[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 203 (Monday, December 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2378-E2379]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   BOSNIA SHOULDN'T GET AN EASY NOD JUST BECAUSE SERVICE IS VOLUNTARY

                                 ______


                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 18, 1995

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member commends to his colleagues an 
editorial which appeared in the Omaha World-Herald on November 11, 
1995.

              [From the Omaha World-Herald, Dec. 11, 1995]

   Bosnia Shouldn't Get an Easy Nod Just Because Service Is Voluntary

       A detestable idea has crept into the discussion of 
     President Clinton's Bosnia mission. Some defenders of the 
     president's position stress the fact that the U.S. armed 
     forces are all-volunteer. The implication is that volunteers 
     asked for it if they wind up in an unpleasant or dangerous 
     situation.
     
[[Page E2379]]

       Any such thought should be put aside immediately. The 
     safety of the armed forces is one of the primary concerns 
     whenever they are sent into the field. The fact that the 
     troops are volunteers instead of draftees should make no 
     difference.
       It apparently makes a difference to some people. The idea 
     that Vietnam was bad because draftees were used, while Bosnia 
     is of little concern because the armed forces are all-
     volunteer, has appeared in forums including broadcast talk 
     shows and the Public Pulse. Jack Germond, a liberal 
     syndicated columnist, mentioned the volunteer status of the 
     troops on ``The McLaughlin Group.''
       Indeed, President Clinton, in his televised speech asking 
     for support for the Bosnia mission, said that ``my most 
     difficult duty is to put the men and women who volunteered to 
     serve our nation in harm's way when our interest and values 
     demand it.''
       Why was it necessary to remind his audience that these were 
     volunteers? Does Clinton, who avoided the draft, see 
     volunteers as something different? Certainly it doesn't come 
     as news to the public that the armed forces consist of career 
     and professional soldiers as opposed to draftees. That has 
     been true for more than 20 years.
       When Americans lay wreaths on Memorial Day, they don't ask 
     whether each fallen soldier was a volunteer or a draftee. 
     Their deaths are equally profound. Mothers, fathers, wives 
     and siblings of volunteers grieve no less. Their children 
     suffer an equal loss.
       Clinton is sending American troops into a harsh and 
     dangerous land. Booby traps and land mines litter the 
     countryside. The potential for terrorism is high. Roads and 
     airports are in ruins. Water supplies are undependable. The 
     terrain is rugged, with deep mountain valleys and dense 
     forests. Winter brings bone-chilling cold and almost 
     impenetrable fog.
       Many Serbs who live in Bosnia have vowed to fight until the 
     lawful government of their country is brought down. The 
     Muslims who control that government have brought in shadowy 
     fighters from Iran, Afghanistan and Libya, among other 
     places. The government has agreed to ask those fighters to 
     leave. But will they leave?
       The question is whether Americans should be sent into this 
     impossible situation. Even those who volunteered to serve.

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