[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2403-E2404]
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 UNITED STATES TROOP DEPLOYMENTS IN BOSNIA

                                 ______


                               speech of

                        HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 13, 1995

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I support House Resolution 302, but with 
one important objection. I support it because I have severe 
reservations about the President's policy and implementation plan. 
Specifically, it is not at all clear to me that the situation in Bosnia 
will be any better after our troops depart 1 year from now. This is 
because, in my view, the plan fails to articulate the kind of explicit 
objectives and success criteria necessary for the success of such a 
deployment. What exactly do we expect to achieve over the next 12 
months in order to preserve peace, and how will we know whether we've 
succeeded when the appointed exit time arrives? Unless these questions 
are answered more satisfactorily, our 

[[Page E2404]]
troops could very well be placed in harm's way on a mission based more 
on good intentions than on reasoned expectations.
  The resolution also declares that the House ``is confident that the 
members of the United States Armed Forces, in whom it has the greatest 
pride and admiration, will perform their responsibilities with 
professional excellence, dedicated patriotism, and exemplary courage,'' 
a confidence I fully share and wish deeply to express.
  However, I object to paragraph (5) of section 2 of the resolution, 
which states that ``the United States Government in all respects should 
be impartial and evenhanded with all parties to the conflict.'' I 
disagree with this provision because of my longstanding support of 
lifting the arms embargo to permit the Bosnian Government to defend 
itself against Bosnian Serb aggression, a cause for which I also have 
supported United States financial assistance. In fact, I believe that 
if anything of lasting value can be achieved by the President's plan, 
it is to achieve this necessary military balance. This paragraph 
contradicts that essential objective and I must object to its inclusion 
in a resolution otherwise deserving of support.

                          ____________________