Political Quotes

“when we invaded Serbia and we went in with our military and the NATO military, I did not support the President's actions, as did many of our colleagues in this body. Not because I felt support for Milosevic, but because I was convinced we had not allowed Russia to play the role that they could have and should have played in getting Milosevic to agree to the terms that the NATO and other nations wanted after the meetings at Rambouillet, and I said so publicly. It was not that those of us who opposed President Clinton supported Milosevic, but rather that we thought there was a better way that would have avoided the kind of atrocities that were committed by our own bombing in Belgrade and other cities in the former Yugoslavia. But the fact is that we did bomb that country, and we continued it for a matter of weeks. In fact, Mr. Speaker, I was the one who assembled a delegation of 10 of our colleagues and myself, five Democrats, all supporters of President Clinton, and five Republicans to travel to Vienna after having discussed with Strobe Talbot, the number two person at the State Department, the offer of the Russians to me to help Russia play a role in resolving the crisis in Yugoslavia on the terms that the U.S. and NATO wanted. I also, Mr. Speaker, had access to a memo that had been prepared secretly by Strobe Talbot, which was briefed to both Sandy Berger and Vice President Gore. So I knew what the policy of the U.S. was with regard to Russia's involvement.”