[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 89 (Friday, May 26, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1137]]

                       NATO AIRSTRIKES IN BOSNIA

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 1995
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I welcome reports that NATO 
planes struck targets near the Bosnian Serb stronghold of Pale today 
after militant forces ignored a U.N. ultimatum to surrender heavy 
weapons they seized from U.N. weapons dumps around Sarajevo earlier 
this week. According to Reuters, six aircraft, including U.S. 
warplanes, bombed a Bosnian Serb ammunition depot in response to a 
request from U.N. peacekeepers. This rare display of muscle to quell 
attacks against Sarajevo, a U.N.-designated safehaven, is long overdue. 
Perhaps these airstrikes signal a resolve by the international 
community to take a firm stand against armed aggression and those 
responsible for genocide in Bosnia.
  I applaud the Clinton administration for fully backing the NATO raids 
which were a response to what Secretary of Defense Perry characterized 
as reprehensible attacks around the Bosnian capital. Mr. Speaker, it is 
high time that determined action, such as today's airstrikes, be 
directed against those who flagrantly defy the will of the 
international community, as the Bosnian Serbs have repeatedly done.


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