[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S1996]]
                    ADMINISTRATION POLICY IN KOSOVO

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I wish to speak on a couple of issues 
that concern me greatly in the arena of foreign policy.
  First, a couple of comments concerning the administration's recent 
policies in Kosovo. I am very, very concerned that the administration, 
in the negotiations in France, is making a mistake. I hope that is not 
the case. I wish that is not the case. Maybe I don't have all the 
information the administration has. But I have been to Kosovo. I have 
been in Pristina. I have met with Mr. Milosevic. I do happen to think 
he is a tyrant. I think he has conducted a lot of atrocities in Bosnia 
and Kosovo against people--right now the Albanians in Kosovo. I think 
he is a bad guy. I think the international community needs to stand up 
to him.
  But I am very, very concerned about the administration's policy, or 
objective, where they are talking about committing 4,000 U.S. troops 
out of a contingency of 28,000, where they are sending our military in 
without a militarily achievable objective and without an exit strategy. 
I am really concerned because I think we are going to be there for a 
long, long time. It seems like we are duplicating what happened in 
Bosnia, which the administration calls an outstanding success. But it 
looks to me like we are stuck in Bosnia. We are spending billions and 
billions of dollars there. Nobody seems to know exactly how much money 
we have spent in Bosnia. I heard some people say we have already spent 
$12 billion in Bosnia. Some people say the real figure is closer to $20 
billion or $22 billion. But we are spending billions of dollars.
  I remember in 1995 the President, when he committed the troops, said 
they would only be there for a year. As a matter of fact, the year 
would expire right around election time in 1996. He thought he was 
going to get them out before election time. But he didn't. Then he said 
he would extend them another year. And now they are on 3 years plus, 
and they are still in Bosnia, and we know they will be in Bosnia for a 
long, long time.
  I visited our troops there. They are very dedicated and very 
committed. They are also very, very expensive peacekeepers. I have 
urged the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State, that if we 
are going to get involved in Kosovo let s not repeat what we have done 
in Bosnia. It is not the same amount of cost and consternation for 
European troops, who live in Poland or live in Germany or live in 
Italy, to spend a little time in Bosnia or Kosovo as it is for somebody 
in the United States. They are able to go home at various points. We 
are not able to do that. We are awfully expensive.
  So I just make the point that I am very concerned about the 
administration's strategy. I am concerned about this idea that if we 
just get the Kosovars to agree, then we can bomb Mr. Milosevic and he 
will now be a compliant partner for peace. That has not proven to be 
the case. I don't think it will be the case. I think we will be stuck 
there for a long time.
  That is the main point I wish to bring as far as my objective. I 
don't see an exit strategy. I am afraid that we will be there for tens 
of years instead of 1 year or a very short period of time.
  Mr. President, I make those comments on Kosovo.

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