[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 83 (Monday, June 14, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6940-S6941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 KOSOVO

  Mr. BENNETT. Madam President, as one who voted against the air war 
and called for the suspension of bombing on the grounds that it was not 
working, I rise to acknowledge clearly, and indeed even joyfully, that 
we have reached a significant milestone and have turned a significant 
and most welcome corner in our humanitarian effort to stop the butchery 
in the Balkans. I congratulate President Clinton, Secretary Cohen and, 
of course, the men and women of all ranks in the U.S. military for 
their ability to project American military power for good in a distant 
land.
  I also congratulate Secretary Albright for her ability to hold 
together an occasionally fractious coalition. With the bombing stopped 
and NATO troops moving unopposed into Kosovo, it is certainly a time 
for celebration. It is not, however, a time to suggest that the 
problems of the Balkans are at an end, or even that the end is in 
sight. There have been many mentions of Winston Churchill in the last 
few months. I am reminded of one of Churchill's comments from World War 
II, made as he celebrated America's entry into that war:

       It is not the end of the war. It is not even the beginning 
     of the end. But it is the end of the beginning.

  Let us review where we have been, where we are, and what we still 
have to do before there is peace in the Balkans.
  First, where we have been. As happy as we are with today's headlines, 
let us remember that we failed to meet our initial objectives. 
Secretary Albright told us that we had to bomb to prevent widespread 
atrocities in Kosovo and a flood of refugees over its borders into 
neighboring countries. The bombing failed to do that, and the resultant 
human suffering has been immense and is continuing.
  Even at this point, let us not deceive ourselves about the 
effectiveness of the bombing. One of the reasons I was wrong in 
suggesting that the bombing would not work was that I did not know that 
the Kosovar Liberation Army would mount a serious offensive on the 
ground. It failed. But it caused the Serbian military to leave its 
hidden sanctuaries in order to repulse the Kosovars. Only then, while 
the Serbian military was engaged in ground action,

[[Page S6941]]

was the force of NATO air power able to inflict heavy damage in the 
field. Prior to that, the results of our bombing on Serb military 
capacity were frustratingly meager. I find it interesting that the KLA 
offensive was neither foreseen in advance, nor now, in our jubilant 
mood, widely reported after the fact. Those who claim that the bombing 
worked all by itself need to take a second look at what really 
happened.
  Next, where are we now? The refugees are still not back in their 
homes, in their villages. Their homes are still not rebuilt. Their 
economy, which will permit them to feed themselves, is still in 
shambles. Further, the Kosovar Serbs, as opposed to the Kosovar 
Albanians, are now in fear of their lives, and a new flood of refugees 
is flowing north. Their numbers are far fewer than those of the 
returnees, but the Serbian refugees entering that part of Yugoslavia 
will swell the ranks of the still-unsettled refugees that came there 
from Bosnia, where any form of long-term peace is still elusive. The 
Yugoslav economy--indeed, the regional economy--including neighboring 
countries such as Romania, is in shambles in no small part because of 
our attacks on the infrastructure in and around Belgrade.
  Winter comes early in the Balkans and the prospects of widespread 
suffering remains high. So what do we still have to do? Our first 
priority should be the humanitarian relief required to alleviate the 
suffering in both parts of Yugoslavia, Serbia as well as Kosovo. Hand 
in hand should be efforts to repair the damage the bombing has done so 
that the economic activity that is the only hope for self-sufficiency 
can begin. But our hardest challenge is to keep the killing from 
breaking out again on both sides. It may be easy for some to say that 
the Serbs deserve whatever revenge the Kosovar Albanians will mete 
out, and that they only get what they asked for simply by being Serbs.

  That is the attitude held by most ethnic groups in the region that 
got us into this mess in the first place. It should be repugnant to all 
Americans. All of them should celebrate the ethnic diversity from which 
each one of us comes.
  The biggest long-term burden NATO's occupying force bears is the 
responsibility to see that no new round of ethnic hatred and 
retaliation takes place, whoever initiates it and whatever its supposed 
justification.
  In sum, this is the time to be glad, because, with an unexpected and 
strong assist from the Kosovar Liberation Army, we made a deal whereby 
the bombing has been stopped and the rebuilding can start. It is not a 
time to cry, ``Hurrah, we won,'' and then walk away from the immense 
humanitarian tragedy we were unable to prevent and to which in some 
degree our bombing contributed.
  Above all, it is not a time for us to think there are any easy 
answers or short-term solutions or that the antagonisms of the region 
are easily divided into good guys and bad guys. Americans must 
recognize that we are in Kosovo for a very long haul now and working 
against very long odds if we are ever going to help the various 
factions achieve any hope of living peacefully side by side. In our 
time of congratulations, let us recognize that we are only ``at the end 
of the beginning.''
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hagel). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative assistant proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________