[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10796-S10800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE SITUATION IN KOSOVO

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, in the already strife-torn region of the 
former Yugoslavia, the new year of 1998 was initiated with a new 
declaration of war. A then-small group of pro-independence rebels 
calling themselves the Kosovo Liberation Army announced its intention 
to fight for the independence of the Kosovo region of what remains of 
Yugoslavia. With the wounds from Bosnia still festering and U.S. and 
allied troops seemingly locked-into an intractable peacekeeping 
operation with no end in sight, Europe and the United States once again 
found themselves with a serious dilemma involving life and death 
decisions. The subsequent nine months of conflict in the Albanian 
majority province of Serbia have illuminated the degree to which the 
enlightened nations of the West continue to wrestle with the most 
fundamental tenets of conflict prevention and resolution. The results 
are not impressive.
  We have not lacked for rhetoric, but we have proven woefully 
inadequate at backing up our words with resolute action. Relatively 
early in the conflict, but long after the gravity of the situation was 
apparent, Secretary of State Albright warned that Serbia would ``pay a 
price'' for its characteristically scorched-earth military campaign 
against the KLA and its ethnic Albanian supporters. ``We are not going 
to stand by and watch . . .,'' she declared, while ``. . . Serbian 
authorities do in Kosovo what they can no longer get away with doing in 
Bosnia.''
  During the June meeting in Luxembourg of the European Union foreign 
ministers, Britain's Foreign Secretary Robin Cook was quoted as 
stating, ``Modern Europe will not tolerate the full might of an army 
being used against civilian centers.'' A few days later, as reported by 
the Washington Post,

       Yugoslavia's reply to threats of NATO airstrikes could be 
     heard for miles around. The nightly bombardment of border 
     villages occupied by rebels of the Kosovo Liberation Army has 
     unleashed a flood of tens of thousands of refugees. Caught in 
     the cross-fire, they have seen their homes shelled, then 
     torched by government forces in what other nations and 
     international organizations have denounced as ``ethnic 
     cleansing''.

  The next day, NATO fighter jets streaked across Albanian skies in a 
show of force that was less than the sum of its parts. ``I'm very 
glad,'' one Albanian said, ``because it shows that [NATO is] for the 
liberation of Kosovo.'' In less time than it took our fighters to land 
at Aviano, though, U.S. and allied credibility had descended to new 
depths, and the victims of Serb aggression were once again lulled into 
a false sense of security. United States foreign policy in the Balkans 
has once again been shattered by the reality of a dictatorial regime 
adept at manipulating the anemic diplomatic process that resulted in 
tens of thousands of deaths in Bosnia and has now left Kosovo in ruins.
  By conducting that aerial show of force back in June without 
following-through, and by repeatedly allowing the regime of Yugoslav 
President Slobodan Milosevic to employ his tactics from Bosnia of 
professing compliance with United Nations demands one day only to 
return to his policy of ethnic cleansing the next, the United Nations 
has failed to accomplish the overriding goal for which it was created: 
the resolution of conflict so that the crimes of the past would not be 
repeated in the future. Mr. President, the scale of human tragedy 
before us cries out for a European response that it has heretofore been 
unwilling to countenance.
  There is no question that Russian and Chinese opposition to Security 
Council resolutions authorizing the use of force to compel Serb 
compliance has been a serious, and tragic, obstacle to the kind of 
resolute response circumstances demand. It is also inarguably difficult 
to castigate the United Nations while simultaneously insisting that 
United States and NATO policy should not be subordinate to the dictates 
of the U.N. with regard to a conflict so central to European stability. 
As is often the case in international relations these days, we do not 
enjoy the luxury of the level of clarity prevalent during the Cold War 
when Europe was firmly and evenly divided between competing centers of 
power.
  Europe must take responsibility for the security of the Balkins. The 
United States cannot and should not be vested with responsibility for 
maintaining security in the Balkins in perpetuity. Putting aside for a 
moment the utter inability of the current Administration to articulate 
and implement a sound policy with regard to Kosovo, both the

[[Page S10797]]

