about very little. If the bombing starts 
there and it does not work, then I think we have a responsibility, in 
conjunction with the United Nations and our NATO allies, to agree we 
would talk about bombers and other warmaking potential of the Serbs 
throughout the former state of Yugoslavia, even to Belgrade itself.
  I am talking about warmaking essentials--communications, railroad 
yards, factories and everything else that has gone into the success of 
the Serbian aggression and ethnic cleansing, if you will, in that 
troubled part of the world. I think we should go slow, we should go 
carefully. Last week, the week before last, I chaired a meeting in the 
Armed Services Committee with our counterparts in the armed services 
committees of our NATO allies.
  I will sum up by saying I think there was much diversion, discussion, 
and division among our NATO allies, as there probably is in the United 
States. Unless we have a clear policy thought through that can have a 
chance of winning, I say, do not go.
  In closing, Madam President, let me say once again I simply warn, 
while some action might be in order, I suggest that the United States 
of America not go without a winnable goal. I thank my colleagues for 
yielding me the time, and I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Who yields time? The Senator from 
Massachusetts.

                          ____________________