Lee Metcalf: “I am astounded that the administration choose not to support the attempts of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr.…”

“I am astounded that the administration choose not to support the attempts of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) at finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in Kosovo. The decision by the administration leads me to reluctantly conclude that they are determined to prosecute a war in Kosovo regardless of costs. The attempt by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) in coordination with the Russian Duma should have been wholeheartedly embraced by this administration as a means to ensure the safety of not only the Kosovars, but our men and women in uniform carrying out the NATO mission. I can think of no reason why the administration would reject the efforts of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Weldon) and the members of the Russian Duma. The agreement, if successful, would establish a cease-fire under conditions first proposed by the NATO countries. Now, if the NATO requirements were dismissed in the proposal and unsatisfactory ones drafted, I could understand that the administration would be unable or unwilling to support it. But a rejection of a potential agreement with the NATO conditions as a prerequisite is unimaginable.”