[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 198 (Wednesday, December 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S18572]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               OUR TROOPS WILL SPEND CHRISTMAS IN BOSNIA

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, as I came over here tonight for the vote, 
I could feel the light snow and the chill of the wind. It made me think 
of the weather that the young men and women who we are sending to 
Bosnia will experience during their Christmas--the 19- and 20-year-old 
young men and women who love their country, and they will give their 
very lives if called upon to serve. They will spend this Christmas 
thousands of miles away from home, in the outskirts of Tuzla, Bosnia--
and they will do it gladly.
  In the idealism of youth, they will know that they are serving their 
country, and they will carry with it an enthusiasm that tells them they 
would do anything to serve this Nation and to preserve our freedom.
  I cannot help but remember the words of a movie that perhaps some 
have forgotten, a movie that some of the critics laughed at. Sylvester 
Stallone played the part of a man trying to free POW's in Vietnam. When 
he came back from the mission that some of the leaders had tried to 
thwart, he was asked by his commanding colonel what in the world he 
wanted. The words he spoke in the movie were: ``I want what every man 
who served in Vietnam wanted; I want my country to love me as much as I 
love my country.''
  Tonight we have decided to send young men and women into harm's way, 
and into a cause that is not clearly defined, and into a mission that 
is full of risk. But they will go, and they will go gladly. They will 
make us proud.
  Madam President, that love of country and that willingness to serve, 
to go anywhere and do anything for us, deserves more than a casual 
commitment from the leaders in this country; it deserves leaders that 
love those men and women as much as they love us. It deserves a 
commitment from us that is comparable to theirs. It is a commitment we 
should not take lightly. We should not send young men and women to 
their death without being fully resolved that what they might die for 
is worth the price.
  I do not believe that the mission that has been outlined is worth 
that price, and I do not believe that our leaders have that commitment. 
But the decision has been made. Those young men and women go with our 
prayers, and I will think of them this Christmas, away from home and 
facing what may be the saddest part of anyone's life--the chance of 
giving their lives for a mission that their country may not care about. 
That surely is the toughest burden that any young man or any young 
woman may ever have to face. I only pray, now that the decision is made 
and the troops are on the way, that we will not forget them, that we 
will stand beside them, that we will not deny them the weapons they 
need, that we will not refuse to go after the people who shoot after 
them, and that we will spare no effort.
  My heart was filled with joy when I heard the reaction of the French 
President when the French pilots, who had been taken prisoner, were not 
returned. He made it very clear that France would not accept their men 
not being returned in any way, or under any circumstances. Because he 
stood firm, those boys were returned. He stood up for his troops and he 
stood beside them.
  I only pray that this Nation will have the courage to do as much for 
those young men and women whose lives we put on the line.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. PRESSLER addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Dakota is recognized.

                          ____________________