Gilbert Gutknecht: “Part of the reason we are respected by all of the parties in Europe is because we are a reluctant leader. We are not…”

“Part of the reason we are respected by all of the parties in Europe is because we are a reluctant leader. We are not there because we want to gain any particular territory or any particular political influence in the Balkans. It is only because we believe it is the right thing to do, and I think that does give us some moral authority that goes a long way. The other thing that we saw and we witnessed, and I know that we should not make some of these decisions purely based on emotional issues, but as we went out and toured some of the villages and actually met with some of the people themselves, the pictures, the stories, there are certain images that I think I speak for myself, but I know that I speak for everyone that was on that delegation, there are images that are just burned into our minds. I remember, as I am sure the gentleman does, the meeting we had with some of the mayors in that small little portable building that they had constructed and the emotion in their eyes. One of the mayors said, when we talked about people had been displaced from their homes, he said, I have moved nine times in the last 2 years. Please tell me which house is mine.”