[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 58 (Thursday, May 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                                 BOSNIA

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I rise today to support the proposal 
offered by Senator Mitchell regarding the crisis in Bosnia.
  As we all know, the war in Bosnia has become our most perplexing 
foreign policy challenge. What we first saw as a civil war, we now 
clearly see as essentially international aggression by one independent 
nation against another. This aggression has claimed tens of thousands 
of lives and has displaced more than 2 million people.
  It became clear to me over a year ago that the United States must 
allow Bosnia to defend itself against this aggression. And I have 
several times urged the administration to work to lift the embargo. I 
believed then and I believe now that the United Nations must abandon 
its pretense of neutrality between the two sides in this conflict. One 
nation is the aggressor; another nation is on the defensive. One side 
is killing the other. Our moral duty to lift the embargo is clear.
  The question then becomes, how best to lift the embargo?
  When Senator Dole began this debate several weeks ago, by offering 
his Bosnia proposal as an amendment to an unrelated bill, I cosponsored 
that amendment. I thought it was vital that the Senate debate whether 
to lift the arms embargo, and I was willing to support the Dole 
proposal in order to achieve that goal.
  After several weeks of discussion among Senators, we now are choosing 
between Senator Dole's approach and the alternative offered by Senator 
Mitchell. In its final form, Senator Mitchell's alternative more 
closely matches my own views on the Bosnia crisis.
  Both amendments would force the international community to revisit 
the embargo issue. If possible, we should work with our allies to lift 
the embargo through the United Nations. Senator Mitchell's proposal 
would require President Clinton to seek our allies' support for a 
resolution we would introduce at the United Nations to lift the 
embargo. If the United Nations does not approve that resolution, the 
Mitchell proposal would require President Clinton to consult with the 
Congress on lifting the embargo unilaterally.
  This multilateral process is preferable to requiring President 
Clinton to violate the U.N. arms embargo that President Bush worked to 
impose. I say this for very practical reasons. We need only look to 
Haiti to know the importance of an effective embargo. The Senate does 
not need to be reminded that we cannot ask other countries to observe 
an embargo against Iraq when we violate an embargo against Bosnia.
  I would also say that I prefer Senator Mitchell's approach because it 
provides for supplying arms to Bosnia. We must not only lift the 
embargo, but also quickly provide Bosnia with the weapons it needs for 
self-defense.
  Senator Mitchell's amendment would also specifically authorize the 
air strikes that are necessary to defend the ``safe areas'' declared by 
the United Nations. We have seen that these areas are only truly safe 
when the international community threatens to bomb attacking Serb 
forces. Congress should specifically approve these air strikes so that 
no one will doubt our resolve to safeguard the Bosnian population. 
Senator Dole's amendment is confined to the embargo issue.
  Lastly, the Mitchell proposal would prohibit the use of American 
ground troops in Bosnia. I have opposed the use of American ground 
troops since the beginning of this conflict. So it will come as no 
surprise that I view this provision as long overdue. Senator Dole's 
amendment is silent on this point, so the Mitchell proposal better fits 
my views.
  To sum up, Senator Dole's amendment has served the purpose of 
bringing the embargo issue before the Senate. But Senator Mitchell's 
current proposal, on balance, states more accurately and completely the 
kind of Bosnia policy I think we need.
  I would close by urging the administration to heed the strong Senate 
support for lifting the embargo so that the people of Bosnia can defend 
themselves.
  I yield the floor.

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