[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 69 (Thursday, May 13, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H3151-H3152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SOLUTIONS TO KOSOVO CRISIS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, once again this country finds itself at 
war. Many of my colleagues expressed the problems that we go through, 
and I would like to offer in my opinion what are some of the options, 
some of the solutions.
  I met with the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and I gained a new insight on 
Reverend Jesse Jackson. He has the ability not only to express his 
views but to listen as well. I laud Reverend Jackson, not only for 
bringing our POWs back, but for looking for a peaceful solution, which 
I think is much more possible than just bombing a nation into the stone 
age to get what we want.
  First of all, it is easy to kill. I flew in Vietnam, and I flew in 
Israel. But it is difficult to work to live. That is

[[Page H3152]]

where the rubber meets the road, and it is very difficult to work out 
those solutions.
  But I think some of these solutions, which I have discussed with 
foreign policy experts, like Mr. Eagleburger and others, and I think 
that they are an option outside of just bombing in an air war in which 
the Pentagon told the President would not work, they told the President 
that it would not achieve our goals, it would only make them worse; 
that we would kill innocent men and women and that we would cause the 
forced evacuation of many of the Albanian people, like you have in most 
wars. This one has become more extreme.
  But Mr. Jackson also has the ability to put himself in the shoes of 
both parties, to understand what is in their mind. What are they afraid 
of? What are the Serbs afraid of? What are the Albanians afraid of? 
What is the KLA afraid of? What are their goals?
  Before one ever starts in a diplomatic mission, history shows that 
one has to understand both sides, not just one side. I think that is 
the fault of this White House.
  First of all, halt the bombing. Halt the bombing. Over 70 percent of 
Russian military supports the overthrow of the current administration, 
the Yeltsin administration. The leaders are the group of Communists, 
adverse Communists that support Milosovic. They want the former Soviet 
Union to go back to a Communist style of government, and this is giving 
them that excuse. That is one of the reasons why Russia has been a 
problem, not part of the solution in this.
  Then let us have Russian troops. Let us let them become part of the 
solution. Let us stabilize the Russian government itself. We saw today 
where Chernomyrdin was fired and other shake-ups by Yeltsin. It is 
potential disaster.
  Let the Russians, the Greeks who also support the Serbs, 
Scandinavians, and Italians and, yes, maybe even some from the Ukraine 
serve as peacekeepers. But Rambouillet said that you are going to have 
German troops in there. The Yugoslavians absolutely loath and hate 
Germans. They put 700,000 of them on April 5, 1941, and one in every 
third Serb died to German Nazis and fought on the side of the allies.
  One cannot put Britain, United States, and German troops in there. 
Put the people in there that can separate the forces. Have Milosovic 
remove his equipment prior to Rambouillet and establish some kind of at 
least stability.
  It is going to be years before we can bring Albanian people back into 
Kosovo. Do my colleagues know that there is over 200,000 Albanians that 
live in Belgrade peacefully?
  Our emissary with Jesse Jackson went to a service with the Albanians 
in the Muslim Temple and had worship. They have not left. They work in 
harmony.
  Has there been killing on both sides in Kosovo? Absolutely. The total 
number of people killed in Kosovo prior to our bombing was a little 
over 2,000. One-third of those were Serbs killed by the KLA.
  So is there fighting? Are there atrocities on both sides? Yes. But 
one has got to get into the minds of both sides.
  The issue of the KLA having Mujahedin and Hamas, we got a brief and 
said, yes, there are. There are not significant numbers. But the 
President has got to demand that those people leave. There is about 20 
other events.

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