[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 199 (Thursday, December 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S18591]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE USE OF TROOPS IN BOSNIA

  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I rise to explain why I reluctantly 
supported last night the resolution written by Majority Leader Dole and 
Senator McCain of Arizona, which authorized the use of American troops 
to implement the Dayton Framework Agreement.
  I did so with some apprehension. I have no illusions about how 
difficult this mission could be. Bosnia is a country deeply divided by 
4 years of warfare and centuries of turbulence. The terrain is rough 
and the weather fierce. Much of the land is sown with mines.
  So why do I--with some apprehension--support the Dole resolution? I 
do it because I believe implementing the Dayton Agreement is the best 
option in a very bad situation.
  Our decision would be easier if we could roll back the clock. If 
President Bush had used air power to punish Serbian aggression in 1991, 
we might not be here today. If President Clinton had persuaded our 
allies, over the past 2 years, to lift the arms embargo against Bosnia, 
we might now have the balance of power in Bosnia that the Dayton 
Agreement seeks to create. That is why I voted to lift the arms embargo 
so that Bosnia could defend itself.
  But we cannot roll back the clock; 4 years of war have passed, and 
the parties are now exhausted. Our allies opposed lifting the embargo. 
So President Clinton began a diplomatic campaign this past summer to 
broker a peace settlement. The President's leadership and American-led 
NATO air strikes produced the Dayton Agreement. President Clinton 
deserves congratulations for this historic achievement.
  Last night the Senate had to decide whether to authorize the use of 
troops to implement that agreement. Many North Dakotans have shared 
their concerns about this mission with me. So I want to take a moment 
to explain my vote to them by describing the decision that the Senate 
faced and the Dole resolution.
  Let me put my vote in the context of what is happening in Bosnia. 
Since the war began, 250,000 people have lost their lives. Two million 
people have become homeless. Innocent civilians have been slaughtered, 
and no one has been spared--not the young, not the infirm, not the 
elderly. Ethnic cleansing has raged across the land of Bosnia. 
Atrocities have been committed, by both sides. And we have reliable 
reports of horrors that we thought we had banished from Europe 50 years 
ago, such as concentration camps and mass graves.
  I agree with Senator Dole's assesment that the President has the 
constitutional authority to commit these troops for a peacekeeping 
mission. While I have serious reservations about it, it seems to me we 
ought to, as the President commits these troops, by resolution, support 
the troops themselves and create narrow restrictions under which the 
President can keep them there--that they are going only in a 
peacekeeping role.
  The President argues that other countries are sending more troops per 
capita than we are to carry out this mission. He points out that 
England is sending three times as many troops, relative to their 
population, as we are. I understand why it was difficult for the 
President to withhold a commitment of American troops to keep a peace 
that he helped negotiate and to keep a peace that will be monitored by 
virtually all other countries that belong to NATO.
  But that does not eliminate the deep reservations I have about the 
risks of this mission, and about the dangers of changing the mission 
once our troops are in place in Bosnia.
  It is true, I believe, that America is looked upon as a world leader 
that is not seeking to gain territory but is helping to promote peace. 
It is also true that with that leadership comes responsibilities. But 
our country has, in so many ways, for so many years, had to bear the 
brunt of that responsibility--to pay for the defense of Western Europe 
and to provide international leadership when others would not.
  I would have much preferred, in this circumstance, that the European 
Community would have been willing to step forward and broker a peace 
and keep the peace without having the United States expose our ground 
troops to the kind of risks we will face in the Balkan region. But the 
President has committed our country to helping to secure peace. And it 
seems to me we are in a position now where we must tell the President 
these are the conditions under which you can meet that commitment, 
which is what the Dole resolution attempts to do.
  I am not, by supporting the Dole resolution, saying that I believe 
the President made the right commitment for our country. But rather, I 
am expressing support for the troops, acknowledging that the commitment 
was made and saying that our country must now proceed to keep its word.
  Because I have real concerns about this mission I want the President 
and my colleagues to know that if a change of mission occurs in Bosnia, 
if the peace does not hold, and there is a decision our soldiers should 
become peacemakers instead of peacekeepers then I will be among the 
first in Congress to call for the immediate withdrawal of the American 
troops and to vote for a cut-off of funding, if necessary, to 
accomplish that withdrawal.
  Finally, Mr. President, let me highlight a few aspects of the Dole 
resolution that I think are important to my vote. First, the resolution 
expresses the unequivocal support of Congress for the work of our 
troops. It commends their professionalism, their bravery, and their 
sacrifice. It expresses the commitment of Congress to give them the 
tools they will need to do their job.
  Second, it states that the United States will lead an international 
effort to arm and train the Bosnian Moslems. That is important. 
American troops will be able to leave if the Bosnian Moslems are able 
to defend themselves.
  Third, the Dole resolution recognizes that American troops are going 
to Bosnia to enforce a peace agreement. They are not there to make the 
peace. The leaders of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia have decided that 
peace is their policy, and they have again attested to that decision by 
signing an agreement today in Paris. If the parties themselves abandon 
peace, then our troops should depart.
  Fourth, the resolution supports a truly multilateral operation. The 
Dayton Agreement's implementation force will be composed of 60,000 
troops from about 30 different countries, including non-NATO nations 
such as Russia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.
  This is my thinking on Bosnia, Mr. President, and these are the 
reasons why I voted for the Dole resolution last night. I hope and pray 
that my vote will help our troops fulfill their mission and will help 
speed them safely home.

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