Political Quotes

“this bill before us today--The Kosovo and Southwest Asia Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act of 1999--is bringing to the fore front of debate several pressing issues that will have a long- standing effect upon the National Security of the United States. First, the Kosovo operation, while it may not directly be vital to America's immediate national security interests, it most certainly will have an impact in the long-term. The United States is engaged in the Balkans to combat the forces of inhumanity and aggression. The list of daily atrocities committed by Yugoslavian troops against the ethnic Kosovar Albanians, is all but too well known. We are indeed witnessing a modern day genocide in Europe. Here it is, almost the end of the century, and we almost stood idlely by as President Slobodan Milosevic began a genocidal policy of intimidation, rape and extermination under the name of ``ethnic cleansing.'' However, the United States and NATO did not stand down. Geo-politically, the conflict in the Balkans has the potential to embroil other nearby states, thus creating a destabilizing effect throughout Eastern Europe. America has a vital security interest in a stable, democratic and peaceful Europe. This is why the United States along with its NATO allies have found it necessary to stand up to Milosevic's naked aggression in Kosovo.”