    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [April 13, 1999]
    [Pages 546-547]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Congressional Leaders and an Exchange
    With Reporters
    April 13, 1999

    Situation in the Balkans

        The President. Good afternoon. I have just had a long and very good
    meeting with a large number of Members of Congress to discuss America's
    effort, along with our NATO Allies, to stand against ethnic cleansing,
    save lives, and bring peace in Kosovo. I'm grateful for the support we
    have received from Members of Congress from both parties and also very
    grateful for the questions, the comments, the advice that came out of
    this and previous meetings.
        Our objectives here are clear, but I want to restate them. We want
    the Serb forces out of Kosovo. We want the refugees to be able to go
    home, protected by an international security force, as they work toward
    self-government.
        This is Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day, let us resolve not
    to let this ethnic cleansing and killing by Mr. Milosevic go unanswered.
        You know, yesterday I had the privilege of meeting at Barksdale Air
    Force Base with aircrews participating in the allied campaign. They and
    all our forces are performing with extraordinary courage and skill. They
    are very well prepared, and their morale is high. They know they and our
    allies are fighting to end human suffering, and for a Europe that is
    united, democratic, and at peace.
        Our campaign is diminishing and grinding down Mr.
    Milosevic's military capabilities. We
    have weakened Serbia's air defenses and command and control. We have
    reduced his ability to move, sustain, and supply the war machine in
    Kosovo. We have damaged his refineries and diminished his capacity to
    produce ammunition. We are striking now at his tanks and at his
    artillery, and have destroyed half his advanced MiG-29 aircraft.
        Now we are taking our allied air campaign to the next level, with
    more aircraft in the region, with a British carrier joining our U.S.S.
    Roosevelt and a French carrier in the area. Our humanitarian effort is
    also increasing to meet the daunting challenge of providing food and
    shelter for the hundreds of thousands of refugees.
        All of us would like the conflict to end, especially for the
    suffering people of Kosovo. We would also like to end the trials for the
    people of Serbia, who have been forced into confrontation by a cynical
    leader who has no regard for their
    welfare and who, I am absolutely convinced, has not even told them the
    truth about what he has done to the people of Kosovo.

    [[Page 547]]

        We and our allies did everything possible to end this crisis
    peacefully, but now we are at arms. We and our allies are united on this
    point: We must stay the course and persist until we prevail.
        Again I say, Mr. Milosevic can end
    this crisis right now by withdrawing his forces, permitting deployment
    of an international security force, and allowing the unconditional
    return of all displaced persons.
        As I told the Members of Congress today I will shortly submit to
    them an emergency supplemental budget request to fund our military
    operations and munitions needs while maintaining our military readiness,
    to provide urgently needed assistance to the frontline states, nations
    bordering Kosovo, that are struggling to preserve their own stability as
    they cope with refugees and turmoil in the region, and of course, to
    fund our portion of caring for the hundreds of thousands of refugees.
        These expenses are an immediate and urgent emergency. They are
    necessary so that we and our NATO Allies can continue to pursue this
    mission. I look forward to working with Members of both parties in both
    Houses to pass this appropriation soon and to continuing our mission to
    free the people of Kosovo of the oppression to which they have been
    subject and meet the conditions which I have outlined.
        Thank you very much.
        Q. Mr. President, the lawmakers said that you haven't taken ground
    troops off the table.
        Q. Mr. President, can you reach the refugees in Kosovo, Mr.
    President--inside Kosovo--can you reach those refugees, and does it have
    to be done by land?
        The President. Let me answer that. Well, the real answer to that
    question is that it is a very hard one, and we are working on it. We are
    quite concerned about the hundreds of thousands of refugees in Kosovo.
    The ones that are out of Kosovo, there is a big problem in providing
    food and housing and medical care, dealing with the ones that are just
    dehydrated. But at least we are now organized, and we're moving on that.
        There is a much bigger problem with the people within Kosovo, and
    there are any number of problems with providing aid from the air. First
    of all, there is the possibility that if we airdrop supplies, they won't
    actually get to the refugees, that the Serbian forces will take them up.
    Secondly, there is the problem of risk to our aircraft of going into
    Kosovo airspace to try to airdrop the supplies. So we are looking at
    both of those problems and what can be done about them and what other
    options we have. It is a huge problem.
        For the last couple of days, we've been working very hard on it. As
    soon as we have more to say on it, I'll be glad to make the appropriate
    announcements, and our people will be at work on it. It is a very large
    problem. We're aware of it. We know what the obstacles are, and we're
    doing our best to overcome them.
        Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:45 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to President Slobodan Milosevic of
    the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).