[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 199 (Thursday, December 14, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2366]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REPORT ON RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR DEBATE AND CONSIDERATION OF THREE 
         MEASURES RELATING TO U.S. TROOP DEPLOYMENTS IN BOSNIA

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                               speech of

                           HON. SAM BROWNBACK

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 13, 1995

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. Speaker, I continue to oppose President Clinton's 
plan to deploy 20,000 United States troops to Bosnia. While I want to 
end the genocide that has plagued the Balkan Peninsula for the last 4 
years, the administration's plan for achieving peace in Bosnia is 
severely flawed, and, I fear, destined to fail.
  We would not be debating whether the United States should send troops 
to Bosnia if Presidents Bush and Clinton had not supported the 
misguided international arms embargo imposed upon Bosnia. If we had 
lifted the arms embargo several years ago and imposed a no-fly-zone 
over Bosnia, the outnumbered Bosnian Serb forces would never have 
achieved military superiority over the Bosnian Government troops.
  Instead, we prevented the Bosnian Government forces from defending 
themselves while Serbia armed the Bosnian Serbs. This policy led to 
more than 200,000 deaths and created more than 2 million refugees.
  Having suffered the consequences of one bad policy decision, we now 
face another. However, this time, we are risking not only more Bosnian 
lives, but American lives as well.
  The greatest flaw in the administration's current strategy is that 
peace has not yet been achieved. There will be no peace as long as 
there are 4,000 or more foreign Moslem fighters in Bosnia. There will 
be no peace as long as the Bosnia Croats refuse to fully cooperate with 
the International War Crimes Tribunal. In addition, there will be no 
peace as long as rank-and-file Bosnina Serbs continue to oppose the 
peace plan.
  All sides in this conflict have a considerable amount of work to do 
before peace can be achieved. Until all of the parties demonstrate 
their commitment to ending the bloodshed, long-term peace will not be 
possible, regardless of the number of troops that are used to separate 
the warring parties.
  As long as there is no meaningful peace, United States troops 
deployed in Bosnia will serve as convenient targets for rogue units 
frustrated by their inability to attack their real enemy. Even though, 
as Commander in Chief, the President has the constitutional authority 
to commit United State soldiers to Bosnia, I cannot support a plan that 
does not minimize the risks to, and maximize the security of, our 
troops, especially a deployment that is not vital to our national 
security interest.
  I fully support every man and woman who has volunteered to serve in 
our armed services. I have the greatest admiration for these men and 
women, and they enjoy my unequivocal support, whether they are here or 
abroad. By deciding to deploy our troops in Bosnia under the current 
plan for a mission that is not vital to our national security 
interests, the President has not properly minimized the risks in 
military duty, and has jeopardized the credibility that our political 
leaders enjoy with our Armed Forces.

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