[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7300]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               LEARNING OUR HISTORY LESSON OF THE 1960'S

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, it is strange to me that doves and 
peaceniks, people who dodged the draft and protested the war, now want 
to wage war in Yugoslavia, while many defense hawks and former military 
veterans are raising voices of concern and objection.
  As a Vietnam veteran, I cannot help but reflect on the mistakes being 
made by the Clinton administration with the war in the Balkans. The 
White House does not even want to call it a war; they prefer the term 
``conflict.'' Does that mean our POWs are now going to be called POCs?
  There are some people who have yet to learn the lessons of Vietnam. 
The use of limited air strikes can only accomplish limited results. We 
are witnessing that right now. And having politicians select targets 
rather than letting military commanders fight the war they know and are 
trained to do is absolutely wrong.
  When President Clinton first initiated the air strikes, we were told 
we would be in and out in a week or two, and that bully Milosevic would 
be put in his place. Well, now we are hearing the administration say 
that we might be in for the long haul, maybe ground troops, an ill-
conceived plan obviously from the get-go.
  The American people do not know what to believe as this war 
escalates. We need to learn the history lessons of the 1960's.

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