[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 9 (Tuesday, February 10, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S584]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN WARNER ON THE NATO EXPANSION AMENDMENT

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, Senators Warner and Levin are absent 
from the Senate this week so that they can accompany Secretary of 
Defense Cohen on his trip to the Persian Gulf. They are representing 
the Armed Services Committee on this important trip, and will report 
their findings to the Committee and to the Senate leadership.
  During his absence, Senator Warner has requested that I insert the 
following statement in the Record on his behalf. I am happy to do this 
for my colleague. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Warner's 
statement be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         Statement of Senator Warner--NATO Expansion Amendment

  This past weekend I was privileged to attend the annual Wehrkunde 
Conference in Munich, Germany. A main topic of discussion at this NATO 
security conference was the issue of NATO expansion. I have 
consistently expressed my sincere concerns with this policy.
  NATO has been the most valuable and successful military alliance in 
the history of this Nation. It has worked far beyond the expectations 
of its founders--keeping peace in Europe for 50 years, and securing 
victory in the cold war. President Truman cited NATO and the Marshall 
Plan as the greatest achievements of his presidency. I am concerned 
that we not do anything to undermine the effectiveness of this great 
alliance.
  Recently, the Senate Armed Services Committee received testimony from 
former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger and former Secretary of 
State Henry Kissinger on the issue of NATO expansion. Although both 
said that the Senate should provide its advice and consent for the 
first round of expansion, they expressed a number of concerns. 
Secretary Schlesinger called this first round of NATO expansion ``a bad 
idea whose time has come.'' And Secretary Kissinger warned that we are 
in danger of transforming NATO into a ``U.N.-type instrument'' if 
expansion is not handled properly.
  It seems clear that this first round of expansion will go forward as 
planned. My concern is that we build in a mechanism to guard against 
precipitous, future expansion rounds.
  During the Wehrkunde Conference, I had the opportunity to discuss an 
idea I have been contemplating to establish a moratorium--of 3 to 5 
years--on new members being invited to join the NATO alliance, 
following the likely addition of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic 
in 1999. In my view, such a moratorium is crucial to allow NATO to 
begin the process of integrating the three new nations, and more fully 
assess the impact of this integration before proceeding with further 
expansion rounds.
  The purpose of this statement today is to promptly inform my 
colleagues of my discussions in Germany and my intent, upon returning 
from the trip with Secretary Cohen, to submit to the Senate for 
consideration an amendment which will establish a 3-year moratorium on 
future NATO expansions. This amendment will be drafted as a condition 
to the resolution of ratification, and will effectively prevent the 
United States from agreeing to any further expansion of the NATO 
alliance for a period of three years.
  I will make a full set of remarks on this amendment and seek co-
sponsors following my return. I look forward to engaging in an extended 
debate on this issue--and other aspects of NATO expansion--in the weeks 
to come.
  I thank Senator Thurmond for assisting me in making this statement a 
part of the Record during my absence on official business as part of 
Secretary Cohen's delegation to the Persian Gulf and Russia.

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