Charles Skelton: “the German chancellor of the last century, Bismarck, once remarked that the Balkans are not worth the bones of one…”

“the German chancellor of the last century, Bismarck, once remarked that the Balkans are not worth the bones of one Pomeranian grenadier. I say to you today that the Balkans are not worth the life of one American soldier. We are on the brink, Mr. Chairman, of a major international mistake. To those that would support this resolution, I say you do not know what you do. Oh, how simple it sounds. Level the playing field, let them fight back. But we should look, in the light of history, into the consequences of what lifting this embargo would be. First and foremost, it would be a death knell for many Bosnian Moslems, because the Serbs will intensify their attack before any training and any additional weapons can reach them. Second, the UNPROFOR forces will come out. They will leave, and they will ask and receive help by the American forces. Of this I will speak a bit later. Third, the United States will be asked to fill the void, first to train, then to supply, and when that fails, to fight. Those who look at more recent history see that there is a great parallel to this and our tragedy in Vietnam, and it could be all that all over again. Fourth, outside forces will enter the conflict. Russia has already stated that should we enter the conflict on one side, they will on behalf of the Serbs. What about the other Moslem countries in the area, the other orthodox countries in the area? We will have the tinderbox once again that started the First World War.”