[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 58 (Thursday, May 11, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3894-S3904]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DIALOG ON AMERICA'S GLOBAL ROLE III, MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS
Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my distinguished
colleague from Kansas, Senator Roberts, to continue our dialog on the
global role of the United States. This is the third such dialog in what
we have intended to be a year-long series. In February, we began by
taking a broad look at the priorities and approaches of U.S. foreign
policy in the post-cold-war period. A few weeks ago we narrowed the
focus somewhat by trying to define and defend our national interest,
which must be the first step in arriving at a coherent national
security strategy.
Today, as we start to go from general principles to concrete
applications, Senator Roberts and I, along with several of our
colleagues, will attempt to zero in on the U.S. role in multilateral
organizations which strongly impact our national security, especially
NATO and the U.N.
I have just returned from a trip to Brussels and Italy where we were
briefed on the air campaign from Aviano Air Base. In Brussels, I met
with the Deputy Secretary General of NATO. As I said, Italy and then on
to Macedonia, where we saw the regions where the refugees were kept
during the war in Kosovo. Then, into Kosovo itself.
I met with key military leaders and key political leaders from the
United States, European nations, and NATO. These meetings only served
to reinforce my strong belief that there is a pressing need to address
the global role of the United States, both in our own national
strategic planning and in NATO's planning. This conclusion is not a
result of the recent actions taken in Serbia and Kosovo. Rather, these
actions were merely symptomatic of, I think, the problem.
A large portion of the military operation in Kosovo was supplied by
the United States. I believe it is now time for the United States to
lead in finding a political solution. Similarly, I believe the time has
come to ``Europeanize'' the peace in Bosnia and Kosovo. While the
soldiers I spoke with at Camp Bond steel certainly displayed high
morale, reflected in the excellent job they actually have done, if we
stay in the Balkans indefinitely with no clear way out, I believe we
run an increasing risk of further overextending our military, thus
exacerbating our recruitment and retention problems and lessening our
capability to respond to more serious challenges to our vital national
interests.
From my perspective, the basic problem in the Balkans today is
political, not military, and requires a political rather than military
solution. Essentially, at this point in time, the various communities
wish to live apart and exercise self-determination along ethnic lines.
I would agree that such a development is unfortunate and not in keeping
with our American view of the way the world should be. However, for any
solution to the current situation to be acceptable to the parties
directly involved--and, thus, durable--this inescapable fact must be
taken into account.
On June 30 of last year, the Senate accepted by voice vote my
amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill which expressed
``the sense of the Senate that the United States should call
immediately for the convening of an international conference on the
Balkans'' to develop a final political settlement of both the Kosovo
and Bosnia conflicts.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of my amendment be printed in
the Record.
There being no objection, the amendment was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Amendment No. 1163 to S. 1234, Fiscal Year 2000 Foreign Operations
Appropriations Supporting an International Conference To Achieve a
Durable Political Settlement in the Balkans
(Adopted by Senate by unanimous consent on 6/30/99)
SEC. X. SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING AN INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON THE BALKANS.
(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) The United States and its allies in the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) conducted large-scale military
operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
(2) At the conclusion of 78 days of these hostilities, the
United States and its NATO allies suspended military
operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia based
upon credible assurances by the latter that it would fulfill
the following conditions as laid down by the so called Group
of Eight (G-8):
(A) An immediate and verifiable end of violence and
repression in Kosovo.
(B) Staged withdrawal of all Yugoslav military, police and
paramilitary forces from Kosovo.
(C) Deployment in Kosovo of effective international and
security presences, endorsed and adopted by the United
Nations Security Council, and capable of guaranteeing the
achievement of the agreed objectives.
(D) Establishment of an interim administration for Kosovo,
to be decided by the United Nations Security Council which
will seek to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life
for all inhabitants in Kosovo.
(E) Provision for the safe and free return of all refugees
and displaced persons from Kosovo and an unimpeded access to
Kosovo by humanitarian aid organizations.
(3) These objectives appear to have been fulfilled, or to
be in the process of being fulfilled, which has led the
United States and its NATO allies to terminate military
operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
(4) The G-8 also called for a comprehensive approach to the
economic development and
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stabilization of the crisis region, and the European Union
has announced plans for $1,500,000,000 over the next 3 years
for the reconstruction of Kosovo, for the convening in July
of an international donors' conference for Kosovo aid, and
for subsequent provision of reconstruction aid to the other
countries in the region affected by the recent hostilities
followed by reconstruction aid directed at the Balkans
region as a whole;
(5) The United States and some of its NATO allies oppose
the provision of any aid, other than limited humanitarian
assistance, to Serbia until Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic is out of office.
(6) The policy of providing reconstruction aid to Kosovo
and other countries in the region affected by the recent
hostilities while withholding such aid for Serbia presents a
number of practical problems, including the absence in Kosovo
of financial and other institutions independent of
Yugoslavia, the difficulty in drawing clear and enforceable
distinctions between humanitarian and reconstruction
assistance, and the difficulty in reconstructing Montenegro
in the absence of similar efforts in Serbia.
(7) In any case, the achievement of effective and durable
economic reconstruction and revitalization in the countries
of the Balkans is unlikely until a political settlement is
reached as to the final status of Kosovo and Yugoslavia.
(8) The G-8 proposed a political process towards the
establishment of an interim political framework agreement for
a substantial self-government for Kosovo, taking into full
account the final Interim Agreement for Peace and Self-
Government in Kosovo, also known as the Rambouillet Accords,
and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity
of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other countries
of the region, and the demilitarization of the UCK (Kosovo
Liberation Army).
(9) The G-8 proposal contains no guidance as to a final
political settlement for Kosovo and Yugoslavia, while the
original position of the United States and the other
participants in the so-called Contact Group on this matter,
as reflected in the Rambouillet Accords, called for the
convening of an international conference, after three years,
to determine a mechanism for a final settlement of Kosovo
status based on the will of the people, opinions of relevant
authorities, each Party's efforts regarding the
implementation of the agreement and the provisions of the
Helsinki Final Act.
(10) The current position of the United States and its NATO
allies as to the final status of Kosovo and Yugoslavia calls
for an autonomous, multiethnic, democratic Kosovo which would
remain as part of Serbia, and such an outcome is not
supported by any of the Parties directly involved, including
the governments of Yugoslavia and Serbia, representatives of
the Kosovar Albanians, and the people of Yugoslavia, Serbia
and Kosovo.
(11) There has been no final political settlement in
Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the armed forces of the United
States, its NATO allies, and other non-Balkan nations have
been enforcing an uneasy peace since 1996, at a cost to the
United States alone of over $10,000,000,000 with no clear end
in sight to such enforcement.
(12) The trend throughout the Balkans since 1990 has been
in the direction of ethnically-based particularism, as
exemplified by the 1991 declarations of independence from
Yugoslavia by Slovenia and Croatia, and the country in the
Balkans which currently comes the closest to the goal of a
democratic government which respects the human rights of its
citizens is the nation of Slovenia, which was the first
portion of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to
secede and is also the nation in the region with the greatest
ethnic homogeneity, with a population which is 91 percent
Slovene.
(13) The boundaries of the various national and sub-
national divisions in the Balkans have been altered
repeatedly throughout history, and international conferences
have frequently played the decisive role in fixing such
boundaries in the modern era, including the Berlin Congress
of 1878, the London Conference of 1913, and the Paris Peace
Conference of 1919.
(14) The development of an effective exit strategy for the
withdrawal from the Balkans of foreign military forces,
including the armed forces of the United States, its NATO
allies, Russia, and any other nation from outside the Balkans
which has such forces in the Balkans is in the best interests
of all such nations.
