Don Nickles: “Mr. President, for several months, I have tried to get a straight answer from the administration on the legal…”

“Mr. President, for several months, I have tried to get a straight answer from the administration on the legal justification for the deployment of United States troops under United Nations' command in Macedonia. While the soldiers have a mission, I do not believe they have a clear, legal mandate. The question of our involvement in Macedonia was first brought to my attention by Ron Ray, a constituent of mine who is representing Michael New. Apparently, Michael New asked his commanding officer to provide some explanation as to why an American Army specialist was being asked to wear a U.N. uniform and deploy to Macedonia under the U.N. flag. In a recent hearing with Ambassador Madeliene Albright, usually one of the more plain spoken members of the President's foreign policy team, we reviewed the procedures for deploying American troops under the U.N. flag. She offered the view that while there were clear guidelines defining chapter VII deployments, using chapter VI to justify a mission had evolved as a matter of U.N. custom and tradition.”