-Caveat Lector- Clinton Urged to Plan Ground War Returning Congress Faces Debate Over Future of Policy By Guy Gugliotta and Juliet Eilperin Washington Post Staff Writers Saturday, April 10, 1999; Page A01 A bipartisan delegation of key senators and House members yesterday urged President Clinton to prepare for a possible ground war in Kosovo, underscoring the high stakes facing lawmakers returning from a two-week recess to debate the future of U.S. policy in the Balkans. "America, wake up," Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and an outspoken critic of the Clinton administration, told reporters at a news conference. "Europe is at war, and we are in it." Buyer was one of 11 Senate and House members who toured NATO installations and spoke to alliance leaders this week. Most, like Buyer, returned convinced that the United States and its NATO allies should stand firm in opposing the Serb forces of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and that Clinton should begin planning -- and preparing the American people -- for the possibility of a ground campaign. The delegation's militancy contrasted sharply with the more measured stances of many of their colleagues who stayed home during the two-week recess and the outright opposition of some who consider the air war over Yugoslavia a poorly conceived venture doomed to fail. But with polls reflecting growing support for a possible ground war in the Balkans, the politics of Kosovo in Congress have become increasingly complex. Clinton, like many Republican conservatives and some Democrats, remains opposed to deployment of U.S. ground troops, while hawkish GOP internationalists and an increasing number of Democrats insist that the war must be escalated even at the risk of U.S. casualties. Clinton presumably would like congressional support for whatever course he chooses, and he must eventually have congressional approval for extra money to fund the war. Whether he will get it will become clearer Tuesday, as Congress returns to work and finds its agenda consumed by the war in Kosovo. House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) have said little about the conflict during the recess, but members of both chambers are contemplating a variety of Balkans-related measures. In the Senate, Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) may revive a measure calling for NATO to arm the Kosovo resistance movement. John McCain (R-Ariz.) suggested a resolution from Lott and Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) saying "we support the president and urging him to take what action he deems necessary." But in the House, William F. Goodling (R-Pa.), chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and chief deputy whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) are seeking support for a bill refusing to fund U.S. ground troops in Kosovo without congressional authorization. Rep. Greg Ganske (R-Iowa), a cosponsor, said his constituents "don't see we have an overriding interest" in sending ground troops to Kosovo and predicted Hastert would be "mobbed on the floor" by members seeking a vote on the issue. "This is sounding to us just like the beginning of Vietnam," he said. Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.), meanwhile, intends to offer two resolutions under the War Powers Act, one formally declaring war and one calling for the withdrawal of troops 30 days after the bill's passage. "Congress should be asked to vote yes or no at this stage," Campbell said. As Congress considers these resolutions, both chambers may also have before them an emergency funding request from the administration, a measure likely to inspire considerable rancor among Republicans anxious to curb government spending but reluctant to deprive U.S. forces to do so. "We have to be honest with the American people," Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said. "I would say this: You can't put a cost on your national security. If we believe this is a priority for your short-term and long-term interests, then cost has to be secondary." Democrats generally have favored the air offensive in Kosovo, while Republicans have criticized what they say is the administration's failure to anticipate Serb resistance. Still, partisanship has blurred some in recent days as the Kosovo intervention has deepened. McCain noted that "none of us have heard from the leadership" during the recess, and in the absence of any signal from Lott, the Senate debate is being dominated by hawkish Republicans -- McCain, Hagel and Armed Services Committee Chairman John W. Warner (R-Va.) among them. Still, the Senate clearly has its share of ambivalence. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who opposes sending ground troops to Kosovo, described a series of town meetings in which "always more than one-third say continue doing what we are doing, 20 to 25 percent say get out as soon as we can, and the other 30 percent basically say [commit] ground troops." But, he added, 90 percent are unwilling for Americans to shed blood in Kosovo. In the House, members are much more vulnerable to the blandishments of outraged voters from much smaller constituencies, and viewpoints are often much easier to identify. In order to "save the credibility of the administration, we [will] get ourselves more deeply involved than we already are," said Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.), a former Air Force officer who says 95 percent of her constituent telephone calls oppose intervention in Kosovo. "It's not worth it." Hastert took a hard-line posture during a European trip last week. "The Milosevic regime is evil, and free nations should confront evil wherever it occurs," he said in a speech before the Lithuanian parliament. "We have a duty to say no to ruthless dictators, to draw the lines where evil knows no bounds. . . . Let there be no mistake: no one should doubt the resolve of the American people as we work to bring justice to the Kosovo region." But the speaker is not forcing a party-line position, and many of his colleagues are deeply conflicted. Freshman Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) said he was applauded at home for voting last month against sending peacekeepers to Kosovo, but times have changed. "The fact is we're in this mess now," Terry said. "We have to look at how do we get out of it." For Buyer, McCain, Lieberman, Hagel and five of the other lawmakers who accompanied Defense Secretary William S. Cohen to Europe this week, the only answer is to stand firm. "What we have heard and seen has stiffened the will of all of us and given us an understanding of how just a cause we are fighting for," Lieberman said. "We're not going to walk away. One way or another, we're going to win." The nine urged the president to begin planning for the use of ground forces, as well as convey to the American public the gravity of the Kosovo campaign. "It is important for the administration to reinforce the point to the American public that NATO's efforts could require many more weeks or months to succeed," the lawmakers wrote Clinton. "The American public also needs to be better prepared for the likelihood of alliance casualties." But if militancy has eloquent champions from both parties, it has equally eloquent critics. "I've always been concerned that doing 'something' may be worse than doing nothing," said House intelligence committee Chairman Porter J. Goss (R-Fla.). "Now we're stuck in a situation where we're either going to have to send ground troops or send somebody else to do it. We're sort of at the bottom of a hole." Sen. Robert G. Torricelli (D-N.J.), ordinarily a staunch Clinton supporter, called the air campaign a massive "error of judgment" that should not be compounded. "I will personally oppose any introduction of American armed forces into Serb territory for what would be a protracted military campaign." But other Democrats were convinced that massive human rights abuses in Kosovo made it impossible to pull back. Milosevic "needs to be stopped at all costs," said House Minority Whip David E. Bonior (D-Mich.). "You can't do it halfway." And Rep. James P. Moran (D-Va.) said that while the majority of his constituents opposed sending ground troops, "there comes a point . . . where you happen to acquire a conviction on some causes, and it is more important to do what you believe is right rather than react to public opinion." Staff researcher Ben White contributed to this report. � Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "From the rage of today's downtrodden comes the revenge of tomorrow's revolutionary force." Edward Britton ><> http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5285/connector1.html Reality Pump: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/Reality_Pump2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