United States and Europe must come to terms once and for all with the 
central imperative of supporting diplomacy with force.
  Right now, the Serbs are conducting a major offensive against the 
remnants of the KLA. In fact, this latest offensive cannot truthfully 
be characterized as counterinsurgency in nature; the cold, hard fact 
is, as with Bosnia before it, the Serb nation is carrying out the very 
type of brutal, inhumane ethnic cleansing for which it was universally 
criticized prior to the Dayton Accords. As with Bosnia, a strong, 
meaningful--and I emphasize ``meaningful''--employment of military 
power against Serb military forces and associated infrastructure at the 
outset could have prevented the scale of devastation that has 
subsequently transpired. Will Europe learn? If history is a guide, the 
lessons for other peoples subject to domination by stronger neighbors 
are not positive.
  Our former majority leader, Bob Dole, upon returning from Kosovo, 
stated that ``American and European leaders have pledged not to allow 
the crimes against humanity which we witnessed in Bosnia to occur in 
Kosovo. But from what I have seen, such crimes are already happening.''

  Mr. President, prominently displayed in the United Nations building 
in New York is Picasso's famous and haunting ``Guernica.'' That 
painting symbolized for the artist the carnage, the human suffering on 
an enormous scale, that resulted from the Spanish Civil War--a prelude 
to the Second World War. Perhaps it is too abstract for those countries 
in the United Nations that oppose the use of force to stop the 
atrocities that have come to symbolize the former Yugoslavia, or that 
believe the war in Kosovo is the internal business of Serbia. A few 
minutes away from here is a reminder of what happens when Edmund 
Burke's adage that ``all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is 
for good men to do nothing'' is ignored.
  Ethnic cleansing is not an abstract concept in the Holocaust Memorial 
Museum. Technology has advanced to wondrous degrees during this 
century, but the basic nature of man remains the same. He is capable of 
great good; he is just as equally capable of the kind of actions that 
have made places like Auschwitz, Cambodia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, the 
Gulag Archipelego, and Nanking synonymous with sorrow. To this list, 
will we have to add Kosovo? The situation is clearly not at that stage, 
but the onset of winter could change that very quickly, with 
implications that I don't want my small children to have to read about 
in their history books with shame.
  The Europeans have never been very adept at maintaining peace within 
and between their boundaries. It is instructive that the longest single 
period of peace the continent has experienced was during the Cold War 
when the United States stationed over 300,000 troops there. That troop 
strength has since been reduced by two-thirds, and the stabilizing 
aspects of the bipolar structure are gone. The turbulence of the post-
Cold War world demands a level of competence on the part of those 
entrusted with our national security and foreign policy that is sadly 
lacking. The history of the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo are 
histories of threats not carried out and of the strong being 
outmaneuvered by the weaker. This Administration's conduct of diplomacy 
with regard to Serbia, North Korea and Iraq is somewhat akin to what 
would happen if Thucydides' Melian Dialogue were reversed, and the weak 
were dictating terms to the strong.
  But the stakes here are real. The situation in Kosovo is potentially 
more dangerous than was the case in Bosnia. The KLA's professed long-
term goal of uniting the Albanian populations of Kosovo, Macedonia and 
Albania into a greater Albania cannot be ignored. The conduct of 
Serbia's campaign against the insurgents similarly holds the potential 
for spreading beyond the confines of that beleaguered province. We 
cannot afford the level of diplomatic ineptitude that has been 
prevalent with regard to the former Yugoslavia since 1992.
  The United Nations' stagnation as an instrument of conflict 
resolution during the Cold War was, to an extent, understandable. Its 
failure in the Balkans, however, is a very bad omen indeed for its 
ability to perform its most essential core task. The Clinton 
Administration's inability to comprehend the limitations of that body--
the U.N. is, after all, comprised of nations and not of ideals--do not 
augur well for the protection of United States security interests 
abroad. NATO, meanwhile, continues its contingency planning with a 
range of military options, but anything less than truly decisive force 
that makes the regime in Belgrade fear for its survival will leave us 
with a battle yet to be fought, just as it has in Iraq. A token number 
of cruise missiles will cost a lot of money, but will not accomplish 
our goals. Missing is a strategy for ending the conflict, vice 
compelling President Milosevic to agree to talk about negotiations. The 
employment of military force must be sufficient to destroy the internal 
power structure that sustains those prosecuting crimes against 
humanity. In short, NATO must either be prepared to do what militaries 
are trained to do, prevail, or it will reap limited gains of short 
duration.
  Mr. President, people are dying. Prevarication, the modus operandi of 
this administration when decisive actions are required, carries a price 
in lives. The world will look to this body for a glimpse of the level 
of U.S. resolve, seeing little in the White House. That is a burden we 
must face with the grace and dignity and moral fortitude that comes 
from representing the citizens of the greatest country in history. It 
is a burden that carries with it implications that none should take 
lightly. Not just in Kosovo but elsewhere where our interests are 
threatened, the world must know that the United States will stand firm 
and will not follow the path that leads to the inclusion of more places 
in the list of sorrow.
  Mr. President, last night I was at a function here in Washington. All 
of us who are Members of the Senate attend many functions, many of them 
nightly. This was kind of a special evening, at least for many of us, 
and that is because we honored Senator Bob Dole, our former majority 
leader of the Senate and former nominee of our party for President of 
the United States.
  Bob Dole gave a moving, persuasive and compelling speech, probably 
the likes of which I have never heard him give in the many years I have 
been a friend and a compatriot of Senator Dole.
  This speech that he gave last night, Mr. President, was so strong and 
so compelling that I ask unanimous consent that it, along with my 
introduction, be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