(15) The ultimate withdrawal of foreign military forces,
accompanied by the establishment of durable and peaceful
relations among all of the nations and peoples of the Balkans
is in the best interests of those nations and peoples;
(16) An effective exit strategy for the withdrawal from the
Balkans of foreign military forces is contingent upon the
achievement of a lasting political settlement for the region,
and only such a settlement, acceptable to all parties
involved, can ensure the fundamental goals of the United
States of peace, stability and human rights in the Balkans.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) The United States should call immediately for the
convening of an international conference on the Balkans,
under the auspices of the United Nations, and based upon the
principles of the Rambouillet Accords for a final settlement
of Kosovo status, namely that such a settlement should be
based on the will of the people, opinions of relevant
authorities, each Party's efforts regarding the
implementation of the agreement and the provisions of the
Helsinki Final Act;
(2) The international conference on the Balkans should also
be empowered to seek a final settlement for Bosnia-
Herzegovina based on the same principles as specified for
Kosovo in the Rambouillet Accords; and
(3) In order to produce a lasting political settlement in
the Balkans acceptable to all parties, which can lead to the
departure from the Balkans in timely fashion of all foreign
military forces, including those of the United States, the
international conference should have the authority to
consider any and all of the following: political boundaries;
humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for all nations in
the Balkans; stationing of UN peacekeeping forces along
international boundaries; security arrangements and
guarantees for all of the nations of the Balkans; and
tangible, enforceable and verifiable human rights guarantees
for the individuals and peoples of the Balkans.
Mr. CLELAND. I truly believe that such an approach is the best, if
not the only, way to resolve the difficulties in Bosnia and Kosovo--
allowing our troops eventually to come home but avoiding an
unacceptable security vacuum in southeast Europe--and is definitely in
the best interest of the United States and Europe.
Two years ago this week, the Senate was debating the expansion of
NATO, and I should add that I found that discussion to be perhaps the
finest deliberation on national security issues that I have witnessed
in the time I have served in the U.S. Senate. The debate raised serious
questions regarding both the makeup and purpose of NATO, but, in the
end, I, and a large majority of the Senate, concluded that extension of
NATO membership to Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary was in our,
and NATO's, best interest because NATO was the only entity ready and
able to fill the security void in northeastern Europe.
Much has changed in the time since that vote, including the launching
of the first offensive military operations in the history of the
alliance last year in Kosovo and Serbia, an action which also
represented the first time NATO asserted the right to intervene in the
internal affairs of a sovereign nation. Both of these were significant
departures from the Senate's understanding of NATO as expressed during
that debate as well as the representations we made to other nations,
most notably Russia, about the goals and the intentions of NATO in the
aftermath its eastward expansion. Specifically, section 3 of the Senate
Resolution of Ratification affirmed that the ``core mission'' of NATO
remains ``collective self-defense,'' and we sought to calm Russian
anxieties by pointing to the 50-year record of NATO in never launching
offensive operations, and never violating the sovereignty of states
except in pursuit of collective self-defense.
Since we voted for NATO expansion we have also witnessed the issuance
of a new Strategic Concept for NATO, in April of 1999, and here again,
the results were not exactly as anticipated at the time of the Senate's
ratification vote on NATO expansion 2 years ago. For a particularly
insightful and detailed treatment of this subject, I would commend to
all Senators a May 24, 1999 floor statement by my distinguished
colleague from Kansas, Mr. Roberts, which dissected in some detail the
numerous departures from the Senate's 1998 Resolution of Ratification
in the April 1999 NATO Strategic Concept.
For purposes of today's discussion on how multilateral organizations
impact on the U.S. global role, I would like to highlight just two of
the issues identified by Senator Roberts: the central issue of NATO's
purpose, or ``core mission,'' and the matter of how European nations
should provide for their own defense, the so-called European Security
and Defense Identity.
For its first 50 years, which culminated in its victory in the Cold
War without ever having to fight a battle, the core purpose of NATO,
recognized by friend and foe alike, was set forth in article 5 of the
North Atlantic treaty of April 4, 1949:
The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more
of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an
attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if
such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the
right of individual or collective self-defense recognized by
Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist
the party or parties so attacked by taking forthwith,
individually and
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in concert with other Parties, such action as it deems
necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and
maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.
In contrast, the new NATO Strategic Concept goes well beyond the
traditional collective security role in its aspirations for NATO. Item
24 in the April 24, 1999 text states that:
Any armed attack on the territory of the Allies, from
whatever direction, would be covered by Article 5 and 6 of
the Washington Treaty. However, Alliance security must also
take account of the global context. Alliance security
interests can be affected by other risks of a wider nature,
including acts of terrorism, sabotage, and organized crime,
and by the disruption of the flow of vital resources.
I wonder if NATO is designed to track terrorism around the world,
sabotage around the world, and organized crime around the world.
I continue to quote:
The uncontrolled movement of large numbers of people,
particularly as a consequence of armed conflicts, can also
pose problems for security and stability affecting the
Alliance.
Item 10 in that document includes as ``fundamental security tasks''
for NATO the traditional objectives of security, consultation, and
deterrence and defense, as well as ``crisis management,'' within which
allies are ``to stand ready, case-by-case and by consensus, in
conformity of Article 7 of the Washington Treaty, to contribute to
effective conflict prevention and to engage actively in crisis
management, including crisis response operations.''
I wonder if NATO has become not a self-defense organization but a
crisis management and crisis intervention organization. I wonder.
I point out that Article 7 of the NATO Treaty says that:
This Treaty does not affect, and shall not be interpreted
as affecting in any way the rights and obligations under the
Charter of the Parties which are members of the United
Nations, or the primary responsibility of the Security
Council for the maintenance of international peace and
security.
While some Western observers, especially in the United States,
maintain that the 1999 Strategic Concept does not represent a
significant change in NATO's policy, I believe that the Norwegian
newspaper, Oslo Aftenposten, was much closer to the mark when it wrote
last April that:
In its new ``strategic concept'' NATO has approved a
radical expansion of the alliance's tasks, both
geographically and with regard to content. From now on it
will be the alliance's task to promote ``security and
stability in the Euro-Atlantic area'' by ``becoming actively
involved in dealing with crises, including operations in
response to crises.'' We see the first example in Kosovo.
It is my view that the members of the NATO alliance, and especially
the United States, need to think much more carefully about the expanded
aspirations of their new strategic concept, and the costs--economic,
political, and human resource--they are willing and able to pay in
pursuit of these aspirations. Specifically, at the very least I believe
both Houses of Congress, especially this House, the Senate, need to
undertake a thorough series of hearings on the strategic concept and
the future of NATO.
As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I could not urge this
set of hearings more strongly.
The Norwegian paper goes on to say that:
It is also new and important that the alliance said ``yes''
at the summit meeting to the desire of the EU countries to
play a more independent role and thus acquire greater
political weight in the NATO cooperation. Behind this also
lies a desire for a cautious counterweight to a United
States that is perhaps more strongly dominant now,
militarily and politically, than ever before in NATO's
history.
Distinguished colleagues, this leads to my other major concern about
the United States and NATO: the question of a ``more independent role''
for the European Union countries. John Keegan, one of the world's
leading military historians, summed up the current debate in an article
last December. He said:
Though it has long been American policy to encourage
European political and economic integration on the model of
its own federal structure, the United States is far less
ready to welcome moves by the Europeans to go their own
strategic way. There are two reasons for that. The first is
that the United States sees its own security as inextricably
bound up within the alliance system in which it is a partner.
The second is that it doubts the ability of the Europeans to
construct parallel systems which will deliver military value.
. . . The Americans are right to regard all current European
attempts, either through the European Union, or the
belatedly revived Western European Union or through ad hoc
arrangements such as the newly announced Anglo-French
force, to bypass NATO as damaging to the security
structure that already exists.
Despite its advances in economic integration, the European community
still lags far behind in developing a common national security
structure. As we witnessed in Bosnia, and most recently Kosovo, Europe
lacks either the will or the means, or both, to conduct independent
military operations even in its own backyard. And whatever the end
result of the recent European Security and Defense Initiative, or
Identity it will be many years before the Europeans can develop a
military capable of significant action independent of the United
States. When one adds the additional questions of national sovereignty,
domestic pressures to cut defense spending, and, of course, the need
for consensus on how and when to take military action, the challenges
facing the Europeans are daunting indeed.
Until Europe can surmount these challenges, which, most likely, will
be many years from now, American involvement and leadership via NATO
will still be seen, by Europeans at least, as essential. On my recent
trip, I was discussing the role of the United States in Europe with the
Deputy Secretary of NATO, Sergio Balanzio, when he told me that the
United States is, ``a European power whether you like it or not --
obviously, indicating we are a European power, whether we like it or
not, in Europe and in the Balkans. I responded that it is one thing to
be on the point of the spear and to bear the heavy load in certain
cases, as the U.S. did in Bosnia and Kosovo, but quite another to
always be called upon to ride to the rescue, even in Europe itself.
