Benjamin Gilman: “Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, there is a tragic war unfolding in the Balkans. The United States military has been playing a…”

“Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, there is a tragic war unfolding in the Balkans. The United States military has been playing a significant role in this war for several weeks. There is every indication that the war will expand and so will the United States' role. And yet, it is an undeclared war bearing an eerie resemblance to the beginning of the Vietnam War albeit that this one involves our NATO allies. As a part of a NATO policy, the United States military began bombing in Yugoslavia in response to that government's refusal to go along with a plan for NATO "peacekeeping" forces to occupy the Yugoslav province of Kosovo in an effort to stop a civil war and "ethnic cleansing." It appears that President Clinton and other NATO leaders mistakenly thought that bombing specified military targets in Serbia and Kosovo would send a message to Yugoslav President Milosevic that would cause him to quickly embrace the NATO peace plan. It is obvious this was a gross miscalculation. Instead, Serbian forces immediately swept through Kosovo burning homes and driving out thousands and thousands of Kosovars who have become refugees in neighboring states. In the process, many human rights atrocities against the Kosovars in Kosovo have been reported.”