 Remarks by Senator John McCain Awarding the IRI 1998 Freedom Award to 
                Senator Robert Dole, September 22, 1998

       If you will permit me, I would now like to talk a little 
     bit about some other attributes of Senator Dole's character. 
     It is my privilege tonight to present the 1998 Freedom Award 
     to Bob, and to make a few, brief remarks explaining why the 
     IRI Board of Directors was pleased to recognize with this 
     award Bob's contribution to the American cause--the cause of 
     freedom.
       I am at a little disadvantage, however. Two years ago, when 
     Bob honored me by asking me to place his name in nomination 
     at the Republican Convention in San Diego, I tried as best I 
     could to state succinctly why I admire Bob so much, and why I 
     thought he would make a great president. I fear that there is 
     little I can offer tonight that would be a truer expression 
     of my regard for Bob than the thoughts I offered in that 
     speech. So I thought I would begin by doing what most 
     politicians love to do: and that is, by quoting myself.
       I wanted to open my speech in San Diego with a statement 
     that would encompass all the reasons I believe Bob Dole to be 
     such an honorable man; what it was that so distinguished Bob 
     that I thought him worthy to hold the highest office in the 
     land. After considerable thought on the matter, I came up 
     with a description of Bob's character that could also serve 
     as a pretty good definition of patriotism. It reads as 
     follows:
       ``In America we celebrate the virtues of the quiet hero; 
     the modest man who does his duty without complaint or 
     expectation of praise; the man who listens closely for the 
     call of his country, and when she calls, he answers without 
     reservation, not for fame or reward, but for love. He loves 
     his country.''
       Today, no less than two years ago, Bob Dole and patriotism 
     are synonymous to me. He loves his country, and has served 
     her faithfully and well all of his adult life. And though his 
     country is honored by his service, he has asked nothing of 
     his country in return save the opportunity to serve her 
     further.
       He loves his country's cause, and has since he took up arms 
     many years ago to defend

[[Page S10798]]