Going back to 1949, when NATO was formed, one of the quotes that
rings in my ears is a quote from Lord Ismay, the first Secretary
General of NATO. When he was asked the purpose of NATO, Lord Ismay
said: The purpose of NATO is to keep the Americans in, the Russians
out, and the Germans down.
I have serious reservations about that particular mission statement
now. There is no need to keep the Russians out. As a matter of fact, we
are wrapping our arms around the big bear in every way in every trade
agreement, every cooperative agreement we can possibly put together.
Secondly, there is no need to keep the Germans down. They are an
emerging strong force on the European continent.
I wonder, though, having just come back from dealing with my NATO
friends and our NATO allies, and having gone to Kosovo, whether the
real ultimate purpose of NATO for the Europeans now is to keep the
Americans in.
Personally, I do not mind sharing power. I do mind always being the
lead dog that is called upon to bear the burden. I think more and more
Americans are feeling that way themselves.
For me, however, the bottom line is that, despite all of the
difficulties, despite the possibility that there may well be some
short-term disadvantages for the United States, I believe the United
States must, I repeat must, be unequivocally supportive of the
development of a strong, independent European military capability to
accompany Europe's growing economic and political integration. There is
at present, and for the foreseeable future, no overwhelming threat to
European security such as that posed by the Soviet Union and Warsaw
Pact. Europe should be able to attend to its own defenses in the post-
Cold War world. The fact that it has not done so is certainly
attributable to many factors, especially its divided and conflict-
ridden history, but if it does not act now--when the threat is so low--
then when will it?
Developing the necessary support structures, both political and
military, to produce an effective European security identity will be
neither quick, nor easy, nor cheap. But they have to start sometime,
and while the United States must avoid precipitous actions--such as
threatening a unilateral troop pull-out--I believe we must clearly
signal that we fully understand and support moves toward greater
European self-defense capabilities. Such moves may well produce some
short-term redundancies and inefficiencies in
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NATO, but I believe that unless we encourage the Europeans to develop
their own capabilities for their own defense, we will not see the kind
of increased defense efforts that Europe ought to undertake. Certainly
American taxpayers have done their share, throughout most of the 20th
Century, to contribute to European security.
I think British Prime Minister Tony Blair said it best in a November
22, 1999 speech in London. He said:
We must shape European Defence policy in a way designed to
strengthen (the) transatlantic bond by making NATO a more
balanced partnership, and by giving Europeans the capacity to
act whenever the United States, for its own reasons, decides
not to be involved. Only then will Europe pull its weight in
world security and share more of the burden with the United
States.
I could not have said it better.
Mr. President, I now yield the floor to the distinguished Senator
from Kansas, my friend and colleague in these dialogs on the U.S.
global role in the world, Mr. Roberts.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, let me again thank my good friend and a
distinguished American hero and statesman, the Senator from Georgia,
for setting in motion our bipartisan foreign policy dialog. His common
sense approach and his insightfulness to our country's national
security obligations, I think, have been most helpful and most
educational.
I say to the Senator, I believe and I hope that our endeavor is
accomplishing the original goals we outlined in our first dialog. Our
dialog has attracted attention from the media, and some academics. We
have been invited to participate in various academic panel discussions
and foreign policy dialogs.
I hope both our colleagues and the American public have been paying
attention in our effort to come to grips with America's role in an
environment so different that we cannot even name it, other than
calling it the post-Cold War period.
When I have the opportunity to go back to Kansas and address the
issue of what our vital national security interests are; I realize
foreign policy is not a very bright return on the public radar screen
which is unfortunate.
Robert Kagan recently stated that the campaign for the Presidency
should focus more on foreign policy. I certainly think that is the
case. He asked a simple question, ``Is the world a safer place than it
was 8 years ago?'' His article took us on a world tour of
uncertainties, specifically identifying Iraq, the Balkans, China,
Taiwan, and weapons of mass destruction proliferation, Haiti, Colombia
and Russia.
A realistic evaluation of emerging patterns in the world lead us to
the fact that the world is dangerously close to coming apart at the
seams. It is time for a serious debate about foreign policy, and this
dialog we have started is a small step in that direction.
In our last dialog Senator Cleland and I discussed the importance of
identifying and establishing levels of priority to our U.S. vital
national interests. Many other think tanks and foreign policy
organizations have recommended a similar priority ranking. I noticed
the other day in an article that Vice President Gore has recently
articulated, a new kind of foreign policy suggestion--a new agenda--
adding the destruction of the natural environment and the AIDS pandemic
overseas as ``a threat to U.S. national security interests.'' These
unique and unprecedented issues are important issues, however, they
have never made the cut in any other U.S. national interest lists. They
definitely did not make the cut in the last bipartisan dialog that I
had with my friend and colleague from Georgia. Nonetheless, it is a
healthy debate, and I think it is a very proper debate for our country
and the Presidential candidates.
What did make the cut is the fact that the United States does not
want a hostile regional hegemon to develop in Europe or Asia. And then,
in the meantime, what happened in the Balkans post-Bosnia and post-
Kosovo is the fact that we have a paradox of enormous irony. The irony
is the United States continues in the role of being a world hegemon, or
superpower--the only one. Some critics say we have developed into a
humanitarian world global cop and our actions and means are viewed by
them as contrary to their own national interests.
Mr. President, the consequence of the U.S. role is the rest of the
world is responding as any sovereign nation would respond to a hegemon.
Former Ambassador Bob Ellsworth, a former Member of the House of
Representatives, and Dr. Michael May, wrote in the Los Angeles Times
that U.S. military forces are so large, so advanced technologically,
and so active all over the world, that a climate of ``hegemony envy''
has developed in key strategic areas in Asia, Europe, and the Middle
East.
Ambassador Ellsworth explains, the U.S. post-Cold War, change in
posture from defense and deterrence to enlargement and offense, and the
Clinton doctrine proclaiming and executing intervention around the
world in regard to a rather questionable definition of U.S. vital
national interests is creating antihegemonic coalitions against the
United States.
This current trend of both allies and nonallies asserting themselves
against the U.S. is a very troubling digression.
The Nobel Prize novelist and diplomat, Gabriel Garcia Marquez,
observed that ``President Clinton has found the political legacy he
wants to leave behind: The Imperial American Model.'' Obviously, that
depiction of American foreign policy is counter to the goal of
multilateral cooperation in the world today.
As Senator Cleland stated, our third dialog today will focus on the
role of multilateral organizations in foreign policy.
What are we talking about? Well, currently the United States is a
member of a staggering 90 multilateral organizations and numerous other
bilateral agreements. It took a great deal of effort by staff and by
research specialists to determine the number of multilateral
organizations where the U.S. is obligated. I venture to guess, I say to
my colleague, that the State Department, the Department of Defense, the
Congress, and most foreign policy experts really don't have any idea
individually or collectively of the responsibilities, commitments, or
obligations or the money that these organizations require of the U.S.
all throughout the world.
Richard Haass of the Brookings Institution tried to tackle the issue
of how much the U.S. should try to do, largely or entirely on its own--
unilaterally--depending on the policy priorities or the level of U.S.
national interests versus how much the U.S. should do in cooperation
with others. He articulated that the choice is very complicated, as the
multilateral options subsume multiple approaches of multiple
organizations, including using the U.N. and other international
institutions, alliances, and other regional organizations, and
coalitions of those able and willing to act.
The fact is, the U.S. almost never acts unilaterally, and it probably
should not. The U.S. has fought five major wars during the 20th
century, and in each of these conflicts the U.S. operated as part of an
alliance or a coalition. The recent U.S. actions all were conducted in
conjunction with forces from other nations, even as our military
superiority has reached a level unmatched in history.
Therefore, if the U.S. is going to operate within the constraints of
multilateral organizations--and that appears to be the case--the U.S.
must structure alliances in such a way that promotes our national
interests and ensures that U.S. power is not undermined.
The following list of multilateral organizations associated with
countries that the U.S. has current, ongoing operations is staggering:
Iraq, 23; East Timor, 5; Korea, 42; Kosovo, 6; Yugoslavia, 30;
Colombia, 15.
