David Cay Johnston: “This is not the only item of interest and not the only thing that the President discusses with President Yeltsin, but it…”

“This is not the only item of interest and not the only thing that the President discusses with President Yeltsin, but it certainly is a legitimate one. I can say if those were Louisiana chickens, I would be calling him up and saying, ``Mr. President, don't stand for this. Speak to your friend, President Yeltsin, about it.'' Now, Mr. President, this time last week we had a very dangerous world situation where two American carrier battle groups were steaming in the vicinity of the Strait of Taiwan and where the People's Republic of China, the largest country in the world, was engaging in live-fire tests, close to Taiwan. It is not an understatement to say that the world was in real danger of a conflagration at that time, not because anyone desired war but because the close proximity of these forces involving live fire made the possibility of a misstep, of a bump in the night between two ships, of a misspent or misfired rocket or shell, a very great danger. Today, Mr. President, we all breathe easier as the crisis has passed. Mr. President, the problem remains. The potential for a huge crisis remains. I would like to speak to what I regard as a very fateful decision. That is, the pending legislation; the pending legislation, Mr. President, would move this country, in my view, from a policy of engagement with the largest country in the world to a policy of containment of the largest country in the world, and containment equals--make no mistake about it--a new cold war.”