     American freedom, been a champion for the cause of freedom 
     wherever it is opposed. He was and is an outspoken advocate 
     for all those who are denied their God-given rights to life, 
     liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
       His was among the first voices to bring America's attention 
     to the terrible assault on human life and dignity in Bosnia.
       For many years, he has tried to alert the world to the 
     persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. From the Balkans 
     to Latin America, he has distinguished himself as an ardent 
     defender of the rights of Man, as many people who have 
     struggled courageously to claim those rights would attest.
       He has done so, I believe, because he had cause in his life 
     to appreciate how sacred are those rights, and how great are 
     the sacrifices that are too often necessary to defend them.
       ``There is nothing good about war,'' Bob once wrote, ``for 
     those who have known the horror of battle. Only causes can be 
     good.'' And of his war, the Second World War, he wrote, 
     ``millions of servicemen like myself found a cause to justify 
     the greatest losses.''
       They were losses that Lieutenant Bob Dole witnessed 
     personally, suffered personally. But the experience did not 
     embitter him, but only reaffirmed for him the nobility of the 
     cause he served. And he has, since the day he lay wounded in 
     a valley in Northern Italy, found his honor in service to 
     that cause.
       Speaking of America, Bob could have been speaking of 
     himself when he said that in war, America ``found its 
     mission. It was a mission unique in human history and 
     uniquely American in its idealism: to influence without 
     conquest and to hold democratic ideals in sacred trust while 
     many people waited in captivity.''
       The word ``duty'' was once as common to our political 
     lexicon as the words ``soundbite'' and ``spin control'' are 
     today. We don't hear it mentioned much anymore. Rarely do 
     public office holders offer the pledge that we once expected 
     of all public officials: to do their duty as God has given 
     them light to see it.
       Of course, we do have an abundance of pledges in politics 
     today. At times, we seem to be practically drowning in them, 
     and as another election approaches I'm sure we will hear them 
     all more than once. But what we should hear more, what I 
     believe every American wants to hear, is the most solemn 
     promise of all--the promise to put the country's interest 
     before our self-interest.
       I think the American people are almost desperate to believe 
     once again that their leaders conceive of their duty in no 
     lesser terms than that: to put the country and its cause 
     first, and to that end, to pledge, as our Founding Fathers 
     once memorably pledged, our lives, our fortunes and our 
     sacred honor.
       Bob Dole always construed his duty in those terms, 
     believing that to do otherwise would not only ill-serve his 
     country, but shame him personally. Not once, in his long 
     years of service, has Bob given this country any reason to 
     doubt that he has always done his duty, that he has always 
     put his country first.
       Late in 1995, President Clinton decided to commit American 
     troops to Bosnia in the hope that they might keep the peace 
     while the principles of the Dayton Accords took root in that 
     sad country. The decision was not overwhelmingly popular in 
     Congress, even less so among many Republicans who worried 
     that the mission was ill-defined, and the problem too distant 
     from American interests to justify risking American lives. I 
     must admit that I, too, harbored strong doubts, and still do 
     about the mission.
       Bob had his misgivings as well, although he believed 
     strongly, devoutly, that rendering assistance to the victims 
     of aggression and unspeakable human atrocities wherever they 
     were suffering was always America's business. So, he resolved 
     to support the President's decision, and win from the Senate 
     he led an expression of our support as well. It was neither 
     an easy task nor a universally popular one within our own 
     caucus.
       Bob's opponents for the Republican presidential nomination 
     had already spoken out in opposition to the decision, and 
     were beginning to put extraordinary pressure on Bob to do 
     likewise.
       Were he to win the nomination he would be running against 
     the man whose controversial decision to put Americans into 
     harm's way Bob had now resolved to defend. You will remember, 
     at the time, most people expected our soldiers to suffer more 
     than a few casualties. I suspect more than one of Bob's 
     campaign consultants advised him to walk away from the issue; 
     to let someone else assume the burden of supporting our 
     troops. But Bob conceived his duty differently.
       He is a good Republican, but he is an American first. He 
     has personal ambitions, but they are secondary to his ideals 
     and his ambitions for his country. The President had decided 
     to send American soldiers to Bosnia, and so they would go. 
     Bob Dole intended to stand with them. They would risk their 
     lives for a just cause. Bob Dole would risk his ambitions for 
     them.
       It was a simple, and these days, all too rare act of 
     patriotism from a public servant who cannot conceive of 
     sacrificing his country's interests for personal gain.
       I have never been prouder of any man than I was of Bob Dole 
     on that day when he reminded me how great a love is love of 
     country, and how richly God has blessed America to spare us 
     leaders, when we need them most, of courage and conscience.
       Bob Dole has, through all the vicissitudes and temptations 
     of a long life in public service, stayed true to his mission, 
     the mission he glimpsed in a long ago battle on a now 
     tranquil field in Italy. He has done his duty, as God gave 
     him light to see his duty. And he has been a credit to 
     America and American ideals.
       Bob's hero has always been another Kansan, Dwight David 
     Eisenhower, and he took as the model of faithful, honorable 
     service that exacting sense of duty that characterized 
     Eisenhower's leadership in war and peace. In all the 
     voluminous archives of President Eisenhower's papers, no 
     single article expresses more perfectly his decency, his 
     courage, and his sense of personal responsibility to America 
     than does the statement he wrote on the night before the 
     allied invasion of France.
       Prayerful that the invasion would succeed, but prepared for 
     it to fail, General Eisenhower sat down, alone, to write a 
     statement that assigned the blame for the decision should D-
     Day prove the calamity many feared it would be. He assigned 
     it to himself, and himself alone.
       ``Our landings in the Cherbourge-Havre area have failed to 
     gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. 
     My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon 
     the best information available. The troops, the air and the 
     Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If 
     any blame or fault attends to the attempt, it is mine 
     alone.''
       When, by the end of June 6, it became clear that the allied 
     forces had, against daunting odds, accomplished most of their 
     initial objectives, and the invasion had been a success, 
     Eisenhower simply crumpled up the statement and threw it into 
     a waste basket. His foresighted aide retrieved the paper and 
     persuaded the General to preserve it for posterity so that 
     Americans might someday benefit from his example of 
     patriotism and principled leadership.
       It is more than fitting, Bob, that IRI's 1998 Freedom Award 
     include as a testament to your service, a rare copy of the 
     original hand-written note by General Eisenhower provided to 
     us by the Eisenhower Library in Atchison, Kansas. I take 
     great pleasure in presenting it to you along with photograph 
     of the General addressing his troops on the eve of D-Day, and 
     a first edition copy of his personal account of the war, 
     Crusade in Europe.
       In addition, IRI is privileged to make a contribution in 
     your name to the cause that is today so close to your heart, 
     and which you serve as National Co-Chairman, the World War II 
     Memorial Campaign. We offer this award to you with the 
     knowledge that it is but a small expression of the esteem you 
     are held in by IRI, everyone here tonight, and by the 
     millions of people whose aspirations IRI was formed to 
     support.
       But the most important tribute we can offer you is to 
     simply observe of those Americans who with you once 
     sacrificed for something greater than their self-interest--
     those who came home with you to the country they loved so 
     dearly, and those who rest forever in the European 
     cemeteries--how proud they must be of you for having honored 
     so well, in the many years since the guns fell silent in 
     Europe, their faith and yours in the America of our hearts, 
     the last, best hope of Earth.
                                  ____


