Victor Fazio: “I rise in opposition to S. 21, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Self-Defense Act of 1995. Mr. Chairman, I know that all of us…”

“I rise in opposition to S. 21, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Self-Defense Act of 1995. Mr. Chairman, I know that all of us share a commitment to bring a peaceful end to the tragedy in Bosnia, but we remain divided over one important question. Should we go forward, against the advice of our military commanders and unilaterally lift the embargo prohibiting the export of arms to the Bosnian Government? The difficulty we face arises out of a complex set of circumstances, principally the lack of any easy, clear-cut alternatives, and the likelihood that such a decision will thrust the United States deeper into a war not of our own making, and permanently damage the NATO alliance. While we bear a moral obligation and a global responsibility to seek a solution to this crisis, we have sought to strike a delicate balance--retain our commitment to multilateral peace-keeping operations while making every effort to guarantee the safety of the Bosnian people. Until recent days, we could pursue these two goals in tandem. But as two UN-declared safe-havens have fallen to Bosnian-Serb troops, we have rightly reexamined our decision to participate in this world-wide arms embargo, and we have begun to reassess the role of the U.N. peacekeeping force, giving command authority over to NATO. The U.N. coalition has been less than successful, and conditions in Bosnia have continued to deteriorate.”