[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 116 (Tuesday, July 18, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10177-S10178]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          THE CRISIS IN BOSNIA

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, last week the Bosnian town of 
Srebrenica, a so-called U.N. protected area, fell to Bosnian Serbs. In 
scenes reminiscent of the genocide of World War II, Serb troops rounded 
up Bosnian Moslems and forcibly expelled thousands of women, children, 
and the elderly from their homes. Military-age men were held captive, 
and there are reports that some have been murdered. Rapes and other 
atrocities are reported as well.
  This week Zepa, another U.N. protected area in eastern Bosnia, is 
about to fall to the Serbs. The U.N. protected area of Gorazde is under 
attack. Serbs inside the U.N. exclusion zone around Sarajevo are 
shelling the city and killing innocent civilians in that U.N. protected 
area. In the northeast, the U.N. safe haven of Bihac remains cut off 
and threatened.
  Throughout Bosnia today, we see the triumph of Serbian aggression, 
aided and abetted by confusion and inaction on the part of the United 
Nations and the Western democracies.
  Mr. President, what is the response of the Western democracies to the 
atrocities and brutal aggression of the Serbs? The response is another 
U.N. Security Council resolution, calling on the Secretary General to 
restore the safe haven of Srebrenica. In Bosnia, the United Nations 
spokesmen issue more empty threats, hollow denunciations, and vain 
demands. It would be better to say nothing at all than to engage in 
such futile bluster, which only invites the contempt of the world.
  One definition of stupidity is to do the same thing over and over 
again and expect a different result. This certainly characterizes the 
policy of the administration and our Western allies. Its failure is 
apparent for anyone to see, 

