[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 199 (Thursday, December 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S18658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 BOSNIA

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, last night I voted in support of the 
Bosnia resolution offered by our distinguished majority leader, Senator 
Dole. and President Clinton for putting their principles above 
politics. We have a great national tradition of bipartisanship in 
foreign policy. The world must know that, when it comes to America's 
role in the world, we stand together--Republicans, Democrats, and 
independents alike--as Americans. In that regard, Senator Dole and 
President Clinton have served us very well.
  While I have deep concerns about this country's Bosnia policy, I also 
believe it is our moral and patriotic duty to stand by our troops 
already on the ground in Bosnia. These brave men and women deserve a 
strong showing of support for their work and their mission. And that is 
exactly what an overwhelming and bipartisan majority of the Senate gave 
them last night. We owed them nothing less.
  Yet I remain deeply concerned about the wording of Senator Dole's 
resolution and our mission in the former Yugoslavia. First and 
foremost, our troops are being sent to Bosnia as peacekeepers. They are 
there to enforce the terms of the peace agreement negotiated in Dayton, 
OH. And I firmly believe--for their own safety and the success of this 
mission--they must remain neutral. They must not be perceived as taking 
sides in the regional and ethnic conflict that has torn the former 
Yugoslavia apart.
  Unfortunately, I fear the resolution we voted on last night sends a 
message that our troops will not be neutral; that they will be called 
upon to help train and rearm the Bosnian Moslems; that they will be 
engaged in enterprise of nation building that failed so badly in 
Somalia. And if that happens--if our troops are anything more than 
neutral peacekeepers--this mission is destined to failure. We must not 
let that happen.
  In closing, I urge the President and our military leaders to do 
everything possible to assure the safety, neutrality, and success of 
our troops and their mission in Bosnia. And I urge everyone to say a 
prayer that they make it home soon.

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