Lee Metcalf: “I was not in favor of sending troops to Bosnia and I will admit that. I was fearful of getting bogged down. It is an…”

“I was not in favor of sending troops to Bosnia and I will admit that. I was fearful of getting bogged down. It is an awful lot easier to get into a situation like that than it is to extricate oneself after getting there. I think it is time to bring our troops home from Bosnia just as soon as we can. When President Clinton first sent troops to that country, he promised the Congress they would be brought home by December 20, 1996. Today is April 29, 1997, more than 4 months past the deadline. Our troops are still there. The President now says that the troops will be pulled out by June 1998. The big question is why. Why do they need to stay there another 1 1/2 years? Does anyone remember the original mission? I admit it is kind of hard to remember, because the President never really spelled it out, but it is generally agreed that the mission was to keep the warring factions separate and to maintain peace in the region. These goals have been accomplished, thanks to the dedication and professionalism of the men and women of our Armed Forces. As I mentioned, the President has now promised that the troops will be pulled out by June 1998. He cannot blame us for being a little skeptical even about that. His record of breaking promises does not inspire a lot of confidence. The estimated cost of the Bosnia excursion has ballooned from just under $2 billion to over $6 billion. And, remember, this is off budget. This is money that gets spent anyway and it is off budget.”