[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 40 (Monday, March 15, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E427-E428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS IN KOSOVO RESOLUTION

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MAC COLLINS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 11, 1999

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the concurrent resolution 
     (H. Con. Res. 42) regarding the use of United States Armed 
     Forces as part of a NATO peacekeeping operation implementing 
     a Kosovo peace agreement:

  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Chairman, today I rise in strong opposition to the 
deployment of U.S. ground forces in Kosovo. I base my opposition on 
three principles: first, that the administration must abide by U.S. law 
in the event of a deployment; second, that the Kosovo issue represents 
a threat primarily to European, rather than American interests; and 
third, that intervention in Kosovo at this time would set a dangerous 
precedent for NATO and the U.S. armed forces by providing military 
support to an independence movement within a sovereign nation--a far 
different mission than that currently underway on the Balkan Peninsula.
  With particular regard to the administration's legal obligation, I 
believe it critical for the President to abide by last year's defense 
authorization measure (P. Law 105-262), which the President signed into 
law. This law requires that before American troops are deployed to 
Kosovo, the President must (1) certify that the presence of U.S. forces 
in Kosovo is necessary to the national security interests of the United 
States; (2) provide the reasoning behind this certification; (3) report 
the number of American men and women who will be deployed; (4) 
establish the mission and objectives of U.S. forces in Kosovo; (5) 
detail the

[[Page E428]]

expected schedule for accomplishing mission objectives; (6) outline the 
exit strategy for U.S. forces; (7) provide an estimate of the costs of 
the deployment and the funding sources that will be used to pay those 
costs; and (8) estimate and report the potential effects of this 
additional deployment on the morale, retention, and effectiveness of 
the Armed Forces.
  These eight requirements are, in my view, the minimum amount of 
information a President should provide the people and their duly 
elected representatives prior to sending American men and women into 
harms way. President Clinton should follow the example of President 
Bush in the months leading up to the American deployments and military 
action in Operation Desert Storm. During that time, President Bush 
reached out to Congress and the American people to explain why the 
action was necessary and the extent and nature of its risks. Not only 
does President Clinton have a moral and ethical obligation to the 
American people to explain our interests before risking the lives of 
our soldiers, he has a legal obligation to report to Congress, as well. 
Congress was clear in its requirements, and the President must be held 
accountable to the law.
  Regarding the interests at stake in Kosovo, it is clear that the 
conflict represents very little threat to American military, 
diplomatic, economic, or other interests. While protecting human rights 
is clearly an important goal of American foreign policy, it is unclear 
whether the deployment of U.S. ground forces will serve or complicate 
attempts to accomplish this goal. A long-term solution would likely be 
all the more difficult to reach if the U.S. intervenes as Turkey, 
Greece, and Russia would all likely oppose such an action. Intervention 
would, therefore, put U.S. troops at odds with allies and adversaries 
alike.
  While it is unclear what effect American military action would have 
in Kosovo at this time, it is obvious that the current fighting has 
significant ramifications for Europe and North Africa. Albanian 
minorities in Montenegro and Greece will take cues from the 
international response to Kosovo, and Albania itself could face severe 
difficulties if NATO actions force the repatriation of tens of 
thousands of refugees. Clearly, Europe has an interest in stopping the 
violence and the flow of refugees from Yugoslavia. It is the nations of 
Europe, therefore, that should lead the peace effort in Kosovo and that 
should bear the human and economic costs of any military action.
  Finally, I believe the United States should be very wary of setting a 
precedent for supporting independence movements within sovereign 
nations. While there is no doubt that Serbian forces have committed 
and, apparently, continue to commit deplorable acts of violence and 
oppression, there are political minorities in virtually every country 
in the world that legitimately claim some degree of oppression. I do 
not think the American people are ready to deploy U.S. armed forces 
throughout the world to establish new countries for every group that 
seeks greater political influence. And I know that our armed forces--
already stretched so thin that our readiness for engagement in a major 
contingency has come into question--will find it even more difficult to 
accomplish their primary function of national defense if the President 
chooses to engage in yet another unfunded, open-ended operation on 
foreign soil.
  I have traveled to Bosnia three times and have great sympathy for all 
of the people living on the Balkan Peninsula. I also have great respect 
for the accomplishments of the peacekeeping effort in Bosnia. The 
crisis in Kosovo, however, represents a very different threat in need 
of a very different solution. I do not believe that the deployment of 
ground troops will serve the interest of peace, the interest of human 
rights, or the interests of the United States.
  Furthermore, I demand that President Clinton and his administration 
abide by the law and provide Congress and the American people the 
information required under the Fiscal Year 1999 Defense Authorization 
Act (Pub. L. 105-262). Only through full disclosure will Congress and 
the American people have all the facts necessary to make a fully 
informed decision regarding the proposed deployment.

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