John Doolittle: “I support the resolution by Representative Campbell to remove our troops from action in the Balkans. I'm opposed to…”

“I support the resolution by Representative Campbell to remove our troops from action in the Balkans. I'm opposed to applying American military force on behalf of Kosovo because our goals are unclear and the risks are too great without any fundamental strategic American interest. Introduction of ground forces onto what we still recognize as Yugoslavian soil is a muddled policy. Are we joining a Kosovar war of liberation, or are we demanding the Yugoslavian national government delegate an arbitrary level of power to the provincial Kosovo government? It is difficult to imagine Kosovars and the Serbs reconciling and co-existing peacefully and on equal terms after such massive intervention by the United States. Alternatively if Kosovo or a part of Kosovo were indeed to gain independence, we don't have any assurance that they wouldn't try to join a Greater Albania. I am wary of the side we picked in this Yugoslavian civil war. I do feel the United States should be a friend to freedom movements throughout the world. But our support for the Kosovars doesn't seem to be rooted in any affinity of theirs for freedom or for the United States. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has links to very suspect groups, among them heroin smugglers and Middle East terrorists. Should we be strengthening a group that is supported by Osama bin Laden and other very dangerous people who hate America?”