Congressional Leaders Sound Off On Zaire, Bosnia

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Nov. 15) -- Concerned that the United States is being drawn into costly foreign quagmires, congressional Republicans and even some Democrats are reacting critically to new Clinton Administration initiatives in Zaire and Bosnia.

The administration's original plan was for American troops to come home from Bosnia next month, but now has indicated that as many as 10,000 U.S. soldiers will remain into 1998. That's raising hackles since many congressional leaders from the outset doubted the Clinton Administration would make good on its one-year schedule.

"It's a year ago right now that I went over to Bosnia and really... realized why we should not be there," Armed Services Committee member Rep. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said this morning. "The president promised the American people that on December 20 the troops would be back."

House National Security Committee Chairman Floyd Spence (R-S.C.) chimed in, "The credibility of the administrations's Bosnia policy will have been dramatically weakened if -- one week after the election -- the president announces that the U.S. will maintain a significant U.S. military presence in Bosnia beyond the promised one-year commitment."

Defense Secretary William Perry went to Capitol Hill Thursday to explain the administration's plans, but lawmakers complained the proposed U.S. mission to Zaire is too unclear and warned it could turn out to be another Somalia disaster in which American troops charged with a humanitarian mission become entangled in bloody military conflict.

The administration has "good intentions but no clear goals," suggested Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.). And Rep. Ben Gilman (R-N.Y.), chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said in a statement that it is "imperative that the president provide assurances to the Congress and the American people that U.S. troops will not be drawn into a Somalia-like quagmire of warlord-hunting."

Perry told reporters that the U.S. would insist on a cease fire. "We are not planning a mission to go in and disarm factions or to separate military from refugees," he said. "This is a humanitarian mission."

A senior House Democrat expressed concern that U.S. forces were becoming overextended. "Should we have one major military conflict flare up or, heaven forbid, two, we probably won't have enough soldiers to go around," asserted Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.).

Other lawmakers were concerned about the costs of the overseas missions.

"I remain deeply concerned about the increasing use of U.S. troops for policing operations throughout the world, as well as the costs associated with such operations," Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) told reporters after the Perry briefing.

"Nobody talks about the cost," agreed Inhofe this morning. "They said the cost of Bosnia was going to be $1.5 billion; it's up now to $6 billion and climbing."

But Inhofe held out little chance Congress would act to block the Zaire action. "I don't think there is any means available to do that," he said. "This is strategically announced after the election and before we're in session. Right now it would be hard to get people back for a special session, even though the House is considering doing that. Even if we did, we could have a resolution of disapproval, but that would merely mean, 'We don't approve of what you're doing,'" and Clinton would "go ahead and do it anyway."

Congressional Leaders Sound Off On Zaire, Bosnia

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