 Speech delivered by Senator Bob Dole to the International Republican 
                     Institute, September 22, 1998

       Senator McCain, Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen: It is a 
     genuine honor to receive the Freedom Award from the 
     International Republican Institute. It is an honor to be 
     recognized by the IRI and also to be in the company of 
     previous recipients, such as President Reagan and Colin 
     Powell.
       The IRI has made promoting freedom around the world its 
     mission. In Latin America, Africa and Europe--in countries 
     like Burma, Cambodia, Haiti, and Mexico. Bulgaria, Romania 
     and Belarus, South Africa and Angola, the IRI has worked to 
     promote freedom and in so doing, has made a real difference. 
     Ask President Constantinescu how valuable IRI's training was. 
     The proof was in the stunning 1996 election results that 
     finally put Romania on the road to democracy.
       IRI's mission is based on the recognition that there cannot 
     be freedom without democracy, rule of law and free market 
     economics. The IRI's job is to turn the legacy of communism 
     and dictatorship into a future of liberty and prosperity. 
     This is a monumentally important task.
       I would like to commend the IRI staff and join in 
     recognizing those staff that are here from Nicaragua, Romania 
     and South Africa. The process of democratization is not an 
     easy one--especially in countries like these which have a 
     recent history of great strife, inequality and lack of 
     liberty. Because of individuals like those recognized this 
     evening and because of organizations like IRI, there is not 
     only hope, but amazing progress--progress that would not have 
     been imaginable two decades ago.
       Tonight, I would like to take a few minutes to talk about a 
     matter which I believe is of great importance to America--and 
     of direct relevance to the critically important work of the 
     IRI in fostering freedom. That is the situation in Kosovo.
       Last Friday I met with President Clinton and National 
     Security Adviser Berger to discuss this growing crisis. I 
     told them what I witnessed and what I believed must be done. 
     This is what I would like to share with you this evening.

[[Page S10799]]

