[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 199 (Thursday, December 14, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2369]
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

                                 ______


                               speech of

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 13, 1995

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, for me, the most important priority 
is to support our servicemen and women. The President has made the 
decision, and while I am angry that he made it without consultation 
with Congress and the American people, we need to back them 100 
percent.
  Our actions tonight should send this message loudly and clearly to 
them as they prepare to go. Because 25 years ago, I was one of them in 
Vietnam. I was sent on a mission that bitterly divided this country and 
this House.
  But I learned then, as I know now, that our troops deserve nothing 
less than the undivided support of this House and all the resources 
necessary to support their mission.
  Please support the Buyer resolution.
  We have all seen vivid and shockingly graphic pictures from Bosnia, 
but my visit there made the issue intensely human. I spoke with our 
troops on their way to the region from Germany, met with the Balkan 
leaders, wore a flak jacket, and took a bumpy bus ride into war-torn 
Sarajevo. No doubt, watching CNN and seeing things live are completely 
different. No longer is this a civil war in a faraway land, it is 
32,000 American troops going into a historically troubled region as 
peacemakers.
  President Clinton made that decision. He made it without 
congressional approval, but as Commander in Chief he has the authority 
to do this. In fact, it became clear that he made this decision long 
ago, since we learned from our troops that their training for this 
mission began more than 6 to 8 months prior to the Dayton peace talks. 
We are going to Bosnia, and in some areas our soldiers are already 
there.
  On November 30, I was selected to join a bipartisan congressional 
delegation to survey the Bosnian situation. Our trip was organized in 
response to concerns in Congress that the White House had not kept us 
informed of this major policy decision in a proper and timely manner. 
Indeed, State Department and Pentagon officials were dispatched to 
Capitol Hill just 1 day before we boarded our plane to Serbia.
  We went with objectives--ours was a true fact-finding mission. Before 
leaving, we were briefed by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the chief 
U.S. negotiator at the Dayton peace accords. We were to meet with 
Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian leaders to solidify their support for 
the peace accord and to get their assurances that United States forces 
would be protected. Our foremost objective was to verify that our 
troops would have the training, equipment, and resources necessary to 
defend and protect themselves.
  We met with Serbian President Milosevic, Croatian President Tudjman 
and Bosnian President Izetbegovic. They remain committed to the peace 
agreement, pledged their support of protection for U.S. troops, and 
shared the fact that their citizens were truly weary from war. They 
said Americans were considered to be even-handed and that our military 
presence was vital for peace. Despite their words, they remain suspect 
due to past broken promises, and because facts show that these were 
indeed the very warmakers that caused 250,000 deaths in over 3\1/2\ 
years of ethnic and religious strife. As President Reagan used to say, 
``trust but verify.''
  Our trip to Sarajevo is one I'll never forget. We landed at the 
airport which was little more than a small pitted concrete platform 
surrounded by sandbags and bunkers. After an escort of U.N. armored 
vehicles was assembled, we boarded a bus and headed toward the city. We 
went through four Bosnian Serb armed checkpoints and saw defused land 
mines along the roadside which had previously lined our path. Along our 
well-protected route, the pictures came to life--buildings blown apart, 
people milling around, and everywhere burned out buses, trolleys, and 
cars. The 8-mile trip took almost 45 minutes.
  What was left of the architectural beauty of structures from the time 
of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or the towering high-rise buildings 
built during Marshall Tito's 30-year-reign, was now a twisted 
combination of bombed-out building shells, collapsed factories, or 
acres of roofless and pockmarked houses. Sarajevo is undoubtedly a 
scarred survivor.
  I remember, too, the stories of no food, heat, or fresh water, and 
the chilling testimonials of snipers killing pedestrians in the street 
and marketplace. There were constant reminders of the 2\1/2\ million 
refugees who were either burned and bombed out of their houses and 
communities, or simply fled the area with terror.
  After this eye-opener, we flew to Naples, Italy, for a briefing by 
the U.S. Southern Commander of NATO forces, Adm. Leighton Smith. He 
told us that our troops would be able to defend themselves, would be 
fully equipped, and that the military mission was limited to a year. 
``American troops would be enforcing a peace'', he said, ``not fighting 
a war.'' He was honest, however, and reminded us that this mission was 
not without risk.
  Our final stop was the most moving--meeting with our young soldiers 
in Germany who will go to Bosnia in mid-December. I had lunch with two 
soldiers from New Jersey, one a very young woman, perhaps early 20's, 
from Burlington County and the other a slightly older man from Bergen 
County. Both were professional, well-trained, and motivated. Still, I 
sensed apprehension--the same apprehension I felt 25 years ago as a 
young private headed to Vietnam.
  This encounter placed everything in perspective and literally put a 
human face on this situation. For me, the most important priority for 
us is to support our servicemen and women. They are Americans, with 
over 80,000 family members on the homefront.
  No question, the President should better define our national interest 
in Bosnia and explain what our total commitment will be. I feel he has 
an obligation to the families of our troops and all Americans to 
outline the specific objectives of this mission.
  But while we can argue about his policy, which I do remain skeptical 
about, the fact is that the decision has been made and American 
soldiers, our soldiers, are going. And since they are going, we need to 
support them 100 percent. They deserve nothing less.

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