James Whittier Parker: “there comes a time in everyone's life when he or she must choose between two very bad choices. For me, this vote today…”

“there comes a time in everyone's life when he or she must choose between two very bad choices. For me, this vote today is one of those times. For the last several years I have supported lifting the arms embargo on Bosnia. I have made public statements to that effect and have criticized the foreign policy leadership of the Bush and Clinton administrations on this issue. But today, I will vote against this resolution. I no longer support lifting the embargo. Lifting the embargo will not make the slaughter in Bosnia go away. It will not right the wrong choices of the past. Bosnia is a tragedy and a failure for the entire world. This decision I have arrived at is not so much based on a meticulous, intellectual analysis of foreign policy. It is based on a deep-seated, gut-wrenching feeling that I, as a man, would live to regret a decision to the contrary. That's not to say that I have not given much thought to the matter and engaged in long and heated debates. I have. But I am absolutely convinced that the situation in Bosnia can get worse, far worse than it already is. The war can broaden throughout the region. Lifting the embargo now will lead to a withdrawal by the United Nations. The Europeans will wash their hands and when the war escalates into a larger Balkan explosion, the United States will be drawn in. That is the bottom line for me.”