[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5244]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       FOREIGN POLICY AMBIGUITIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today out of great concern for the 
direction of our Nation's foreign policy, as President Clinton is on 
the brink of placing our Nation at war against the independent 
sovereign nation of Yugoslavia.
  Mr. Speaker, let us not be mistaken. If the President issues orders 
to begin an air assault against Yugoslavia, the United States would, in 
effect, be at war with this country.
  What will this war achieve? The President has yet to explain what our 
strategy is aimed to achieve. Will we bomb this country in order to 
force them to agree with a peace agreement that is not in effect?
  What I fear is that this President has yet to think through the 
implications of an air attack and to think through a long-term strategy 
regarding this situation in Kosovo. Do Members of this body know what 
the administration plans to do if an air attack against Yugoslavia 
fails to force the Serbians to agree to a vague peace treaty?
  Does the United States with NATO further escalate the bombing to 
attack fixed military targets around the Yugoslavian capital of 
Belgrade? Do we escalate our actions by placing ground troops in a 
hostile situation on the ground in Kosovo? Do we try to seal off a 
largely landlocked nation? Do we try to use military troops in the non-
NATO nations of Romania and Bulgaria to enforce an embargo?
  Mr. President, what happens if the Serbs in Bosnia react against any 
bombing and start attacking U.S. and NATO forces there? What if Russia 
reacts in some form in defense of Yugoslavia?
  Mr. President, what is the idea for success here? Not just an end 
game but how are we going to achieve success? What if an American flier 
is shot down and captured?
  Mr. Speaker, we are headed down a very dangerous road without any 
type of compass to guide our policy. To me, the lack of comprehensive 
foreign policy by this administration has led us to this hazardous 
point.
  The President must come before our Nation and tell our Nation three 
things: What is the long-term strategy of the United States in 
Yugoslavia? What is the end-game to achieve military success in this 
operation? What actions will the President take if military actions 
fail to achieve any stated goals or if military action devolves into 
the loss of American lives?
  Mr. Speaker, until the President communicates this message to the 
American people, the mission's success in Yugoslavia will be limited. I 
call on the President to let the American people know today.

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