[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 44 (Friday, March 19, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2987-S2988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         PRESIDENT CLINTON SENDING AMERICAN SOLDIERS TO KOSOVO

  Mr. BUNNING. In 1995, when I served in the House of Representatives, 
I and a large bipartisan majority supported a resolution which called 
for President Clinton to obtain congressional authorization before 
deploying troops to Bosnia. That resolution passed by a vote of 315 
yeas to 103 nays.
  Yet, despite that vote, President Clinton went ahead with a large-
scale and long-term deployment of tens of thousands of troops to Bosnia 
without congressional authorization or any meaningful debate.
  Back then, President Clinton spoke to us and promised us all that we 
would have a well-defined mission with a clear exit strategy. But even 
today there are no details on getting our troops out of Bosnia. We are 
still there and President Clinton has spent approximately $12 billion 
on that mission without ever including Bosnia funds in his budget.
  As a result, he is draining crucial defense resources from other 
critical areas and further putting our soldiers in harm's way. We still 
have almost 7,000 troops in Bosnia and we are all unsure of what their 
exact mission really is and when, if ever, they can come home to their 
families. So much for a clearly defined mission and exit strategy.
  But now, all I can say is, ``deja vu'' and ``here we go again.''
  Right now, American troops are deployed all over the globe in over 30 
nations on missions of questionable value and unclear rules of 
engagement. And now, President Clinton is about to scatter roughly 
4,000 more troops to intervene in Kosovo under a NATO mission to 
enforce a peace agreement. But there is no peace agreement to enforce 
because one does not exist.
  The Serbs and the Albanians have been fighting in this southern 
region of Serbia for centuries. So is it any surprise that earlier this 
week in France, the Serbs would not accept the Kosovo peace plan that 
their rival ethnic Albanians have agreed to sign?
  I do not believe that any amount of American involvement is going to 
end these ethnic conflicts that have raged for centuries. We have tried 
to resolve this problem for three years and have gotten nowhere. I do 
not understand why we think we can end this civil war by sending 4,000 
additional troops.
  President Clinton has not given us any answers as to why sending 
these troops to Kosovo is so vital. President Clinton can tell us any 
time. But where is he? He has the bully pulpit.
  I do not believe it is in our national security interest to get 
involved once again in another so-called peacekeeping mission in this 
region. In a few years, Kosovo will take its place in history books, 
along with Bosnia, Haiti and Somalia, as an example of a foreign policy 
that has no principled framework.

[[Page S2988]]

  I want to hear from President Clinton as to why this region is of a 
national security interest to the United States and why he should risk 
the lives of our young troops by sending them to Kosovo.
  And where is the European community in all of this? It seems as 
though we are risking the lives of our soldiers to clean up Europe's 
backyard. If anyone should take the lead on this intervention, it 
should definitely be from a European nation. This is Europe's problem, 
if anyone's, and not ours. Kosovo is not in our backyard.
  An American soldier's job is to protect America's interests by 
destroying America's enemies on the battlefield. It is an insult to ask 
an American soldier to serve as a policeman under the umbrella of some 
international organization instead of the American flag.
  There are many questions that President Clinton and his 
administration need to answer, and we are being left in the dark once 
again.
  President Clinton, take these questions seriously.
  When and how many troops are we deploying and how long will they be 
there?
  What is their mission?
  Will there be more troops deployed if our goals and missions are not 
met?
  Will foreign commanders be commanding our troops under this NATO 
force?
  What are the rules of engagement?
  How will this mission be paid for, and will valuable dollars be 
pulled away from military readiness accounts to pay for this 
deployment?
  What, if any, is our exit strategy?
  As you have heard, President Clinton, I have many questions and I am 
not alone. You gave us no details and answers with regard to the Bosnia 
mission, and I fear we, as well, will be given very little, if any, 
details regarding our involvement in Kosovo.
  But quite frankly, not getting answers from President Clinton does 
not surprise me.
  I do not believe we have a compelling national interest to send 
troops to Kosovo. If they are sent, we all deserve answers from 
President Clinton before our troops are sent into another mess for 
years to come.
  Our men and women in uniform are ready and willing to defend the 
interests of this great Nation, but not the interests of other nations. 
We cannot undermine the oaths they take when they are sworn into the 
military to serve this great Nation.
  President Clinton, do your job, and let us know what is happening 
with Kosovo.
  God bless our troops.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________