[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 53 (Thursday, May 5, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: May 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
REVITALIZING THE NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Hyde] is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, in the last five years momentous events have
recast the landscape of Europe, and indeed the world. The ``Iron
Curtain''--so long a symbol of the bankruptcy of communist ideology--
has been pulverized and sold off in small chunks, a triumph of free
enterprise over totalitarianism. The Soviet Union has collapsed under
its own weight without a shot being fired and from its destruction a
dozen independent states have emerged. The Warsaw Pact--once a mighty
and feared military alliance spreading from the Arctic Ocean to the
Mediterranean Sea--is no more.
These historic events were in no small part due to the enduring
strength of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the sustained
commitment of its member countries. Founded in 1949, the NATO alliance
served as the West's primary defensive bulwark against Moscow's amply
demonstrated aggressive posture. However, in the wake of the Cold War,
NATO's mission lacks the clarity it once had. Some argue that there is
no further need to maintain the alliance, that it has outlived its
purpose. Furthermore, the role of the United States in NATO has been
called into question. Even during the height of East-West tension there
were calls in Congress to reduce or eliminate the presence of U.S.
military forces in Europe. Even as our forces in Europe decline from a
high of 434,000 in the early 1960's to a projected level of 100,000 by
next year, those calls continue to be heard.
Unfortunately, the world has not suddenly evolved into a utopian
paradise with chamber music playing softly in the background. In place
of the dangers posed by communist domination, new threats have emerged
to the shared interests of the United States and other NATO countries.
These threats are of lower intensity, more widespread, and less
predictable. But, they can be ignored only at great peril.
Proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass
destruction and the means to deliver them are of serious concern and
may soon require bold actions on our part. Furthermore, several
undemocratic and hostile regimes including North Korea, Iran, Iraq, and
Libya pose serious threats to the West and to the global economy on
which a stable energy supply and the free flow of commerce are
dependent. Some feel that we can turn to the United Nations to deal
with these threats. But, the limits of U.N. capability have only too
vividly been revealed over the past year.
The NATO alliance, on the other hand, has a proven track record of
effective political cooperation and military interoperability that can
help protect our mutual interests without an undue burden falling on
the United States. This was demonstrated by the success with which NATO
member countries coalesced in joint military operations to liberate
Kuwait in 1991. While many other nations participated in allied
operations in the Persian Gulf war, NATO members formed the core
military components that ensured victory.
NATO has been a dynamic and evolving organization expanding on three
different occasions in its forty-five year history. Since the collapse
of communism, several countries in Central and East Europe have
expressed interest in NATO membership. These include the Visegrad
countries of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic and the
Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. While immediate
admission for these and other countries may not be feasible or
desirable, the alliance should establish guidelines for eventual
admission. As many European countries reach out to the West seeking to
share our values and participate in our mutual defense, we should not
simply turn a blind eye for fear of sending the wrong message to
Moscow. A new NATO that includes former Warsaw Pact members would be no
more a threat to Russia than the old NATO--which was, and which will
remain, a defensive alliance. We should establish tough, but
appropriate standards for interested countries to meet in order to be
invited to join the alliance. We should be firm, but we should also be
willing to work with prospective members to assist them in reaching
those standards.
There has been little discussion in the Congress and the Executive
Branch on these crucial issues, and I believe their consideration is
long overdue. I am today introducing the ``NATO Revitalization Act''
expressing United States policy with respect to the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization. My bill states that it should be the policy of the
United States to continue our commitment to and active leadership role
in NATO and to join with our NATO allies to redefine the role of the
alliance in the post-Cold War world. It further states that it should
be U.S. policy to urge NATO to support the eventual expansion of
alliance membership to other European countries that meet appropriate
standards including shared values and interests, democratic
governments, free market economies, civilian control of the military,
and a willingness to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic
area. It urges NATO to establish benchmarks and a timetable for
eventual membership for selected countries in transition. Lastly, it
urges NATO to affirm that the organization's military planning should
include contingencies beyond the NATO area when the shared interests of
the United States and other member countries require such action to
defend vital interests.
