Herb Kohl: “for quite some time I have been studying the issue of whether we should expand NATO. There are some who have argued that…”

“for quite some time I have been studying the issue of whether we should expand NATO. There are some who have argued that there has not been sufficient debate about NATO expansion. Yet, we have been considering NATO expansion for several years now, long before this resolution of ratification made it to the Senate floor. By wide margins, the Senate indicated its support for the concept of NATO expansion in 1994 and 1995, and since then, there has been much discussion in the Senate and in the media on the pros and cons of expanding NATO. As the Administration has worked with our allies on the details of NATO expansion, building on the Partnership for Peace which lay the ground work for this move back in 1994, and culminating with the signing of the Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty on the accession of Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic in December 1997, we have reached the point where there is little doubt that the Senate will ratify the resolution before us today. It is interesting to note, that as a bipartisan consensus for NATO expansion has emerged, opponents of NATO expansion have sharpened their arguments. I want to credit these opponents for giving us all much food for thought and for ultimately helping me focus my thinking on this important issue. After careful consideration, I have concluded that expanding NATO is in our national interest and I intend to support the resolution of ratification before us today for a number of reasons.…”