We don't have enough time in the rest of the session of Congress to
examine all of the multilateral organizations where the U.S. has
obligations. Obviously, that is going to be an effort that should take
place as we change administrations, whether it be the Vice President or
whether it be the Governor from Texas. Today, like my colleague, I want
to focus on NATO a bit and offer some possible suggestions for the
future of America's alliances.
During the Cold War, containment of Soviet power provided a simple
and easily definable job of deterrence from Warsaw Pact aggression. The
new Strategic Concept that was adopted over a year ago during the 50th
anniversary of
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NATO is a far different concept from the collective defense
organization originally developed from the ashes of World War II.
If you read the Strategic Concept, you will find that the new
commitments outlined have evolved, as I have indicated, NATO from a
collective security organization concerned with self-defense to an
international crisis management and humanitarian relief operation and
organization.
Alexander Vershbow, U.S. Permanent Representative on the North
Atlantic Council, recently said:
Unbeknownst to many is the fact that the Strategic
Concept's most important function is to instruct Alliance
military authorities how to configure NATO defense forces so
that they are equipped for the full range of Alliance
missions, from collective defense to peacekeeping.
He also said:
The U.S. believes that the most important new elements of
the revised Strategic Concept is the recognition that the
fundamental tasks of the Alliance is to carry out so-called
``non-article 5'' missions--operations in response to crises
that go beyond the defense of a Allied territory.
I am concerned that the most important and successful alliance in the
history of our country has been so dramatically restructured that the
future of the alliance is uncertain. Our force structure cannot stand
another swampy intervention with unclear and unsound objectives with no
exit strategy in sight.
The new Strategic Concept, as tested in Kosovo, in my personal
opinion, is drying out the Cold War glue which holds the alliance
together. Targeting by committee and escalation warfare has stressed
the system and turned a 3-day war into a 78-day war of limited
escalation. As indicated by the debate on this floor just about an hour
or two ago, an amendment introduced by both Senator Byrd and Senator
Warner will cause considerable and useful debate on Monday and Tuesday
ending in a critical vote about the future of the Kosovo operation.
Gen. Brent Scowcroft expressed his concern last November stating:
The revised Strategic Concept of NATO and the U.N.
Secretary General separately have taken on the task of
advocating the support of persecuted minorities inside state
boundaries; that is, humanitarian operations such as those in
Kosovo. In Yugoslavia, we heavily bombed a country in an
attempt to protect a minority within that country. Now we are
in Kosovo presiding over reverse ethnic cleansing--surely a
case of unintended consequences.
Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Dean of the Kennedy School of Government,
recently posed several thought-provoking questions:
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, what should be the
limits of NATO's mission? With the Kosovo crisis, NATO fired
its first shot in anger in a region outside the alliance's
treaty area, on declared humanitarian grounds. What criteria
might NATO draw on to guide a policy on the threat, or use,
of its force in a new strategic environment of the 21st
century?
Some experts predict, and I hope they are not right, that due to the
ugliness of Kosovo, NATO may never again mount another military
offensive. I fear that Kosovo or future Kosovo-type interventions will
also undermine U.N. Security Council credibility. By the way, that
credibility is being questioned with the U.N. mission in Africa.
Mr. President, if knowing what we know now about the new Strategic
Concept and NATO with respect to a Kosovo or a Chechnya or Rwanda,
would Senators still support the changes?
Again, I maintain that most Senators are not aware of all the
obligations listed in the Strategic Concept. I said it at the time, I
said it 6 months ago, I said it during the first dialog, and I say it
again today. How many people need to be placed in jeopardy before we
act? What criteria do we set for humanitarian or C-list interventions?
Does the United States intervene with or without NATO allies or U.N.
Security Council approval on humanitarian grounds? Can we possibly
justify intervention in some areas of the world and not others when
none reach the threshold of vital or important national interests?
Our country cannot support militarily a future which pursues U.S. and
allied interests more widely around the world. The new Strategic
Concept that our country is currently operating under effectively
enrolls the United States and NATO as a world policeman.
Some say that is not all bad. Some say that is what we must do as the
world's only superpower.
In this regard, as the distinguished Senator from Georgia pointed
out, Europe is not standing still. They are proceeding with a Defense
Capability Initiative and the development of the European Security and
Defense Identity (ESDI) within the alliance.
I believe it is in U.S. interests for the European alliance to
develop their defense capabilities, to strengthen their collective
will, and to make a greater contribution to security and defense in
Europe. However, my Dodge City gut feeling says, sure, go ahead and
provide for your own defense, and bring our American men and women
home. The Balkans are in your ball park. You decide the players.
However, history and military experience, and the experience and
expertise of others, rightly point out that challenges with force
structure, allocation, balance, interoperability, and the growing gap
in tactics and capability between our countries underlying the auspices
of NATO are counterproductive to peace.
In Kosovo, the U.S. aircraft flew two-thirds of the strike missions.
Nearly every precision-guided munition was launched from an American
aircraft, and U.S. intelligence identified almost all the targets. With
the current European shrinking defense budgets and a reluctance to
support the current mission, the road to ESDI may be a rocky one filled
with potholes indeed.
Even members of NATO who do not belong to the European Union are
worried that plans for yet another new E.U. military force could weaken
the collective defense.
Another concern of hierarchy and command structure with respect to
ESDI, E.U. corps, and NATO still retaining the rights of first refusal
and how the U.N. Security Council structure fits among the
organizations is also a very troubling problem to overcome.
The number one concern should be to preserve NATO as the overarching
framework and avoid duplication of effort or any political divisiveness
from establishing separate capabilities. The Kosovo crisis raises
questions that must be answered about the alliance's capability to
reshape itself for new conflicts of the 21st century and at the same
time accommodate the E.U.'s ambition to play a greater role in the
continent's security.
Mr. President, I also want to address the issue of NATO expansion.
I realize the NATO membership is an affair of the heart for many
nations who aspire to become members. However, as Senator Lugar has
alluded to we need to step back a little bit and keep the door open but
put the future enlargement on hold.
We had a lunch hosted yesterday by the distinguished Senator from
Indiana and Gen. Wesley Clark. Gen. Clark emphasized the fact that
nations in Europe who aspire to become either members of the European
Union, Partnership for Peace, or NATO without recognizing the
tremendous fervor and the tremendous emotion involved in regard to
their self-determination and what they think will be the bulwark for
them and their individual liberty.
First and foremost, NATO, I think, must rebuild Russian relations,
which were strained over the Kosovo conflict. I know that belief is
shared by Senator Levin. We have been working together on a cooperative
threat reduction program within the jurisdiction of the Armed Services
Committee which we believe will make some meaningful threat reduction
progress and at the same time help rebuild stressed relations.
The London Times diplomatic editor, Christopher Lockwood, reflects
that NATO's possible new members at the current time cannot contribute
militarily with force structure, compatible doctrine, or political and
economic stability.
I have been a strong supporter of NATO. I will remain a strong
supporter of NATO. But I think we have to rethink the current NATO
flightpath and answer the hard questions that require our attention.
Mr. President, I now want to offer what I think are extremely
insightful approaches to the future of multilateral organizations.
Richard Haass expressed:
Alliances, such as NATO, are one manifestation, although
such groupings are rare
[[Page S3899]]
and likely to become even less common in a world of few fixed
adversaries. Much more common are informal coalitions of
parties able and willing to work together on behalf of a
common purpose--be it to rescue the Mexican economy, contain
Sadam Hussein, or enter East Timor. Such groupings are not
ideal--they are invariably ad hoc and reactive and lack the
legitimacy of more formal regional or UN undertakings--but
they are consistent with a world where the willingness of
governments to cooperate varies from crisis to crisis and
situation to situation, where great power consensus in
unreliable, and where U.S. resources, however great, are
still limited.
Samuel Huntington, in this book ``The Clash of Civilizations''
explain: ``In the emerging era, clashes of civilizations are the
greatest threat to world peace, and an international order based on
civilizations is the surest safeguard against war.'' And, since the
Cold War the question of ``Which side are you on?'' has been replaced
by the much more fundamental one, ``Who are you?'' Every state has to
have an answer. That answer, its cultural identify, defines the state's
place in world politics, its friends, and its enemies.