This legislation is not carved in granite or printed with indelible
ink. It is not binding on the President or his Administration. It is
intended to be a point of departure, not necessarily the destination,
itself. Nonetheless, I think it represents a solid basis for NATO's
future in the post-Cold War world. This bill is not intended to a
critique of the Clinton Administration or the recently announced
``Partnership for Peace'' program. Instead, it offers a road map that
extends beyond the limited scope of that initiative without prejudicing
its merits. It is intended to stimulate both policymakers and the
American people to engage in a thorough exploration and a vigorous
debate of these important issues involving the security of the United
States and our allies. The bill follows:
H.R. --
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``NATO Revitalization Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) for over 40 years, the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization has helped guarantee the security, freedom, and
prosperity of the United States and our partners in the
alliance;
(2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has expanded its
membership on 3 different occasions since its founding in
1949;
(3) the steadfast and sustained commitment of the member
countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to mutual
defense against the threat of communist domination played a
significant role in precipitating the collapse of the Iron
Curtain and the demise of the Soviet Union;
(4) in the place of that threat, new security threats are
emerging to the shared interests of the member countries of
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
(5) although these new threats are more geographically and
functionally diverse and less predictable, they still imperil
shared interests of the United States and our North Atlantic
Treaty Organization allies;
(6) Western interests must be protected on a cooperative
basis without an undue burden falling upon the United States;
(7) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is the only
multilateral organization that is capable of conducting
effective military operations to protect Western interests;
(8) the valuable experience gained from ongoing military
cooperation within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
critical to the success of joint military operations in the
1991 liberation of Kuwait;
(9) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an important
diplomatic forum for discussion of issues of concern to its
member states and for the peaceful resolution of disputes;
(10) admission of Central and East European countries that
have recently been freed from Communist domination to the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization could contribute to
international peace and enhance the security of those
countries;
(11) a number of countries including the Visegrad countries
(the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) and the
Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), have
expressed interest in North Atlantic Treaty Organization
membership; and
(12) in recognition of this interest, the ``Partnership of
Peace'' proposal offers limited military cooperation to many
European countries not currently members of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, without establishing benchmarks
or guidelines for eventual North Atlantic Treaty Organization
membership.
SEC. 3. UNITED STATES POLICY.
It should be the policy of the United States--
(1) to continue our commitment to and active leadership
role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
(2) to join with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization
allies to redefine the role of the alliance in the post-Civil
War world, taking into account--
(A) the fundamentally changed security environment of
Central and Eastern Europe,
(B) the need to assure all countries of the defensive
nature of the alliance and the desire of its members to work
cooperatively with all former adversaries,
(C) the emerging security threats posed by the
proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of
mass destruction and the means to deliver them,
(D) the continuing challenges to the interests of all North
Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries posed by
unstable and undemocratic regimes harboring hostile
intentions, and
(E) the dependence of the global economy on a stable energy
supply and the free flow of commerce;
(3) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to
support the eventual expansion of alliance membership to
European countries that meet appropriate standards,
including--
(A) shared values and interests,
(B) democratic governments,
(C) free market economies,
(D) civilian control of the military,
(E) adherence to the values, principles, and political
commitments embodied in the Helsinki Final Act of the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and
(F) commitment to further the principles of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization and to contribute to the
security of the North Atlantic area;
(4) to urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization--
(A) to extend membership to countries that meet the
standards set forth by the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, and
(B) to establish benchmarks and a timetable for eventual
membership for selected countries in transition; and
(5) to affirm the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
military planning should include joint military operations
beyond the geographic bounds of the alliance under Article 4
of the North Atlantic Treaty when the shared interests of the
United States and other member countries require such action
to defend vital interests.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Gingrich] is recognized for 5 minutes.
[Mr. GINGRICH addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter
in the Extensions of Remarks.]
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