Political Quotes

“like every American, I am appalled and shocked by the killings, rape, ethnic cleansing, and other atrocities currently taking place in Bosnia. Last year, in response to these outrages, I cosponsored a resolution, Senate Resolution 79, offered by Senator Feingold to lift the arms embargo on Bosnia. Today, I will join the distinguished Republican Leader, Senator Dole, and Senator Lieberman, in cosponsoring the amendment currently before the Senate. I will cosponsor this amendment to once again signal my support for lifting the U.N. arms embargo on Bosnia. Americans and people everywhere understand the right of self-defense. After the breakup of the former nation of Yugoslavia, the Serbs took possession of the bulk of weapons from the Yugoslavian military. As the three-way civil war erupted, the United Nations enacted an arms embargo on Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia. In effect, however, this arms embargo denied the Bosnian Moslems the right to acquire arms to defend themselves against Serbian aggression. As a result of the arms embargo, Serbia and Bosnian Serbs had a monopoly on the heavy weapons they needed to conquer and carve up Bosnia. The ebb and flow of violence and atrocities we have seen are the tragic result of this policy. For some time, the U.S. Senate has called on the President to lift the arms embargo on Bosnia so that the Bosnian Moslems can defend themselves.”