       There is a war going on right now in Kosovo because the 
     United States, for nearly a decade, did not make liberty, 
     democracy and free market economics the priority in the 
     former Yugoslavia.
       If the United States had made its priority in the former 
     Yugoslavia democracy as opposed to unity, if the United 
     States had promoted reform, instead of status quo, if the 
     United States had isolated dictator Slobodan Milosevic, 
     instead of embracing him, I believe we would not have seen 
     three wars in the Balkans and would not now be witnessing the 
     fourth--and perhaps the most dangerous conflict there since 
     1991.
       Last week, I returned from a human rights and fact-finding 
     mission to Kosovo with the very able Assistant Secretary John 
     Shattuck. I was last in Kosovo in 1990, when the repression 
     against the Kosovo Albanians had just begun. The Kosovars had 
     been stripped of their political autonomy; the beginning of 
     an apartheid-like system was just becoming apparent. Upon my 
     return, I joined the few voices warning the US State 
     Department, Pentagon and White House that war would come to 
     Yugoslavia. And, it did. First Slovenia, then Croatia and not 
     long after, Bosnia.
       As terrible as the war in Bosnia proved to be, the war that 
     both the Bush and Clinton administrations feared most was in 
     Kosovo--where it seemed inevitable that conflict would easily 
     spread into neighboring countries, thus destabilizing the 
     entire region. In 1992, President Bush warned Serbian leader 
     Slobodan Milosevic that the United States was prepared to use 
     military force against Serb-instigated attacks in Kosovo. 
     When he took office, President Clinton repeated this so-
     called ``Christmas warning.''
       Now six years later, Milosevic is again on the warpath. 
     Based on what I saw two weeks ago, there should be no doubt 
     that Serbia is engaged in major, systematic attacks on the 
     people and territory of Kosovo.
       Prior to my trip, I had seen some television reports of the 
     suffering in Kosovo. These few images, however, were only a 
     pale reflection of the widespread devastation of lives, 
     property, and society. Many homes have been firebombed; we 
     saw one home ablaze only yards away from a Serb police 
     checkpoint. Entire villages have been abandoned. We 
     encountered armed Serbian police every couple of miles and 
     twenty checkpoints in just six hours.
       The Albanians we met--mostly women, children and, the 
     elderly ``are living in fear for their lives. They are afraid 
     to go where there are Serb police or other Serb armed forces. 
     And so, despite the near freezing temperatures at night, 
     hundreds of thousands of Kosovar Albanians remain hiding in 
     the hills--without adequate food, water or shelter. Many 
     thousands no longer have homes to return to. The children, in 
     particular, are already showing signs of a vitamin deficient 
     diet; they have sores on their mouths and most have scabies 
     or other skin ailments resulting from a lack of sufficient 
     hygiene. Humanitarian aid personnel are being harassed and 
     even attacked. These aid organizations do not enjoy freedom 
     of access, nor can they bring in certain critical supplies 
     because Belgrade has placed an internal embargo on them.
       During our visit, we also heard chilling testimony from 
     eyewitnesses to human rights abuses and atrocities, including 
     direct artillery attacks on civilians; seizures at gun point; 
     and, as in Srebrenica in Bosnia, the separation of women and 
     children from men.
       There may be some even in this audience who may think this 
     is a terrible humanitarian disaster, but why is it important 
     to the United States? What does it have to do with freedom 
     and democracy and American interests?
       Yes, with hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and 
     winter fast approaching, Kosovo is a humanitarian and human 
     rights catastrophe. However, the problem in Kosovo is not a 
     humanitarian one. It is a political and military crisis, 
     whose most visible symptoms are humanitarian.
       And so, while more humanitarian aid is desperately needed, 
     such assistance will not solve the problem. And not solving 
     the problem means that stability in that entire region--from 
     Montenegro to Albania, Macedonia and Greece--is dangerously 
     threatened.
       America cannot wait three years, as it did in Bosnia, to 
     deal effectively with this foreign policy crisis. We cannot 
     afford to wait three months--for humanitarian and geo-
     political reasons. Tiny Montenegro has closed its doors to 
     fleeing Kosovars, burdened under the strain of thousands 
     already seeking refugee there and by the struggle to distance 
     itself from Milosevic. Albania is on the brink of anarchy. In 
     the blink of an eye, violence could spread into Macedonia and 
     tear that fragile new democracy in two.
       And what is the American policy response at this moment? 
     Active participation in diplomatic meetings that result in 
     policy statements calling on Slobodan Milosevic to halt his 
     attacks on Kosovo. In short, tough talk and no action.
       As in Bosnia, America is asking the victims to negotiate 
     with those who are attacking them. As in Bosnia, there is a 
     real attempt to impose a moral equivalence--this time between 
     Serbian forces and the rag-tag band of Albanians, known as 
