Kendra S. Horn: “earlier today I expressed my views on why the American military should not be sent to Kosovo. The conflict in Kosovo is…”

“earlier today I expressed my views on why the American military should not be sent to Kosovo. The conflict in Kosovo is taking place within a sovereign nation. If we are going to go to war with a sovereign nation, we ought to provide a declaration of war. That is what the Constitution of the United States would have us do. I think all of us in this Chamber know that Serbian leader Milosevic is a war criminal that should be tried by an international tribunal. The issue here today is, by what criteria should Congress and the President of the United States judge whether American troops should go there? When is the success known by American troops sent to Kosovo? The President repeatedly broke promises regarding the length of service in Bosnia before admitting our troops will be there indefinitely. Are they going to spend 50 years in the Balkans around Kosovo to bring peace as we have in Korea? This is the time to ask the President to face up to the tough questions and give us the answers to the questions that have been submitted to him. I would keep American troops out of Kosovo. The President has failed to explain the urgent national interest which requires the introduction of U.S. forces into Kosovo. He has failed to even attempt a full explanation of this policy to Congress. The Constitution has given Congress a clear role to play which the President has ignored.”