Jerry Lewis: “I must say that all of us must have empathy for the expression of concern about our commitment to Kosovo, the number of…”

“I must say that all of us must have empathy for the expression of concern about our commitment to Kosovo, the number of troops we have there, and how long we have been there, and how quick we can get them out. The difficulty I have with the argument today and this proposal is that we do not need 435 Secretaries of State; we do not need 435 Secretaries of Defense. I went to Kosovo in January, and at our major base camp, I met with about 30 young sergeants who talked to me about why they were there. The re-up rates in the Army are the highest there than anywhere in the world because those people know they are there to save lives. They want us out, as well. But, indeed, behind this mission is the stability of Europe. And we need a unified America speaking about solving that problem. To have a proposal that would essentially have us force withdrawal sends the wrong message to Milosevic. We should be most worried about the spring thaw, where the Albanians are about to react. They, too, want to have a head-on collision with the Serbs. Blood could flow as a result of a message that says America is not unified in its voice. This is the wrong time for this amendment presented in the wrong way, and I urge a very strong ``no'' vote.”