Mr. Huntington further explains that we must nurture other Western
cultures that identify with the U.S. and accept our civilization as
unique not universal and uniting to renew and preserve it against
challenges from non-Western societies. Avoidance of a global war of
civilizations depends on world leaders accepting and cooperating to
maintain the multi civilizational character of global politics.
Roberts translation: Why not concentrate in areas of the world where
Western values, Western democracy, have been cherished, nurtured, and
appreciated? At the same time the U.S. needs to stop trying to impose
Western values in areas where they are not and will not take root?
Andrew Krepinevich from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary
Assessments recently finished a thought-provoking future vision titled
``Transforming America's Alliances.'' He believes that America's
alliances are in need of transformation due to the following reasons:
Relative decline in U.S. global power, the rise and recovery of great
regional power, with an increased focus on Asia, the eroding of current
ally durability and reliability, the current military revolution will
make power projection more difficult, and finally the growing need to
provide for homeland defense.
Mr. President, I feel Mr. Krepinevich's assessment undertakes bold
steps toward the future in his following statement:
If the U.S. is to preserve the current favorable military
balance in regions around the globe in the future, it will
find itself increasingly dependent upon allies for support.
This may require a somewhat different set of alliances than
exist today. Restructuring alliance relationships to meet
requirements will take years, perhaps decades. Yet the
geopolitical and military revolutions that will likely stress
the U.S. alliance relationships should be undertaken now.
Mr. President, that is what we are trying to do. That is what Senator
Cleland and I are trying to accomplish with our foreign policy dialog.
America cannot afford to miss this opportunity to shape the future.
I thank my colleague for initiating the third dialog. I especially
thank my colleagues who have been very patient listening to my remarks.
Senator Lugar, Senator Levin, and I welcome their input.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Smith of Oregon). The Senator from
Indiana.
Mr. LEVIN. Will the Senator from Indiana yield for 2 minutes?
Mr. LUGAR. I am happy to yield to the Senator.
Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent, after the Senator from Indiana is
finished with his remarks, I be recognized to participate in the dialog
which is going on between Senator Roberts and Senator Cleland.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia controls the time.
Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, how much time remains?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 9\1/2\ minutes.
Mr. CLELAND. I yield the time necessary to the distinguished Senator
from Michigan.
Mr. ROBERTS. I ask the Presiding Officer how much time I have
remaining.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senators from Kansas and Georgia are
sharing the time.
Mr. ROBERTS. So the time remaining in regard to both Senators is now
9 minutes?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. That is correct.
Mr. ROBERTS. That does not give enough time for the distinguished
Senator from Michigan or the distinguished Senator from Indiana. I ask
unanimous consent we be granted an additional 30 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent, after the Senator from Indiana
has completed his statement, I be recognized with whatever time is
available.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, at this time I ask unanimous consent to
have printed in the Record a letter from me along with one I received
today from Gen. Wesley Clark, who, until last week, was NATO's Supreme
Allied Commander in Europe and the senior military commander of the
NATO-led operation at Kosovo. It relates to his views on the Byrd-
Warner amendment, as it is called, which is part of the military
construction appropriations bill.
There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
U.S. Senate
Committee on Armed Services
Washington, DC, May 10, 2000.
General Wesley K. Clark, USA,
Department of Defense, Washington, DC.
Dear General Clark: Following up on our conversation today,
I am enclosing a copy of an amendment adopted by the
Appropriations Committee yesterday that, among other things,
would terminate funding for deployment of U.S. ground combat
troops in Kosovo after July 1, 2001, unless the President
requests and Congress enacts a joint resolution specifically
authorizing their continued deployment.
I would very much like to have your personal views on this
amendment, particularly your views on the impact this
amendment could have on U.S. troops currently on the ground
in Kosovo and whether or not this amendment would increase
the risk to those troops; the impact of this amendment on
U.S. interests in the region; and the impact of this
amendment on our relationship with our NATO allies.
Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.
Sincerely,
Carl Levin,
Ranking Minority Member.
____
May 11, 2000.
Dear Senator Levin: Thank you for your letter of 10 May and
the opportunity to provide my personal views on the amendment
adopted by the Senate Appropriations Committee governing the
future of U.S. troops in Kosovo.
While I support efforts of the Congress and the
Administration to encourage our allies to fulfill their
commitments to the United Nations mission in Kosovo, I am
opposed to the specific measures called for in the amendment.
These measures, if adopted, would be seen as a de facto pull-
out decision by the United States. They are unlikely to
encourage European allies to do more. In fact, these measures
would invalidate the policies, commitments and trust of our
Allies in NATO, undercut US leadership worldwide, and
encourage renewed ethnic tension, fighting and instability in
the Balkans. Furthermore, they would, if enacted, invalidate
the dedication and commitment of our Soldiers, Sailors,
Airmen, and Marines, disregarding the sacrifices they and
their families have made to help bring peace to the Balkans.
Regional stability and peace in the Balkans are very
important interests of the United States. Our allies are
already providing over 85 percent of the military forces and
the funding for reconstruction efforts. US leadership in
Kosovo exercised through the Supreme Allied Commander,
Europe, as well as our diplomatic offices, is a bargain. It
is an effective 6:1 ratio of diplomatic throw-weight to our
investment. We cannot do significantly less. Our allies would
see this as a unilateral, adverse move that splits fifty
years of shared burdens, shared risks, and shared benefits in
NATO.
This action will also undermine specific plans and
commitments made within the Alliance. At the time that US
military and diplomatic personnel are pressing other nations
to fulfill and expand their commitment of forces,
capabilities and resources, an apparent congressionally
mandated pullout would undercut their leadership and all
parallel diplomatic efforts.
All over Europe, nations are looking to the United States.
We are their inspiration, their model, and their hope for the
future. Small nations, weary of oppression, ravaged by a
century of war, looking to the future, look to us. The
promise of NATO enlargement, led by the United States, is the
promise of the expansion of the sphere of peace and stability
from Western Europe eastward. This powerful, stabilizing
force would be undercut by this legislation, which would be
perceived to significantly curtail US commitment and
influence in Europe.
Setting a specific deadline for US pull-out would signal to
the Albanians the limits of
[[Page S3900]]
the international security guarantees providing for their
protection. This, in turn, would give them cause to rearm and
prepare to protect themselves from what they would view as an
inevitable Serbian reentry. The more radical elements of the
Albanian population in Kosovo would be encouraged to increase
the level of violence directed against the Serb minority,
thereby increasing instability as well as placing US forces
on the ground at increased risk. Mr. Milosevic, in
anticipation of the pullout and ultimate breakup of KFOR,
would likely encourage civil disturbances and authorize the
increased infiltration of para-military forces to raise the
level of violence. He would also take other actions aimed at
preparing the way for Serbian military and police
reoccupation of the province.
Our servicemen and women, and their families, have made
great sacrifices in bringing peace and stability to the
Balkans. This amendment introduces uncertainty in the
planning and funding of the Kosovo mission. This uncertainly
will be undermine our service members' confidence in our
resolve and may call into question the sacrifices we have
asked of them and their families. A US withdrawal could give
Mr. Milosevic the victory he could not achieve on the
battlefield.
In all of our activities in NATO, the appropriate
distribution of burdens and risk remains a longstanding and
legitimate issue among the nations. Increased European burden
sharing is an imperative in Europe as well as the United
States. European nations are endeavoring to meet this
challenge in Kosovo, and in the whole KFOR and UNMIK
constitute a burdensharing success story, even as we
encourage Europeans to do even more. The United States must
continue to act in our own best interests. This legislation,
if enacted, would see its worthy intent generating
consequences adverse to some of our most fundamental security
interests.
Thank you again for your support of our servicemen and
women.
Very respectfully,
Wesley K. Clark,
General, U.S. Army.
Mr. LEVIN. I will take 30 seconds to read two paragraphs about the
language in the letter from Wesley Clark:
These measures, if adopted, would be seen as a de facto
pull-out decision by the United States. They are unlikely to
encourage European allies to do more. In fact, these measures
would invalidate the policies, commitments and trust of our
Allies in NATO, undercut U.S. leadership worldwide, and
encourage renewed ethnic tension, fighting and instability in
the Balkans. Furthermore, they would, if enacted, invalidate
the dedication and commitment of our Soldiers, Sailors,
Airmen, and Marines, disregarding the sacrifices they and
their families have made to help bring peace to the Balkans.