     the KLA, who have taken up arms against them. As in Bosnia, 
     the United States is not leading its allies, but hiding 
     behind their indecision. As in Bosnia, instead of firing up 
     the engines, NATO is firing up excuses.
       The bottom line is that once again, Western diplomats are 
     trying to avoid the difficult decisions and are desperate not 
     to take on the person most responsible for the misery, 
     suffering and instability not only in Serbia, but the region: 
     Slobodan Milosevic. As my friend Jeane, who is here tonight, 
     has stated, Bosnia represents the single biggest foreign 
     policy failure of the United States since World War II.
       Are we ready to repeat that failure?
       As the diplomats' argument often goes, the situation on 
     Kosovo is ``complicated'' and NATO needs UN Security Council 
     authorization to act. Both of these assertions are dead 
     wrong. First, the situation is not complicated. Indeed, it 
     could not be clearer: This is a war against civilians, and we 
     know who is responsible: Slobodan Milosevic. Second, NATO 
     does not need and should not seek UN Security Council 
     resolution authorizing it to take action to respond to a 
     crisis in Europe that threatens stability in the region. All 
     NATO needs is some leaderhsip--from the United States first 
     and foremost, and then from Britain, France and Germany.
       Let us not forget that NATO's credibility suffered in 
     Bosnia when it acted as a subcontractor to the United 
     Nations. Tying NATO to the UN now--with respect to Kosovo--
     will repeat that mistake. And, this time it could have an 
     even more damaging effect on the credibility and relevance of 
     the Atlantic Alliance.
       When Secretary Shattuck and I met with Milosevic two weeks 
     ago, he did not act like a man cowering in fear of NATO 
     action. Instead, he acted like a man who had already gotten 
     away with murder and would be rewarded for it. Milosevic 
     denied any offensives were underway or being planned, yet 
     within 36 hours of our departure, a serious offensive was 
     begun in the region of Pec.
       The time is long overdue for the US to embrace a policy 
     that will end Milosevic's reign of terror. The United States 
     had the opportunity to do so when Milosevic was shelling the 
     ancient Croatian port city of Dubrovnik in 1991. It did not. 
     The United States had the opportunity again when the citizens 
     of Sarajevo first had to man the barricades of their city in 
     1992. It did not. The United States had its most significant 
     opportunity to do so at Dayton and did not. Indeed, the 
     Clinton Administration's failure to address the status of 
     Kosovo at Dayton may be the single greatest failure of the 
     already badly-flawed Dayton peace process.
       The United States and its NATO allies must press urgently 
     for a cease-fire and a simultaneous withdrawal of Serbian 
     police and military forces by a date certain. the KLA must 
     also commit not to attack. NATO must back this ultimatum with 
     a plan to use major force immediately and effectively against 
     Serb military assets if all of the conditions laid out are 
     not met.
       Let me be clear, the only language Milosevic understands is 
     force.
       With a cease-fire and withdrawal of all Serbian police and 
     Yugoslavia Army forces, people can safely return to their 
     homes and rebuild their lives with international assistance.
       There would also be progress on the diplomatic front. Only 
     if civilians are not under attack can Albanians and Serbian 
     leaders engage in genuine negotiations--on a level playing 
     field--with the goal of achieving a sustainable peace that is 
     built on democratic institutions. Such a peace would 
     guarantee that instability would not spread into Montenegro, 
     Macedonia or Albania.
       Let me also emphasize that a peace based on democratic 
     principles and the creation of democratic institutions would 
     also serve to strengthen the position of the fledgling 
     democratic opposition in Serbia--especially by depriving 
     Milosevic of the opportunity to distract Serb citizens from 
     their deteriorating economy and near-pariah position in 
     Europe. Such a deal would provide significant momentum to the 
     democratization process, momentum which the IRI could 
     capitalize on by expanding its programs there.
       In conclusion, let me emphasize that half-measures and 
     interim deals will not do. The options are not easy, but that 
     cannot be a justification for Bank-Aid diplomacy. Over the 
     past eight years numerous opportunities have been wasted. 
     American officials at the highest levels have publicly 
     pledged not to allow the crimes against humanity that we 
     witnessed in Bosnia to be repeated in Kosovo. From what I 
     have seen first-hand, such crimes are already occurring--and 
     the ramifications will not be limited to the plight of the 
     Kosovars.
       Freedom and liberty--the principles that America stands 
     for--are at stake. American credibility and European 
     stability are on the line. What is urgently needed now is 
     American leadership and a firm commitment to a genuine and 
     just peace in Kosovo. It is my hope that President Clinton 
     will do the right thing and that there will be strong 
     support--among Republicans and Democrats. Many of you here 
     tonight can play a role in forging broad bipartisan support 
     for American resolve to end this conflict once and for all.

