Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed the conferees did not reflect the clear will of the House in the conference report's provision dealing with Bosnia. The mission of the U.S. Armed Forces in Bosnia has been characterized by a failure to define achievable objectives, a unilateral shifting of deadlines and a refusal on the part of the administration to clearly explain its goals either to Congress or to the public at large. If the American people are to have any confidence in our national security policy, that policy must be honestly and forthrightly presented to them. I am troubled by the unclear focus of the mission and the apparent lack of an exit strategy. The underlying premise of the original mission was to separate the warring parties, then turn the peacekeeping role over to our European allies within one year. In November of 1995, in his address to the Nation regarding our proposed commitment of forces to Bosnia, President Clinton said that our participation should last about one year. However, in November of 1996, the President announced that our military presence in Bosnia would be extended for another 18 months, until June 30 of 1998. Secretary of Defense Cohen has emphatically stated his understanding that U.S. forces would be withdrawn by the end of June of 1998. However, on September 23 of this year, National Security Adviser Berger cast serious doubt on this second deadline.”