Setting a specific deadline for U.S. pull-out would signal
to the Albanians the limits of the international security
guarantees providing for their protection. This, in turn,
would give them cause to rearm and prepare to protect
themselves from what they would view as an inevitable Serbian
reentry. The more radical elements of the Albanian population
in Kosovo would be encouraged to increase the level of
violence directed against the Serb minority, thereby
increasing instability as well as placing U.S. forces on the
ground at increased risk.
Mr. Milosevic, in anticipation of the pullout and ultimate breakup of
KFOR, would likely encourage civil disturbances and authorize the
increased infiltration of para-military forces to raise the level of
violence. He would also take other actions aimed at preparing the way
for Serbian military police reoccupation of the province.
I know this subject will be a matter of some debate on Monday and
Tuesday. I intend to participate in that debate on the appropriations
bill containing the Byrd-Warner provision. But at this time, because of
the interest in the letter of General Clark, I thought I would ask that
be printed in the Record.
Again, I thank my friend from Indiana for yielding.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Indiana.
Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, I thank the distinguished Senators from
Georgia and Kansas. It is a privilege to follow on some of the thoughts
of the distinguished Senator from Kansas, as he has discussed
multilateral organizations and focused especially on NATO which, in the
judgment of many of us, is the most important and successful of these
organizations in which the United States is a member.
It is axiomatic, at least for many in foreign policy, that Europe
counts for the United States. By that I mean simply this: that although
throughout our history many have argued that we could get along by
ourselves on this continent and that entanglement in the affairs of
Europe was often described as nefarious skullduggery statesmanship
without scruple, that eventually we come back to the fact that in the
small world in which we live now, what happens on that continent
matters a great deal to our security and to our prosperity.
It is for this reason that the United States stayed in Europe after
World War II. To state it very simply, as German Foreign Minister
Fischer stated when he visited with our Foreign Relations Committee
this week: The United States presence, the decision to stay, made all
the difference in the last half century. It made a difference in terms
of peace on the Europe continent, which had not had such an era of
peace in a whole millennium.
It made a very great difference for us, the United States, leaving
aside NATO and the security it provided, because of the collective
defense of NATO members against the perceived menace of the former
Soviet Union and its allies. The fact is that through the Marshall
Plan, and through many other economic associations, the European
countries grew substantially and so did our markets and so did our
prosperity. We tend to take this all for granted, but only in the last
50 years has this been a fact.
We came to a point after the breakup of the former Soviet Union in
which many argued, and I was not the one who originated the term, but I
adopted it in a tour I took of Europe in 1993, that either NATO would
go ``out of area or out of business.'' By that I meant simply that the
idea of collective defense against the former Soviet Union, which had
broken up, made much less sense than it had made before. Some would
have said the Soviet Union might revive suddenly and attack hapless
European nations, but this became less and less likely. In fact, we
found in the Desert Storm war, that our problem was that NATO was not
equipped to deal with conflicts out of area. It was a pickup game in
which we enlisted various nations.
This out of area action had been contemplated at the time of the
United Nations Charter in Article 4, which Senator Roberts has cited.
John Foster Dulles spoke openly and eloquently on that point. It was
anticipated that NATO members from time to time would act out of area
in their collective efforts and for collective security. So we did that
in Desert Storm and the idea was always, from the time of the United
Nations Charter and the NATO Charter onward, that nations could freely
decide to join in such actions. In the case of Desert Storm they did
so.
Now that a whole new set of facts began to come forward, in which
there were countries--Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and others--
but mainly the first three--in which the point was made: We are a
democracy. We are searching for freedom. We are searching for relevance
and association with others who want freedom as we do.
Some argued the evolution of Europe might have come entirely through
the European Union, through the economic union of the members. But most
of us noted that was going very slowly. It still goes slowly. Poland is
not a member of the European Union as we speak, and it is not
contemplated that it will be for several years. This is now a very
large country with a functioning economy and a democracy.
The point was that collective security meant making certain that the
gains, the victories of the cold war, were ensured and were solidified.
That was the debate that we had a short time ago with regard to
expansion of NATO. Some argued: Why expand if there is no particular
threat? Why not wait and see how the threat shapes up? You can always
take on new members in the event things are troubled.
But many argued, and I was one, that the integration of forces, the
building of institutions, takes time. Even in the successful war we
fought in the desert, the weapons systems that were employed took 25
years to evolve. It is very probable that the strengths we are now
building with new members in Europe, in NATO, will make a difference in
terms of their collective security, and I believe in ours. With the
crisis over, many persons in the United States and maybe in this body,
tend to ask: Why are we involved in Europe? In fact, why can't
Europeans run their own affairs? They say it is a troublesome situation
to have our forces involved there, meddling and in harm's way.
We went through this in a very practical way with regard to the war
in Bosnia. As you may recall, in the latter stages of the Bush
administration,
[[Page S3901]]
there was anxiety on the part of President Bush as to what was
happening in the former Yugoslavia. He was strongly advised by European
leaders that they knew better what was happening there, that our
involvement was really not particularly welcomed. President Bush may
have welcomed that advice, for all I know. But in any event, his
determination was to leave that problem alone, so the conflict
continued to progress badly in terms of the loss of life and
displacement of persons and refugees and so forth.
President Clinton attacked former President Bush in the 1992 campaign
for failing to have a plan for Bosnia. But when President Clinton came
into office in 1993 he found out how difficult that situation was.
I know from my own experience, traveling with Senator Nunn in 1993,
talking on the phone with President Clinton over long distance as he
asked what we were finding out and how things were going? He was
attempting to evolve a policy.
He sent Secretary Christopher to Europe about that time, a trip which
was very unsuccessful. The Secretary talked with the British and then
the French and gave our views and asked their views. They had all sorts
of views, all of them contradictory, and none of them helpful with
regard to anything we had in mind.
As a result, things drifted. Some may say that was simply too bad.
Here are people with intractable views, demagogs. Whatever was
happening in Yugoslavia was miserable and unfortunate for those people,
and especially for their neighbors, our European allies. But that was
their problem--and perhaps it was. But late in the game, Europeans came
to us and said: We cannot solve it. It is insoluble without the United
States.
We might have said, ``Tough luck. You are on your own. This is what
you wanted. You made your bed, now sleep in it.''
We could have said that. We could have watched the unraveling of
various parts of Europe as refugees and economic difficulties and
aggression proceeded. But we took a different view--I think the correct
view--namely, we are the leaders in NATO. NATO was relevant to that
situation.
That was a big step but not all Senators agreed. The point being made
in the amendment offered by the distinguished Senator from West
Virginia and the distinguished Senator from Virginia is that we have
not gone to war very often. We have declared war even less. It is time
to stop these informal arrangements in which we get involved in
operations without having an up-or-down vote or authorization to spend
money or send the troops.
That is a good point. I can remember arguing before the Desert Storm
war that we ought to do that, and there was great anxiety in the White
House about any such vote for fear it might come out badly that Saddam
Hussein, therefore, would have a free ride. Ultimately, the vote was
very close.
I understand the constitutional point very well. It could very well
be that historians will argue we misplayed our hand at Rambouillet,
that our diplomacy was not as swift as it should have been, that we
made threats when we did not understand the military power that would
be necessary to make those threats good, and that even having made the
threats, we did not have a very good plan once we were tested. I make
no apologies for any of what proceeded, but the point is, we finally
come back to the fact we are in Europe because it is our security--our
security--that is at stake. It could be argued, too, that for the
moment the Europeans are not sharing the burden, although they would
argue, by this time, that they are shouldering their burden--but that
is another debate all by itself. Or they might argue we should not be
involved without having up-or-down votes in the Congress on these
things in any event, or that many Americans believe we are in Kosovo or
in Bosnia purely for humanitarian purposes, not for gut strategic
purposes of the United States, but because of ethnic cleansing or
refugees or displaced persons.
The case will be made that this is not a real war, this is a policing
action; it is a structural problem, like that faced by a mayor of a
city or police or other situations analogous that can be handled by
police, and European policemen rather than American policemen.
