[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 11, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1768-S1769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                  NATO

  Mr. ROTH. Madam President, I rise today to respond to the charge that 
has been made in a number of newspapers over the last week--and 
particularly by

[[Page S1769]]

the New York Times--that the public, Congress, and the Senate, in 
particular, has paid inadequate attention to the policy of NATO 
enlargement.
  Few issues of national security have been as extensively examined as 
NATO enlargement. It has been the topic of countless editorials and 
opinion pieces in national and local papers. Over the last two years 
some fifteen states, including the First State, Delaware, have passed 
resolutions endorsing NATO enlargement. This policy has been formally 
endorsed by countless civic, public policy, political, business, labor, 
and veterans organizations.
  I ask unanimous consent that a list of these organizations be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the list was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                  Popular Support for NATO Enlargement


                    military/veterans organizations

       AMVETS
       The American G.I. Forum
       The American Legion
       Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA)
       Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America
       Marine Corps League
       National Guard Association of the United States
       Polish Legion of American Veterans, USA
       Reserve Officers Association of the United States (ROA)
       Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW)


               civic, policy and political organizations

       Council of State Governments
       National Governors' Association
       New Atlantic Initiative
       U.S. Committee to Expand NATO
       U.S. Conference of Mayors


                  religious/human rights organizations

       American Jewish Committee
       Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith
       Hungarian Human Rights Foundation
       Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs


                     ethnic-american organizations

       Central and East European Coalition
       American Latvian Association
       Armenian Assembly of America
       Belarussian Congress Committee of America
       Bulgarian Institute for Research and Analysis
       Congress of Romanian Americans, Inc.
       Czechoslovak National Council of America
       Federation of Polish Americans
       Estonian National Council of America
       Estonian World Council, Inc.
       Georgian Association in the U.S.A., Inc.
       Hungarian American Coalition
       Joint Baltic American National Committee
       Lithuanian American Community, Inc.
       National Federation of American Hungarians
       Polish American Congress
       Slovak League of America
       Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Inc.
       Ukrainian National Association, Inc.
       U.S.-Baltic Foundation


                      business-labor organizations

       AFL-CIO
       United States-European Union-Poland Action Commission
       International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers


                             state senates

       California
       Connecticut
       Delaware
       Georgia
       Illinois
       Massachusetts
       Michigan
       New Jersey
       Pennsylvania
       Rhode Island
       South Carolina


                     state house of representatives

       Colorado
       Illinois
       Michigan
       New Jersey


                           governor's offices

       Florida
       Illinois
       Michigan
       New Mexico
       Ohio
       Puerto Rico

  Mr. ROTH. Congress, in particular, has led the charge for NATO 
enlargement. Its committees have examined in detail the military, 
intelligence, foreign policy, and budgetary implications of this long 
overdue initiative. Since last July alone, twelve hearings have been 
conducted on NATO enlargement by the Senate committees on Foreign 
Relations, Armed Services Appropriations, and Budget. The Senate NATO 
Observer Group, which I chair with Senator Joseph R. Biden, has 
convened 17 times with, among others, the President, the Secretaries of 
State and Defense, NATO's Secretary General, and the leaders of the 
three invitee countries.
  Madam President, allow me to single out Senator Helms, the chairman 
of the Committee on Foreign Relations, for his outstanding set of eight 
hearings on this initiative. He and his colleagues on the Committee 
have produced a hearing report of some 600 pages addressing all the pro 
and con argument over NATO enlargement. And, I urge my colleagues to 
take time to examine the committee report released last week.
  This examination, in my view, has yielded unambiguous conclusions: 
The extension of NATO membership to Poland, the Czech Republic, and 
Hungary will make the Alliance stronger. It will eliminate immoral and 
destabilizing dividing lines in Europe--divisions imposed by Stalin and 
perpetuated by the cold war. And, it will expand an inclusive zone of 
peace, democracy and stability in Europe to the benefit of the United 
States and to all countries of Europe, including Russia.
  It is no surprise--indeed a matter of pride--that the Senate has 
legislatively recommended NATO enlargement some fourteen times over the 
last 4 years. Perhaps, we should be asking ourselves how can we ensure 
that all dimensions of U.S. national security policy receive this much 
public attention and endorsement?
  Before I yield the floor, I want to echo these conclusions on NATO 
enlargement by sharing with my colleagues a letter I recently received 
from Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former National Security Advisor. In 
part, Dr. Brzezinski wrote:

       Without the security that the Euro-Atlantic Alliance has 
     provided, the Franco-German reconciliation--so central to 
     Europe's peace--would never have taken place. Without NATO, 
     the ongoing German-Polish Reconciliation would not be 
     happening. With NATO enlarged, a genuine reconciliation 
     between the former Soviet satellites and Russia will be both 
     truly possible and likely.
       The fact is that a larger NATO--by resolving the fateful 
     European dilemma posed by the disproportionate power of 
     Germany and of Russia, a dilemma the Europeans have not been 
     able to resolve on their own--will create a secure framework 
     for a more comprehensive reconciliation in Europe.
       Denmark, Norway and Canada have already ratified NATO 
     enlargement. Germany is poised to do so very soon. Hesitation 
     or delay by America, not to speak of rejection, would gravely 
     undermine confidence in U.S. Leadership while strengthening 
     those who want to cut down U.S. Influence in Europe. . . .

  And Dr. Brzezinski added,

       I hate to think what message it would send to the 100 
     million Central Europeans who only recently recovered their 
     freedom.

  Dr. Brzezinski's letter--which I will submit for the Record--not only 
encapsulates the need for an enlarged NATO, it also reminds us how that 
this chamber's impending debate and vote on NATO enlargement will 
reverberate throughout the transatlantic region.
  I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                          Center for Strategic and


                                        International Studies,

                                    Washington, DC, March 4, 1998.
     Hon. William Roth,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Bill: Let me share two thoughts regarding the 
     forthcoming vote on NATO enlargement:
       1. Without the security that the Euro-Atlantic alliance has 
     provided, the Franco-German reconciliation--so central to 
     Europe's peace--would never have taken place. Without NATO, 
     the ongoing German-Polish reconciliation would not be 
     happening. With NATO enlarged, a genuine reconciliation 
     between the former Soviet satellites and Russia will be both 
     truly possible and likely. The fact is that a larger NATO--by 
     resolving the fateful European dilemma posed by the 
     disproportionate power of Germany and of Russia, a dilemma 
     the Europeans have not been able to resolve on their own--
     will create a secure framework for a more comprehensive 
     reconciliation in Europe.
       2. Denmark, Norway, and Canada have already ratified NATO 
     enlargement. Germany is poised to do so very soon. Hesitation 
     or delay by America, not to speak of rejection, would gravely 
     undermine confidence in U.S. leadership while strengthening 
     those who want to cut down U.S. influence in Europe. I can 
     just hear the crowing that would follow in Moscow, and maybe 
     even also in Paris! And I hate to think what message it would 
     send to the 100 million Central Europeans who only recently 
     recovered their freedom.
       With best regards,
           Sincerely,
                                              Zbigniew Brzezinski.




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