James Traficant: “Mr. Chairman, I want to join forces with the gentleman from Maryland on this amendment. I believe that this has come to…”

“Mr. Chairman, I want to join forces with the gentleman from Maryland on this amendment. I believe that this has come to light in the case of Michael New. I believe it does pose some significant military questions that must be answered and resolved, and I believe the case for such resolution rests in the Congress of the United States. Some people say there is micromanagement here. I do not quite believe that. I think everybody agrees that our military personnel must follow orders. There must be a chain of command and a disciplinary structure which ensures the operational integrity of their missions, and the structure of their management and command. However, this has gone on maybe a little far with the case of Michael New, sent over to do peacekeeping work in Macedonia. Sometimes I question all this peacekeeping. I think we need a little peacekeeping at our borders and some of our cities, but that is not the point. Michael New went along with the program, but had a serious question of wearing insignia, patches, and berets, that signified the U.N. operation. As you know, Michael New was court-martialed. All of the legal activities have been contrary to the wishes certainly of the Michael New legal dilemma. Michael New has lost almost every single legal skirmish he has had over the issue.”