We keep coming back to this haunting question that President George
Bush had to face and then President Bill Clinton when the Europeans
said: We cannot make it by ourselves. Ultimately, Europeans might say:
We can; we are different now; we have new institutions--whether they be
security or economic--and you Americans can go home; we can get along
without you; it's been nice to have you around.
That is not what they are saying. As a matter of fact, every European
statesman who comes to Washington--and the Chair presides over these
coffees in our Foreign Relations Committee--we hear every single
foreign minister and defense minister vowing how important it is the
United States is there, stays there, stays there big, how we must take
the lead and help organize the situation. We may say in our impatience:
Will they never be able to pull it together? Perhaps not in our
lifetime.
What are the consequences if we leave? The consequence is the same
one the German foreign minister told us this week. We left after the
First World War. As a matter of fact, throughout the 1930s, we were not
only isolationists, we were glad we were not close to the action, and
we suffered for that. We lost a lot of lives. We had a war around the
world that was touch and go for some time because we were not prepared
to do the difficult work, the tedious work, the actual intervention day
by day, the grimy, grubby work of diplomacy country by country, case by
case. That is the problem.
Duty in Kosovo, duty in Bosnia is not a popular assignment for
anybody and never will be. I can think of various other places in
Europe in which it is not going to be very pleasant. Yet to keep the
peace for over 50 years, to have prosperity for them and for us, to
make a difference in terms of stability of the world, that counts for
something.
On the cheap, we can say, by and large, we did not vote for it, we
are tired of paying too much for it. Europeans understand that a little
bit, and I give credit to the distinguished Senator from Virginia for
trying to urge them to step up to the plate, and they have now
demonstrated they are paying more than 85 percent--the lion's share--
whether it is the policing side or the economic side, and that we are
paying 15 percent, and that is about what we agreed to do.
They said, in essence: You fought most of the war, we will pick up
five-sixths of the cost. That may or may not be a good agreement, but
that is roughly where we have come to in Kosovo. We could say we are
tired of paying the 15 percent and, as a matter of fact, our 5,000 or
6,000 troops are tired of being there and, as a Senate, we are tired of
debating the issue. We would just like to get a vote on this and get
rid of it cleanly. Tell the President, whoever he is, where to go in
this situation. It makes no difference whether we have a Secretary of
State negotiating over there or not, we know better because we
represent the people and we have the power of the purse and we can jerk
this thing out immediately.
Some will argue whether or not to do that as a matter of fact. The
vote would not come for a year. General Clark has testified to this in
the letter the distinguished Senator from Michigan just read, that
other countries will make their own calculations. We, frankly, do not
know what the foreign policy of President Putin of Russia will be. We
suspect, as a matter of fact, as we have heard from the Russian
Ambassador and from others that the Russians want a zone in Kosovo,
maybe ours. Let's say we withdraw and the Russians say: It would be
fine, as a matter of fact, if we were there because we could help
integrate the Serbs as they want to come back to their homes, or help
with a little bridge there; that would be a good thing in terms of
integration of Europe as we see it; and we are here as Russians; the
Americans have gone home; they were tired of this, tired of the
policing action and all the burdens, all the difficulties. That is one
possibility.
President Milosevic might say: Let's be at ease for a year, wait it
out. Kosovo was sort of a contretemps, a bad nightmare. A good many
bombs were dropped around the country, there was some difficulties with
the power stations and difficulties in terms of
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deprivation, but, by and large, that is in the past, and in a year's
time, we can be home free. We can begin to operate business as usual.
The Albanians noting the situation likewise say: We have a year to
prepare for the war to take on the Serbs who are back with perhaps the
help of Russian friends and others who come in to fill this vacuum.
European allies will be accused frequently of withdrawing people from
the country. They will say, by and large, the Americans are a strange
leader; they are gone. This is the only war NATO ever fought and some
may feel the only one it ever will fight because there was not very
much leadership here, not much standing to talk to us about whether we
have an independent force, whether it is with NATO or anybody else.
We have a very fateful vote coming up, and it comes right to the
point we are discussing today: multinational organizations and
particularly NATO, the most important security alliance, because Europe
counts.
I suggest we do reaffirm NATO.
As a matter of fact, as the distinguished Senator from Kansas pointed
out, I suggested last year at the NATO celebration that we consider
carefully new members. There were nine applicants. I say it is
imperative that we keep hope alive for all nine. That is the incentive
for their reform and for the courage to continue on.
As a matter of fact, I hope we will move to adopt new members. I hope
we will offer leadership to fill out much more substantially those who
have fought for freedom, those who have a lot at stake in the kind of
Europe we think would be more secure for them and for us.
I think we ought to be devoting more resources to NATO rather than
less. It seems to me we have a golden opportunity. Historically, we
have been established there for a long time. To abandon or weaken NATO
at this point, or to give hints we are going to abandon it, or to give
hints that it can be taken for granted, would be an unfortunate policy.
By the same token, this debate gives us an opportunity to finally
establish, once and for all the question: Does Europe count? Do we
care? Can Europe make it without us? I believe it counts. I do not
think they can make it without us. I think we have to be there. And if
we are going to be there, we ought to lead, and we ought to have the
resources that make it count. We ought to expand the operation, as a
matter of fact. We ought to be assertive and bold as opposed to timidly
pulling back into our tent.
I believe that is what the debate ought to be about. It ought to be
about the strength of the very best multinational organization we have,
about the reasons our allies are important to us, and what we intend to
do about it.
I thank the Chair for the opportunity to give this address.
I thank the distinguished Senators from Georgia and Kansas, again,
for inviting me to be a part of the colloquy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Georgia.
Mr. CLELAND. How much time is left on our time?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has 15 minutes remaining.
Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I would like to conclude my remarks with
some additional thoughts and comments.
I thank Senator Lugar, a distinguished student and practitioner of
foreign policy in this body for many years, and the distinguished
Senator from Michigan, Mr. Levin, and thank him for his wonderful
letter from General Clark, who is a man with whom I have shared a meal
recently and discussed Kosovo and many other matters. He is a
distinguished American. I respect him highly.
I thank my distinguished colleague from Kansas. One of the things
that impressed me was the point the Senator from Kansas mentioned, that
this country is committed and obligated in some form or fashion to 90
different treaties or organizations, and that is indeed quite an
astounding number.
I have two basic fears about America's global role. One is that, like
Gulliver, we will get wrapped up in many lilliputian events and
treaties and entanglements and not be free to move to crises in the
world where we need to have a maximum impact; secondly, that we get
drawn into power vacuums around the world, particularly in the wake of
the fall of the Soviet Union, and institute a pax Americana.
I was recently in Macedonia. As the helicopter took off, headed
toward Kosovo, an Army colonel pointed out that if you looked out of
the helicopter to your left, you could see a Roman aqueduct. I had
never really been in that part of the world. It was amazing to actually
see a Roman aqueduct put together by the Roman armies there in
Macedonia over 2,000 years ago and it still be intact.
I began to think the very ground over which I was flying had been
occupied by not only Alexander the Great but his father Philip, and
that Greek and Roman armies had gone over this very terrain. Later,
after the Dark Ages, for some 600 years the Turks and the Ottoman
Empire occupied this particular land. Now we, the Americans, were
there.
It was a sobering moment for me. I wondered exactly how effective we
could really be in that part of the world with those conflicts which
seem to be eternal. I wondered exactly what we could do there, what we
could contribute, especially with our military force.
Those are some thoughts I have.
I would like to address one other issue in terms of our multilateral
and multinational relations, and that is our relationship with the
United Nations.
In large part because of American support, the UN was founded in 1945
with the purpose, according to its Charter:
To maintain international peace and security, and to that
end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention
and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression
of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to
bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the
principles of justice and international law, adjustment or
settlement of international disputes or situations which
might lead to a breach of the peace.
Furthermore, under Article 34 of the U.N. Charter, U.N. ``members
confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the
maintenance of international peace and security, and agree that in
carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council
acts on their behalf.'' And Article 52 provides that:
Nothing in the present Charter precludes the existence of
regional arrangements or agencies for dealing with such
matters relating to the maintenance of international peace
and security as are appropriate for regional action, provided
that such arrangements or agencies and their activities are
consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the United
Nations.
