Maintain presence in Balkans; Bush would destabilize NATO
Al Gore and Secretary of State Albright today denounced a proposal by Bush to withdraw US ground forces from their peacekeeping mission in the Balkans. They painted the idea as risky and misguided and said it could lead to instability in the region and
even, over time, to the possible dissolution of NATO. “Governor Bush’s proposal would be more than a major untested shift in America’s foreign policy for the last half-century,” Gore said. “It would be one that could jeopardize fragile alliances.
It would be a damaging blow to NATO.“
”I believe it demonstrates a lack of judgment and a complete misunderstanding of history to think that America can simply walk away from security challenges in Europe,“ Gore said of the Bush proposal. Gore said
that withdrawing from the peacekeeping operation in the Balkans could cause a questioning of American leadership of NATO and that the lack of American leadership over time ”would lead to the collapse of NATO and eventually threaten the peace in Europe.“
Source: Steven Holmes, NY Times
Oct 22, 2000
Military’s role is nation building in Balkans and elsewhere
Gore says Balkan peacekeeping is one of NATO’s primary tasks and an example of the operation that the American military needs to undertake to support American diplomacy in the post- cold-war world.
In addition, the armed forces should prepare for peacekeeping missions, delivering relief supplies and rebuilding institutions in war-ravaged nations, activities that the Pentagon calls nation building.
To help the military carry out such a broad array of tasks, Gore says, he would earmark $80 billion of the federal surplus for military programs over 10 years.
An additional $20 billion would be spent on international programs.
Source: Michael R. Gordon, NY Times
Oct 21, 2000
Genocide is a strategic interest & warrants intervention
GORE [to Bush]: [Regarding] when it’s appropriate for the US to use force around the world, at times the standards that you’ve laid down have given me the impression that if it’s something like a genocide or ethnic cleansing, that that alone wouldn’t
be the kind of situation that would cause you to think that the US ought to get involved with troops. There have to be other factors involved for me to want to be involved. But by itself, that, to me, can bring into play a fundamental American strategic
interest because I think it’s based on our values.
BUSH: If I think it’s in our nation’s strategic interests, I’ll commit troops. I thought it was in our strategic interests to keep Milosevic in check because of our relations in NATO, and
that’s why I took the position I took. I think it’s important for NATO to be strong and confident. I felt like an unchecked Milosevic would harm NATO. So it depends on the situation, Mr. Vice President.
Source: Presidential Debate at Wake Forest University
Oct 11, 2000
Bosnia: Be proud that we stopped ethnic cleansing
GORE: Let’s take the case of Bosnia. Here we had the most violent and bloody war in Europe since World War II, in an area of Europe that spawned the conflicts that became World War I. A growing instability that threatened to touch off a chain reaction
that would spill over border after border and lead to a much wider conflict and disorder. And at the heart of the festering wound was what they called, in the repugnant phrase they coined, ethnic cleansing. It was a hard decision for the United States
to get involved. But it was in my view, clearly, the right decision.
Q. Was it too late?
GORE: It was later than it should have been. But it wasn’t too late, no. And I think our country should feel very proud of what we did.
Without the loss of a single American life in combat, we brought the bloodshed to an end, and gave them the chance to rebuild their lives and their communities.
Source: Press Interview in Ohio
Oct 4, 2000
Russians won’t ask Milosevic to step down
BUSH: The Russians [should] convince Milosevic it’s in his best interest and his country’s best interest to leave office. The Russians have got a lot of sway in that part of the world, and we’d like to see them use that sway to encourage democracy to
take hold.
GORE: Under some circumstances, that might be a good idea. But I’m not sure that it’s right for us to invite the president of Russia to mediate this dispute there, because we might not like the result that comes out of that. They currently
favor going forward with a runoff election. I think that’s the wrong thing. I think the governor’s instinct is not necessarily bad, because we have worked with the Russians in a constructive way, in Kosovo, for example, to end the conflict there. But I
think we need to be very careful in the present situation before we invite the Russians to play the lead role in mediating.
BUSH: Well, obviously we wouldn’t use the Russians if they didn’t agree with our answer.
GORE: Well, they don’t.
Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA
Oct 3, 2000
Will decide about Milosevic based on 24 years of experience
Q: How should the voters go about deciding which one of you is better suited to make the kind of decisions in the military and foreign policy area, like with Milosevic?
