[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              GLARING DEFICIENCIES IN U.S. FOREIGN POLICY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 17, 1996

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, even as this administration points to 
successes in the area of foreign policy, we are watching those alleged 
successes unravel. The administration's policy toward Ireland has 
totally backfired and nearly precipitated a rupture of our relations 
with the United Kingdom. In Haiti, police who have been trained by this 
administration are now implicated in a series of political murders. The 
Middle East peace process has collapsed.
  The administration's policy toward Bosnia is even more troubling. The 
Clinton administration repeatedly has assured this body that United 
States troops would not remain in Bosnia beyond the December 20, 1996 
termination point. But our troops in Europe are now receiving orders to 
spend 1997 in Bosnia, and U.N. Ambassador Albright is backtracking as 
fast as she can on the administration's promises to the American 
people.
  And the United States now finds itself standing up to Iraqi 
aggression by itself. The alliance put together by former President 
Bush is now in tatters, and the administration seems to lack the 
elementary competence to preserve our few remaining allies. One would 
assume the administration would first consult with Kuwait before 
announcing the deployment of thousands of troops to that country, but 
that seems beyond this administration's capability.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member would ask to insert into the Record an 
editorial from the September 17, 1996 edition of the Omaha World Herald 
entitled ``U.S. Involvement in Bosnia, Iraq Seems to Rely on 
Afterthoughts.'' As the editorial correctly notes, the current collapse 
of foreign policy is what happens when the voters elect a president who 
minimizes the importance of foreign policy expertise. This Member 
commends this insightful editorial to his colleagues.

    U.S. Involvement in Bosnia, Iraq Seems to Rely on Afterthoughts

       The foremost reasons that the Founders created the 
     presidency was to give the country a head of state to command 
     the armed forces and deal with other nations. The Clinton 
     administration had not handled those responsibilities well, 
     particularly in Bosnia and Iraq.
       President Clinton is reaping the harvest from his 1992 
     campaign slogan. ``It's the economy, stupid,'' which implied 
     that George Bush's attention to foreign policy was a sign of 
     detached elitism. The flaws in Clinton's approach are now 
     showing.
       Certainly Bosnia had elections that were relatively free of 
     violence. But U.S. troops were originally scheduled to leave 
     Bosnia by Dec. 10. On Sunday, reporters asked Madeleine 
     Albright the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and 
     Secretary of State Warren Christopher whether the schedule 
     will be met. They said it was too early to say. The U.N. 
     mission will end Dec. 20, they said, but an international 
     police force will still be needed. Neither would respond to 
     questions about whether the United States would be part of 
     that police force.
       Serbs, Muslims and Croats seem as polarized as ever. The 
     peace that emerged from the Dayton negotiations is 
     artificial. From all appearances, the combatants are biding 
     their time until international troops get out of the way. 
     Then the violence and ethnic cleansing will resume. The risk 
     and expense of U.S. involvement will have been for nothing.
       Flaws are also evident in American policy in Iraq. It has 
     now come to light that Americans running a Central 
     Intelligence Agency operation in the northern Kurdish zone 
     disappeared in the middle of the night when Saddam Hussein 
     moved his forces into the region. Surprised Kurdish and Iraqi 
     associates of the Americans were left to fend for themselves.
       By some reports. 100 of those U.S. cooperators were 
     captured and executed. Apparently as an afterthought, the 
     administration persuaded Turkey to accept some of the others.
       Afterthought--that seems to be the way the White House 
     developed policy in the Persian Gulf. Hey, someone in the 
     administration seems to have said late last week, let's send 
     5,000 troops to Kuwait to show that President Clinton means 
     business. The plan was flashed around the world. But 
     apparently no one bothered to inform Kuwait. The result was 
     the spectacle of a tiny nation--one that depends on its 
     friendship with the United States to protect itself against 
     Saddam--keeping the secretary of defense waiting until 
     Monday, when clearance for the troop buildup was finally 
     granted.
       Other allies in the region have demonstrated reluctance to 
     support U.S. moves against Saddam. Sen. John McCain and other 
     critics of the administration said the administration failed 
     to lay the necessary groundwork among friendly nations for 
     such a mission.
       The administration also failed to inform Congress. Speaker 
     Newt Gingrich has said that the situation in the Middle East 
     is almost too muddled to help Clinton find a way out. 
     Gingrich said the White House should back up, consult with 
     the bipartisan leadership of Congress and meet with the gulf 
     war allies in the Middle East to develop a coherent 
     philosophy for dealing with Iraq. He said the United States 
     must know before it acts that other nations will come to its 
     support.
       Of course it must know. Gingrich's view is self-evident. 
     The fact that the White House does things differently shows 
     what can happen when the voters elect a president who 
     minimizes the importance of foreign policy expertise.

                          ____________________