[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 24, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E451-E452]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 STATEMENTS BY SECRETARIES ALBRIGHT AND COHEN, AND BY CHAIRMAN SHELTON 
         OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF, ON U.S. POLICY IN BOSNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 24, 1998

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, in connection with last week's debate on 
House Concurrent Resolution 227, Secretary of State Albright and 
Secretary of Defense Cohen sent a letter in opposition to that 
resolution. I believe that their letter, and the letter I received from 
General Shelton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, detail the 
importance of the NATO mission in Bosnia, and detail the very harmful 
consequences for the United States and for peace in Bosnia if U.S. 
troops were to be pulled out at this time.***P***The text of their 
letters follow:

     Honorable Richard Gephardt,
     Minority Leader, House of Representatives.
       Dear Mr. Gephardt: We are informing you of our strong 
     opposition to H. Con. Res. 227, as amended, directing the 
     withdrawal of United States forces in Bosnia. The House will 
     consider this matter on March 18.
       We oppose this concurrent resolution for both policy and 
     legal reasons. As a policy matter, this resolution would 
     fundamentally undermine our efforts in Bosnia. It would 
     encourage those who oppose Dayton and would send the wrong 
     signal to Serbia about U.S. resolve at exactly the time that 
     concerns about destabilization in Kosovo are mounting. It 
     would totally undercut our ability to implement the Dayton 
     Accords and thereby dramatically lessen regional stability.
       The President's decision that the United States should 
     participate in a NATO-led multinational force in Bosnia after 
     SFOR's current mandate expires has already begun to affect 
     the calculations of even the most hardened Bosnian opponents 
     of the peace accords. If we disengage militarily from Bosnia 
     now, the momentum we have built will stop. The result could 
     be a return to war.
       As a legal matter, the resolution is based on a part of the 
     War Powers Resolution--section 5(c)--that is 
     unconstitutional. We recognize that there have long been 
     differences of opinion about the constitutionality and wisdom 
     of the 60-day withdrawal provisions of section 5(b) of the 
     War Powers Resolution. But there has been widespread 
     agreement that section 5(c) is inconsistent with the Supreme 
     Court's 1983 decision in Chadha v. INS. Under Chadha, 
     Congress cannot create a legal requirement binding on the 
     Executive branch through a concurrent resolution, but may 
     only act through a resolution passed by both Houses and 
     submitted to the President for signature or veto.
       We also note that, even if section 5(c) were 
     constitutional, it would not apply here because by its own 
     terms it applies only to situations where U.S. forces are 
     ``engaged in hostilities''. In fact, U.S. forces in Bosnia 
     are performing peacekeeping functions and are not engaged in 
     hostilities. The Dayton Peace Accords, which ended the 
     previous armed conflict in the former Yugoslavia, were 
     initialed on November 21, 1995--before the deployment of IFOR 
     or SFOR. From that point to the present, there have been only 
     sporadic criminal acts against U.S. forces which do not 
     constitute ``hostilities'' for the purpose of the War Powers 
     Resolution, and there have been no U.S. fatalities from these 
     acts. Our presence in Bosnia is with the consent of the 
     relevant parties under the Dayton Accords.
       Finally, one stated purpose of the proposed resolution is 
     to provide a basis for a federal court suit to address the 
     constitutionality of various aspects of the War Powers 
     Resolution. In the past, federal district courts have 
     declined to accept such suits on a variety of legal grounds, 
     including standing, ripeness, political question, and 
     equitable discretion. Whatever the district court's response 
     might be in this case, such a proceeding--and the appeals 
     that might follow--would create a prolonged period of 
     considerable uncertainty about U.S. intentions with respect 
     to Bosnia that would have a serious harmful effect on the 
     stability of the situation in that country during a critical 
     time.
       For all these reasons we urge you and other Members of 
     Congress to oppose this

[[Page E452]]

     concurrent resolution and thereby avoid putting in jeopardy 
     the important work of stabilizing the troubled Balkan region.
           Sincerely,
     Madeleine K. Albright,
       Secretary of State
     William S. Cohen,
       Secretary of Defense.
                                                   Chairman of the


                                        Joint Chiefs of Staff,

                                   Washington, DC, March 18, 1998.
     Hon. Lee H. Hamilton,
     Committee on International Relations, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Hamilton: Thank you for your letter of 18 March 
     and the opportunity to express my thoughts on the importance 
     of our mission in Bosnia.
       Pulling US forces out of Bosnia would cripple the mission 
     at a critical time when we are achieving success in that 
     troubled country. A US withdrawal would send the wrong 
     signals to our NATO allies and the wrong signals to those who 
     wish our efforts ill. Beyond that, US leadership within the 
     Alliance would suffer a severe blow.
       Europe's stability and America's security are joined. There 
     is no more volatile region in Europe than the Balkans. 
     Failure to see our mission in Bosnia through to full 
     implementation of the Dayton Accords would send a harmful 
     message to states throughout the Balkans--a message that the 
     United States lacks resolve.
       Our troops know they have made a difference in Bosnia. 
     Their presence, together with that of our NATO allies and 
     other partners in this effort, stopped the killing and ethnic 
     cleansing. They see the signs of progress in Bosnia every 
     day.
       We have a strategy for success in Bosnia. A US military 
     presence coupled with US leadership are essential to the 
     achievement of a self-sustaining peace in that country.
           Sincerely,

                                             Henry H. Shelton,

                                                         Chairman,
                                     of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

     

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