[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 15 (Monday, April 18, 1994)]
[Pages 783-784]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks and an Exchange With Reporters Prior to Meeting With 
Congressional Leaders

April 12, 1994

Legislative Agenda

    The President. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen of the press. This 
is our first bipartisan leadership meeting on the resumption of the 
Congress, and we have a lot of things to discuss today.
    I want to begin with a discussion of the crime bill and the 
importance of proceeding deliberately and quickly to pass it; to 
reiterate my commitment yesterday that we will do whatever we can to get 
the first 20,000 police officers on the streets this year if the crime 
bill is passed in an expeditious fashion. Then we'll move on to some 
other issues where I hope we can have a good bipartisan discussion in 
support of domestic issues like the budget and health care, and also 
we'll talk a little about Bosnia today and some other foreign policy 
issues.

Bosnia

    Q. Mr. President, do you have some concern--there's more shelling 
today. I mean, there's some suspicion that the Muslims may be trying to 
provoke the Serbs. Have we started something with air strikes that will 
make matters worse rather than better?
    The President. We certainly haven't started anything. We have done 
exactly what we said we would do under the U.N. policy, that if the U.N. 
forces there were put at risk, as they were in the shelling of Gorazde, 
we would offer close air support if the General asked and the civilian 
authorities agreed. We went through all the procedural require- 

[[Page 784]]

ments, and we did exactly what I think we should have done.
    Q. Well, the Serbian----
    Q. What about----
    The President. We have talked--let me answer Andrea's [Andrea 
Mitchell, NBC News] question--we have cautioned the Bosnian Government 
forces not to try to take advantage of this in violation of the 
understandings themselves. And General Rose has been very firm on that 
this morning.
    Q. Are you considering expanding this to other safe havens if the 
Serbs persist and don't get the message?
    The President. Well, I wouldn't rule anything out. We're working 
very closely with General Rose, and he's got a very aggressive view of 
his role there, which I think is good.
    Q. The Serbian leader has threatened against the U.N. forces. 
They've kidnaped some. They're holding some in house arrest. They've 
escalated the military action.
    The President. Well, every time we have been firm, though, in the 
end it's been a winner for the peace process. And I think it will be 
here. And I'm very encouraged by the position taken by the Russians, 
that they want the Serbs to withdraw from the safe area in Gorazde, and 
they want to return to the negotiating table.
    Before this last incident, I thought we were getting pretty close 
to--not just to a cease-fire but to an absolute cessation of hostilities 
and a real serious bargaining position so we could get back there in a 
hurry, and I wish the Russians well in working with the Serbs. I've 
assured President Yeltsin that we have no interest in using NATO's air 
power to affect the outcome of the war. But we do want to protect the 
U.N. mandate. And we do want a negotiation, and I think we're going to 
get one.
    Q. Have you seen or heard anything from the Serbs that would 
indicate a response to the air strike, sir?
    The President. I don't know how to answer that, Peter [Peter Maer, 
NBC Mutual Radio]. The Russians--Mr. Churkin is over there now, and 
we're working on trying to get this thing back on track, and I hope we 
can do it. But we have to be firm in our reaction to the plain 
violations of the United Nations resolutions and in what we set our 
policy to do.
    The good thing that we've seen since the terrible incident in 
Sarajevo in the market is that both the U.N. and NATO have been able to 
follow what they said their policy would be all along, and I think 
that's what we have to do. We have to be firm in pursuing the policy 
that we say we have. It's our only chance of success.

Supreme Court Nomination

    Q. Will it be more difficult to--[inaudible]--your domestic agenda 
with George Mitchell nominated to the--will it be harder, once he's 
nominated?
    Q. Do you have the name of a Supreme Court Justice on your left?
    The President. You think the next Supreme Court Justice should be to 
my left, Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International]? [Laughter]
    Q. I said is he.
    Q. Unless you're considering Mr. Foley.
    The President. He'd be a good one.

Note: The President spoke at 10:45 a.m. in the Cabinet Room at the White 
House. A tape was not available for verification of the content of these 
remarks.