Lee Hamilton: “I certainly understand why many of my colleagues in this body are ready to support the McCloskey amendment. The people…”

“I certainly understand why many of my colleagues in this body are ready to support the McCloskey amendment. The people of Bosnia have suffered very much in a tragic war. We in the West have been unable to stop it up to this point, and, as I have heard so many of my colleagues say, we simply have to do something. And I think many of my colleagues look upon the McCloskey amendment as a relatively cost-free, risk-free way of participating, if my colleagues would, in this war, and I have no doubt at all that they are utterly and completely sincere in their views. But I just want to say that I think the adoption of the McCloskey amendment will drag us much closer to war. Now, I think these are the consequences that will flow if the McCloskey amendment is adopted. First of all, it is going to intensify the war. If we promise the Moslems arms, promise the Bosnian Government arms, they are going to have very little incentive to negotiate; they will have every incentive to fight. If we arm the Moslems, the Bosnian Government, the Serbs will move quickly to crush the Moslems before they can receive the weapons.”