[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 55 (Thursday, April 25, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E623-E624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    CLINTON'S BLIND EYE TOWARD IRAN

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 1996

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House Committee 
on International Relations held a timely hearing on U.S. policy toward 
Bosnia which delved into charges that the Clinton administration 
tacitly allowed Iran to ship arms to Bosnia via Croatia. Unfortunately, 
there were more serious questions raised during the course of that 
hearing than were answered by administration representatives.

[[Page E624]]

  As the House sponsor of a bipartisan effort to lift the arms embargo 
against Bosnia, I am extremely concerned about the implications and 
consequences of such a policy should these allegations indeed be 
substantiated. It is ironic that President Clinton apparently was 
willing to turn a blind eye toward Iran while blocking a majority in 
the Congress--a bipartisan majority--that called for the United 
States--not Iran--to take the lead in upholding Bosnia's legitimate and 
fundamental right to defend itself.
  Should the Bosnians have been given the means to defend themselves in 
the face of aggression and genocide? Absolutely. Should those arms have 
come from Iran? Absolutely not.
  In the past few years, Members from both sides of the aisle put aside 
their differences to respond to the senseless slaughter of innocent 
civilians by well-armed Serb militants in Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
Repeatedly we raised our voices calling upon the President to display 
determined U.S. leadership in the face of aggression and genocide. 
These calls were repeatedly rebuffed. When we voted in overwhelming 
support to lift the arms embargo, we were told by the White House that 
such an action was not in the interest of the United States as it would 
lead to an ``Americanization'' of the conflict, result in the 
deployment of thousands of U.S. troops, and undermine the U.S. Security 
Council.
  Mr. Speaker, when all is said and done, the fundamental issue at 
stake here--as in so many other instances--is one of leadership.
  For nearly 3 years the Clinton administration, like the one before 
it, largely passed the buck on Bosnia. The Europeans, for their part, 
raised the specter of Islamic fundamentalism as an excuse for inaction. 
Mr. Speaker, it is inexplicable how turning a blind eye toward Iran--a 
terrorist state--was in the interest of the United States.
  Regrettably, the international community and the United States 
refused to undertake meaningful action themselves to end the genocide 
or to provide the Bosnians with the means to defend themselves. By 
default at best, and with U.S. acquiescence at worst, Teheran was 
allowed to fill in the gap resulting from the failure of the Clinton 
administration to act and to lead. By turning a blind eye in this 
instance, President Clinton has unwittingly strengthened a small 
nationalist minority in Bosnia at the expense of those truly committed 
to the preservation of a multiethnic state; damaged our position in the 
United Nations; and potentially expose the 20,000 American troops he 
ordered to Bosnia to even greater danger.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the House leadership for pursuing this matter 
given its implications for U.S. interests in the Balkans and beyond.

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