In recent years, the United States has worked with, and sometimes
without, the cooperation of the U.N. Security Council when seeking to
accomplish its objectives. Despite all the difficulties associated with
it, the Security Council remains the only widely accepted,
multinational, legitimizing force for conducting military operations
against a sovereign nation. In the 1995 book, ``Beyond Westphalia,''
editors Gene Lyons, Michael Mustanduno and their colleagues tackled the
difficult question of ``state sovereignty and international
intervention.'' The authors write that:
A historical transition was marked by the settlement of
Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War and
opened the quest-- which goes on to this day-- to find a way
for independent states, each enjoying sovereignty over a
given territory, to pursue their interests without destroying
each other or the international system of which each is a
part.
One of the recurring themes which has been highlighted in these floor
dialogues organized by Senator Roberts and myself about the global role
of the United States in the post-Cold War world is on this very
question of sovereignty. More specifically, under what conditions is it
permissible and appropriate for a nation or coalition of nations to
intervene in the internal affairs of another sovereign state?
In an April 1999 speech in Chicago, British Prime Minister Blair
posed the question in a way which is representative of the concerns of
many of those--especially in the Western democracies--who believe that,
under certain egregious circumstances, there must be limits on national
sovereignty in today's world. Prime Minister Blair said:
The most pressing foreign policy problem we face is to
identify the circumstances in
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which we should get actively involved in other people's
conflicts. Non-interference has long been considered an
important principle of international order. And it is not one
we would want to jettison too readily. One state should not
feel it has the right to change the political system of
another or foment subversion or seize pieces of territory to
which it feels it should have some claim. But the principle
of non-interference must be qualified in important respects.
Acts of genocide can never be a purely internal matter. When
oppression produces massive flows of refugees which unsettle
neighboring countries then they can properly be described as
``threats to international peace and security.''
It is interesting that on that same day in 1999, Brazilian President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso offered some related observations, with his
views on the Kosovo War, which he and his country supported. President
Cardoso's views reflect the concerns of many of those in the developing
world who worry about the consequences of a loss of sovereignty in
reducing their ability to control their own destiny.
We heard Senator Roberts talk about the fear of the United States and
its growing hegemony or being a great hegemony in various portions of
the world, or being the ``big dog.''
President Cardoso said this:
Who has the authority and approval of the international
community to drop bombs? Such attacks are not endorsed by an
international organization that legalized such actions. The
United Nations was left aside . . . The United States
currently constitutes the only large center of political,
economic, technologic, and even cultural power. This country
has everything to exert its domain on the rest of the world,
but it must share it. There must be rules, even for the
stronger ones. When the strongest one makes decisions without
listening, everything becomes a bit more difficult. In
this European war, NATO made the decision, but who
legalized it? That is the main problem. I am convinced
more than ever that we need a new political order in the
world.
How do we reconcile these different and sometimes conflicting, yet
both legitimate, concerns: the need on the one hand to protect
powerless individuals from the depredations of their own governments,
and on the other to protect less powerful nations from unilateral or
even multilateral decisions by the stronger powers?
Mr. President, in the last dialog, I tried to quote President
Kennedy. I think I got the quote wrong. I think he said that ``we must
dream of a world in which the strong are just, the weak secure, and the
peace preserved.'' I think that is what President Cardoso was after.
The editors of Beyond Westphalia draw four principal conclusions
which bear on this matter. The first two offer encouragement to those
who see a clear need for constraints on unfettered sovereignty,
especially in cases of massive human rights violations:
First, constraints on state sovereignty not only have a
long history but have been increasing significantly in recent
years as a consequence of both growing interdependence and
the end of the cold war . . . (Second), while constraints on
state sovereignty traditionally were largely constraints on
states' behavior with regard to other states, in recent
decades constraints on sovereignty have increasingly involved
the internal affairs of states, or how governments relate to
their own citizens, economies, and territories.
However, the current limits on international interventions are
captured in the final two observations:
(Third), the international community has developed a
formidable institutional presence, yet clearly lacks the
resources and organizational capacity to serve as a viable
alternative to the society of sovereign states . . .
(Fourth), the legitimacy of the international community will
continue to be questionable as long as there are fundamental
differences between North and South with regard to whose
values and interests the international community represents .
. . If the major powers claim to be acting, through the
exercise of their international decisionmaking authority, as
the guardians of the common good, less powerful states
seem to want to know, who is guarding the guardians?
Lyons and Mastanduno conclude that we are likely to experience an
ongoing ``chipping away'' at the sovereign autonomy of nations.
However, they end with the following cautionary note:
The idea of state sovereignty is alive and well among both
the more powerful and less powerful members of contemporary
international society. Even if states increasingly share
authority with intergovernmental and nongovernmental
organizations, the state system endures.
So where does that leave us? For the isolationists and the
unilateralists, the question of international intervention is, of
course, not important for they believe that the United States should
not, or need not, rely on other nations or the international community
in advancing our security interests. However, as I have said in the
first two of these dialogues, I do not believe the people of our
country are prepared now, or in the foreseeable future, to pay the
substantial--albeit quite different--costs arising out of either the
isolationists' or the unilateralists' agendas.
For everyone else, including balance of power realists, Wilsonian
idealists and everyone in between, they have to face the dilemma of
balancing the reality of the continuing dominance of the nation state
as the key player in international security affairs with the increasing
transnational communications, economic forces, and values which are
circumscribing national sovereignty.
In my opinion, we have no choice but to try to improve the
international machinery for legitimating and, in some circumstances
conducting, interventions in extreme cases where a nation's actions
within its own borders necessitate such a response. To do otherwise
would be to ignore the trends noted by Lyons and Mastanduno in 1995 and
which have certainly considered apace since then. And whatever its
shortcomings, and they are many, it is clear that the international
machinery of choice, for the United States as well as for most of the
world, and recognized in solemn commitments--for example including
NATO's own charter--is the United Nations and more particularly its
Security Council.
But it is equally clear that the UN's machinery is not now capable of
fulfilling this role assigned to it by the international community. The
sad current events in Sierra Leone, and previously in Bosnia, in
Rwanda, in Angola, and in Somalia demonstrate convincingly that the UN
cannot enforce the will of the international community unless all local
parties accept its intervention. In other words, it can enforce an
existing peace but cannot make peace.
And in the absence of an effective United Nations, I say to the
advocates of humanitarian intervention, we have to proceed with great
caution. Furthermore, while various Western leaders and theorists have
proposed standards to determine when and how national sovereignty
should be overridden, such standards are neither comprehensive, nor
clear, nor widely accepted.
Though I do not oppose the notion of international intervention in
principle--because as I said before various global trends are moving us
in that direction--in my opinion much will have to be done before we
can or should stake important national interests on it. Among the steps
which must be undertaken are:
Reforming the peacekeeping operations and decision-making processes
within the UN and the Security Council.
Strengthening the capabilities of regional organizations, like the
Organization for African Unity, the Organization of American States,
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations--and as I suggested earlier
the European Union-- to deal with regional threats to international
order.
Thoroughly debating--including in this body--the proposed frameworks
for intervention put forward by the Clinton Administration, the British
government, and others.
None of these steps will be easy. For example, reforming the
decision-making processes of the Security Council in a way that
improves its ability to act would presumably involve curtailing the
veto power of the permanent members. However, while such a change would
eliminate or reduce the ability of China or Russia to block what we
view as appropriate interventions, it would also similarly constrain
our own capacity to prevent what we view as undesirable actions by the
UN. Strengthening the capabilities of regional entities raises resource
questions, and, as already discussed, developing a serious European
defense capability raises a number of additional concerns. And
developing any sort of meaningful consensus about the principles for
international interventions even among NATO members--let alone among
both developed and developing countries--will be an extremely long
[[Page S3904]]
and difficult process. But for anyone who can conceive of circumstances
where an international response will be in our national interest, it is
the type of effort we will have to undertake.
Mr. President, that concludes my remarks in this, our third session
on the US Global Role. Our next discussion will hopefully take place
during the week of May 22, and in many ways is at the heart of the
concerns which motivated both me and Senator Roberts to initiate these
dialogs: the central question of when and how to employ American
military forces abroad. I look forward to that debate--which will
appropriately occur just before the Memorial Day break-- and I hope
other Senators will participate.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Is there any time left?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time has expired.
Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent to speak for 5 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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