[[Page S 10178]]
and yet we persist in following the same discredited course.
  UNPROFOR has been emasculated and cannot protect its own forces, much 
less the U.N. protected areas, which are becoming traps for desperate 
Bosnians who relied upon U.N. promises. Humanitarian aid is being 
blocked. It is clear that the Bosnian Serbs are in control of the 
situation, and the United Nations is allowed to carry out its mission 
only when the Bosnian Serbs allow it. In short, UNPROFOR cannot carry 
out the U.N. Security Council mandates that justify its presence. 
Despite good intentions and valiant efforts, UNPROFOR has failed--
failed on its own terms. Now humiliation and disgrace are compounding 
the failure.
  What does it take, Mr. President? When will the U.N., the United 
States, and our allies accept the reality that the Bosnian crisis has 
deteriorated beyond our ability to salvage it?
  Britain, France, and Holland have pinned their hopes on the new rapid 
reaction force. They are sending in 12,000 more troops to support 
UNPROFOR. Out of solidarity with our allies, the United States is 
providing sealift, airlift, and military equipment. But in my view, the 
rapid reaction force is not going to prevent the situation from 
deteriorating further, or stop the Serbs from overrunning of the safe 
havens. The rapid reaction force has been rendered ineffective before 
it ever got off the ground. As long as it remains under U.N. 
operational control it will not be rapid, nor reactive, nor even a 
force.
  I do not understand why the administration persists in supporting the 
status quo no matter how discredited the current policy becomes. 
Administration officials have testified numerous times that the United 
States does not have sufficient national interests at stake in Bosnia 
to justify sending American ground troops and becoming a combatant in 
the conflict. I agree completely, and so do the American people. 
Administration officials have also testified that the best way to serve 
the national interests of the United States is to keep UNPROFOR in 
Bosnia so that it can work to limit the suffering of the innocent, and 
to keep the conflict from spreading while the contact group seeks a 
diplomatic solution.
  I wholeheartedly support the goals of relieving the suffering and 
containing the conflict. What I can no longer support is the 
proposition that the status quo, which relies upon an ineffectual U.N. 
peacekeeping mission and more diplomatic efforts, is the best way to 
achieve these goals. I am forced to ask: How many more diplomatic 
discussions have to take place? Intense diplomacy has been going on for 
years without any resolution.
  The Administration appears to believe that the responsibility for any 
resulting disaster will fall on the United States if UNPROFOR 
withdraws. I do not agree. The world community placed the fate of 
Bosnia in the hands of the United Nations, but the United Nations has 
been unable to keep a nonexistent peace. That is no more the fault of 
the United States than of any other U.N. member. In any case, the world 
cannot be blamed for trying a collective approach. But there is plenty 
of blame to go around if the United States and our allies persist in 
following a course that has clearly failed. Increasing the number of 
U.N. peacekeepers or keeping UNPROFOR in Bosnia will only prolong the 
agony, complicate matters further, and block the possibility of other 
solutions.
  Mr. President, the situation in Bosnia is terribly complex, and there 
are no easy answers. Any course of action has potential pitfalls. But 
there is also a penalty for doing nothing, or for remaining mired in 
the status quo.
  In my view, the administration has failed to properly evaluate the 
damage to U.S. leadership and credibility, and to the Western alliance, 
from supporting the status quo. The credibility of NATO as well as of 
the United Nations have been severely undermined. It is a serious 
mistake to continue subordinating NATO to the United Nations out of a 
misguided desire to restore the United Nations lost credibility. The 
longer the present situation continues, the greater the damage to the 
health and solidarity of the Western alliance. We cannot afford to let 
NATO to become a casualty of the Bosnian tragedy.
  The fall of Srebrenica and the imminent fall of Zepa make it quite 
clear--UNPROFOR has become impotent and must withdraw. There is no 
excuse for leaving U.N. troops in such a dangerous and untenable 
position any longer. There is no excuse for continuing to incur the 
huge expense of the failed U.N. mission. We can no longer tolerate a 
policy based on denial and avoidance of reality.
  I believe it is past time for the Congress to focus its attention on 
getting the U.N. out of Bosnia. If the administration is reluctant to 
support a U.N. withdrawal because it fears a negative political 
reaction, then now is the time for Congress to show leadership, and to 
make it clear that the United States will assist in extricating our 
allies from the Bosnian quagmire. But we must work together--the 
executive branch and Congress--and reach a consensus as soon as 
possible. Further delays in getting ready to execute the NATO 
withdrawal plan will push the plan's execution into the winter months, 
making it far more difficult and dangerous for United States and NATO 
troops to carry out.
  Mr. President, Congress needs to send a clear signal now to the 
President that we will support the participation of U.S. troops in a 
U.N. withdrawal operation. Of course, as the President has agreed, it 
must be totally under NATO command. Once our troops are committed, 
there can no longer be any dual-key arrangement between the United 
Nations and NATO. There must also be robust rules of engagement, 
allowing the use of overwhelming force for any attacks on NATO or on 
UNPROFOR. The scope and duration of the withdrawal mission must be 
limited. I do not advocate a date certain for ending it, but it must 
end promptly when all UNPROFOR and NATO troops are safely out. It must 
not be transformed at some point into a peace enforcement mission.
  Mr. President, the United States cannot stand idly by while U.N. 
troops from allied nations are in mortal danger. The damage to U.S. 
leadership, honor, prestige, and credibility would be beyond 
calculation. These are not mere words. Credibility, prestige, and 
national honor are essential components of national security, as they 
have always been. They are especially important if we are to exercise 
the moral leadership expected of the world's only superpower.
  If Americans want to remain secure in today's violent and chaotic 
world, we must never permit doubts to exist in the minds of friends or 
enemies that our word is good, or that we can be relied upon to stand 
with our allies, or that we will keep our commitments. The credibility 
that comes from demonstrated steadfastness of purpose is a key aspect 
of deterrence. It is an essential though intangible element of global 
power, and of the necessary relations between states. A great nation 
cannot remain great very long without it.
  That is why we must end the charade of the U.N. presence in Bosnia, 
stand with our allies by assisting them to disengage, and then turn our 
attention to longer term solutions that will stop the agony in that 
troubled land.
  I thank the Chair, and yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senator from 
Georgia, Senator Nunn, is recognized to speak for up to 30 minutes.

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