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, Senator Dole spoke about the crisis in 
Kosovo. We all know that with the ongoing scandal in our Nation's 
Capital, many of our important national security issues are being 
ignored, whether it be Iraq or Korea or the Middle East peace process. 
But Bob Dole focused the attention and riveted the attention of the 
audience last night, as he did in a recent op-ed piece in the 
Washington Post, on this terrible situation that exists today and the 
impending terrible

[[Page S10800]]

tragedies that will ensue in Kosovo with the onset of winter.
  Bob Dole pointed out that literally hundreds of thousands of people 
of Albanian nationality are in the mountains around Kosovo. These 
people will freeze to death, they will starve to death, and they will 
die by the thousands and thousands if something isn't done and done 
quickly.
  Bob Dole's speech and his commitment on this issue should serve as a 
compelling call to this administration to act--to act--on Kosovo in 
consultation with the Congress of the United States and the American 
people.
  Six months ago, the Secretary of State of the United States of 
America stated we will not allow the Serbs to do in Kosovo what we have 
prevented them from doing in Bosnia, and exactly what we prevented in 
Bosnia is taking place in Kosovo at the cost of possibly hundreds of 
thousands of innocent lives.
  I urge all of my colleagues to read the speech that Bob Dole 
delivered last night, which has already been printed in the Record. 
Read it and take heed, because I know of no one who has the credentials 
that Bob Dole has to speak on not only all issues of national security 
but particularly this issue because of his deep and profound and 
prolonged involvement, and now very emotional involvement, in this 
issue.

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, I was inspired to come to the 
floor to respond and to support the words of my friend from Arizona as 
he spoke very eloquently and emotionally about the plight of the people 
of Kosovo. Growing up as a little boy, I have to tell you, I saw, with 
all Americans, reports and film footage from the Second World War where 
we saw a holocaust carried out in a previous decade. And I reacted with 
horror at things that I saw that humankind could do to one another.
  It just seemed to me, at a young age, that if we had the ability to 
stop holocausts in our time that we should. I know we cannot be the 
policemen of the world, but I am here to tell you we are right now in 
Bosnia. We supported our President. And we are maintaining peace in 
Bosnia. But right next door we are witnessing a holocaust unfold before 
our eyes, and we apparently are paralyzed in our efforts to respond.
  Winter is coming, and tens of thousands of Kosovar Albanians are in 
the hills and will soon die if something is not done to ensure their 
rights, to ensure their safety, and to stop the bloodshed.
  Mr. President, I want to suggest that one person is solely and 
directly responsible for the catastrophe unfolding before our eyes, and 
that is President Milosevic of Serbia. He has indicated no willingness 
to negotiate a solution that will allow the Kosovar Albanians to 
exercise their legitimate political rights. He is interested in one 
thing and one thing only--the consolidating and maintaining of his 
power on that country and region. And he apparently will do anything to 
ensure that this remains the case.
  Mr. President, for months the United States and our allies have stood 
by and watched one onslaught after another in Kosovo, rendering 
enormous tragedies in that land; and yet we just respond with critical 
statements in the face of Serb offenses. For months the United States 
has told Milosevic that we will not let him get away with in Kosovo 
what he has done in Bosnia, but yet we do nothing. We do nothing to 
stop his onslaught. For months, the United States has threatened the 
use of force if Mr. Milosevic does not take necessary actions to 
withdraw his forces from Kosovo and to begin a serious process of 
negotiation.
  I am saddened to say the other day a reporter just outside this 
Chamber asked me if we were doing nothing as a country in the face of 
this holocaust because of the President's internal difficulties, 
because of his unwillingness to wag the dog, if you will. I cannot 
think of anything more indicative of why we need to make sure our 
Commander in Chief can respond, to have a Commander in Chief that can 
respond with the integrity of his office. And here we sit paralyzed in 
the face of unfolding, unspeakable tragedy.
  I am here to say one thing to Mr. Milosevic: Our patience in the U.S. 
Senate is running out. I join the Senator from Arizona, and many 
others, in saying time has run out and that I will support vigorous 
and, if necessary, unilateral use of force against Serbian 
installations in Kosovo and in Serbia proper. It is time for American 
leadership in Kosovo. It is unfortunate that we have thus far not seen 
evidence of this from the Clinton administration.
  If it is up to Congress to provide the leadership, so be it. I 
welcome Senator McCain's call for action. I understand the former 
majority leader, Bob Dole, has made the same call. And I join them 
today in support of America doing something unilaterally, if necessary, 
to take action to stop this tragedy, this unfolding holocaust.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.
  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I now ask for the regular order.

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