Cliff Stearns: “if you don't believe we should send troops into the Balkans--then there is a clear pattern of how you should vote today.…”

“if you don't believe we should send troops into the Balkans--then there is a clear pattern of how you should vote today. If you believe that the War Powers Resolution offers the best means for preventing the president from taking us to war--then you know the course to follow. What we are discussing today is the war in the Balkans. This region is a tapestry of overlapping ethnic rivalries where medieval and modern history are intertwined. As with the Middle East, the situation is very complicated. But where the Middle East resembles a game of checkers, the Balkan region is more like three dimensional chess. The central point is that the Balkans represent a process of history and memory which has created a multiplier effect for violence. It is not a phenomenon of ``modern hate,'' but a monstrous creation partially wrought by the collapse of the multinational Hapsburg and Ottoman empires. It is not a situation open to easy solutions. We are dealing with a primitive ferocity there. Today, we must decide if the President can take the United States further into the Balkan conflict without the approval of Congress. After all, the Constitution invests Congress with the power to make war. To my knowledge, no substantial war with the accompanying carnage has ever been fought solely on the basis of human rights. If they were, then surely we would be fighting around the globe in many countries.…”