Elijah Lewis: “I am deeply troubled and anguished by what is happening in Bosnia. We all share the pain and the suffering. We have seen…”

“I am deeply troubled and anguished by what is happening in Bosnia. We all share the pain and the suffering. We have seen the horror. Women are raped, children are brutalized, and young men are taken away to an uncertain fate--often death. These people of Bosnia are part of the family of humankind. When they bleed, we bleed. When they suffer, we suffer. When they are slaughtered and killed, something dies in all of us. What is happening in this part of the world is an affront to all humanity. We--as the community of nations--cannot, and we must not, stand by in the face of this carnage. I--like everyone else--have watched in anguish as the United Nations failed to defend the safe areas in Bosnia. But I know that the British and French have troops in Bosnia. Lifting the embargo is not so simple or clear. We will send troops to help remove the U.N. forces if we lift the arms embargo. How many of us are prepared to send American troops--our young men and women--to Bosnia to fight in this conflict? A vote for this resolution is a vote to send American troops into Bosnia. Every member of this body must know this. This vote is not a free vote. This vote has consequences. The question is not whether to stop the violence. We all want to stop the violence. The question is how to stop the violence. Will unilaterally lifting the embargo bring peace to this region? Or will it spread the conflict and increase the toll of death and destruction?”