News From...Congressman Vito Fossella
PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 1999
| Contact: Craig Donner
(718) 987-8400
Beeper: (800) 815-2171 |
FOSSELLA REITERATES SUPPORT FOR AIR STRIKES, BUT CHALLENGES CLINTON'S LEADERSHIP
Fossella Says Administration Has Failed To Define Scope Of Mission
Staten Island, NY -- Congressman Vito Fossella (R-NY) today reiterated his continued support of air strikes against Serbia but challenged President Clinton to provide a clear vision of the military campaign.
Fossella said his vote earlier this week against a resolution on air operations was an attempt to focus attention on Clinton's failure to provide leadership as Commander-in-Chief and to clearly articulate a strategy for victory.
"I have spoken with hundreds of Staten Islanders, including members of the Albanian-American community, and I understand and appreciate their concerns," Fossella said. "While their concerns are uppermost in my mind, I have a responsibility to all Americans as we make these difficult decisions. But President Clinton has failed the test of leadership since this military action began. In the past, I have supported the President as Commander in Chief in military actions against Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and Yugoslavia. But in this matter, he has avoided articulating a strategy that will ensure victory, prevent a nightmarish quagmire or provide permanent security to Kosovars. The President has a responsibility to articulate America's long-term strategy before placing even one soldier in harm's way. He has asked the Congress and the American people to follow his lead, but he has shrouded in darkness where that road will take us. Leading military and foreign policy experts have questioned why the Administration won't define the mission and what plans are in place for us to withdraw."
Fossella said that after only six weeks of military action, the American people are already seeing the fallout of the Administration's ambiguous strategy and failure to plan for victory.
"It was shocking that the White House and NATO failed to realize that the bombings would lead to a mass exodus of Kosovars from their homeland," Fossella said. "As the first bombs rained down, it was not hard to imagine that the Serbs would escalate a scorched earth campaign to force refugees to flee their country. The Administration failed to think ahead and appears to have been caught asleep at the wheel. As a result, besides the battle in Kosovo, we now also have almost 600,000 refugees in Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro, all of which was unanticipated by the White House. It begs the questions of whether the Administration was caught off guard or of it lacks a clear vision of how we will wage and win this war."
Fossella has supported air strikes since the NATO bombings first began and has even called for upgrading the attacks. Last month, Fossella questioned why the number of sorties being flown over Serbia are significantly lower than during the Gulf War. Fossella also voted for a bill this week that would require President Clinton to seek Congress' approval before committing ground troops to combat.
As a sign of his commitment to bringing peace to Kosovo, Fossella reiterated his support for the supplemental appropriations legislation that Congress will consider next week to increase by $11.5 billion the amount of funding dedicated to the military operation -- $6 billion more than President Clinton had requested. This funding will provide the military with the means to continue the air strikes.
"The funding will allow our nation to upgrade our military capabilities and apply intense pressure on Milosevic to end his reign of terror," Fossella said. "For the innocent victims who have been forced to flee their homes and leave their families, we are including $800 million for emergency medical assistance, food and other vital supplies."
Fossella said Congress has a responsibility to the American people to provide a check on the President's ability to unilaterally escalate the military action.
"It would be unwise for Congress to issue the President a blank check to wage war," Fossella said. "We learned only to well the dangers of gradual escalation. The 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution started a bombing campaign against North Vietnam that resulted in an 11 year quagmire, over 57,000 Americans killed in combat and some 600,000 American ground troops. That resolution became President Johnson's blank check to troop waves of new soldiers into combat. To many Americans, the war in the Balkans bears striking similarities to Vietnam. The President must have a frank discussion with the American people as to what our military's mission is, when victory will be achieved and how it will be achieved."
###
|