GORE: Well, they should look at our proposals and look at us as people and make up
their own minds. When I was a young man, I volunteered for the Army. I served my country in Vietnam. My father was a senator who strongly opposed the Vietnam War. But I went anyway, because I knew if I didn’t, somebody else would have to go in my place.
I served on the House Intelligence Committee, specialized in looking at arms control. I served on the Senate Armed Services Committee. For the last eight years, I’ve served on the National Security Council.
And when the conflict came up in Bosnia, I
saw a genocide in the heart of Europe.. Look, that’s where World War I started, in the Balkans. My uncle was a victim of poison gas there. Millions of Americans saw the results of that conflict. We have to be willing to make good, sound judgments.
Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA
Oct 3, 2000
US must support Serbia in kicking out Milosevic
Q: If President Milosevic refuses to leave office, how should the US respond?
GORE: Milosevic lost the election. I think we should support the people and put pressure to recognize the lawful outcome of the election. When Milosevic leaves, Serbia will
be able to have a normal relationship with the world. The people of Serbia have acted bravely in kicking this guy out. Milosevic has been indicted as a war criminal, and he should be held accountable. We have to take measured steps because the sentiment
within Serbia is still against the US because they still have some feelings lingering from the NATO action there. But make no mistake about it: We should do everything we can to see that the will of the Serbian people, expressed in this extraordinary
election, is done.
BUSH: It’s time for the man to go. The US must have a strong diplomatic hand with our friends in NATO. That’s why it’s important to make sure our alliances are as strong as they possibly can be, to keep the pressure on Milosevic.
Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA
Oct 3, 2000
Supported early action in Bosnia; no “Vietnam syndrome”
Gore’s war experience left him wary of the reflexive anti-interventionism--the so-called Vietnam Syndrome--that characterized Democratic attitudes towards foreign policy in the 1970s and 1980s. As Vice President, he was a strong and early proponent
of military action in Bosnia. In Congress he supported intervention in the Persian Gulf and Grenada and, in some instances, aid to the Nicaraguan contras. “We’ve over-learned the lessons of Vietnam,” he said in 1984.
Source: Inventing Al Gore, p. 87-8
Mar 3, 2000
Serbs committing crimes against humanity.
Gore reminded everyone [in a campaign speech in Salem NH] that he is a Vietnam veteran and spoke of the war in Kosovo. He denounced the crimes against humanity being committed by the Serbs.
Source: Boston Sunday Globe, 5/2/99, p. A6, col. 5
May 2, 1999
Ethnic cleansing means mass murder and we will stop it
“Ethnic cleansing” is a phrase intended to mask the stench of its true meaning: the combination of mass murder and mass expulsion. “Ethnic cleansing” means that a dictator can simply throw away the people he does not need-like so much dirt and disease.
It dehumanizes along ethnic lines, so that murder and displacement become scientific, antiseptic, something other than atrocity. So I say to Milosevic: we are not fooled by your hateful rhetoric. We see through your veil of evil-and we will stop it.
Source: Speech on 50th Anniversary of NATO, Ellis Island, NY
Apr 21, 1999
Moral interests apply to all; NATO can act on it here
Some will say that because we cannot help people everywhere, we should help people nowhere. I believe that is wrong. We should work toward the day when there will be both the moral alertness and the political will on every continent to respond to human
suffering. But this much is clear: In Europe today, we see the need to act. Thanks to NATO, we have the means to do it. Slobodan Milosevic is one person standing in the way.
Source: Speech on 50th Anniversary of NATO, Ellis Island, NY
Apr 21, 1999
Ignoring Milosevic destabilizes Europe & world justice
We cannot allow Milosevic to “ethnically cleanse” an entire region -- to carry out, in other words, mass murder and mass expulsion against those of a different ethnicity and religion. We cannot do so because it would jeopardize the stability of Europe,
and could plunge us into a wider war. And we cannot do so because it will jeopardize our efforts to bring freedom and justice to the world - to spread human dignity abroad, just as we have struggled to do so here at home.
Source: Speech on 50th Anniversary of NATO, Ellis Island, NY
Apr 21, 1999
Moral interests dictate that we fight Milosevic’s evil
In 1989, Milosevic stripped the autonomy Kosovo had been granted under Tito. Over the next ten years, Milosevic started four wars - each with the same objective: to murder, terrorize, and expel non-Serbs. Now he has created a crisis of staggering
dimensions: up to 1.2 million Kosovar Albanians are displaced. Let us call this what it is: it is evil. Our strategic interests are important. But so are our moral interests. We must not allow Milosevic to succeed.
Source: Speech on 50th Anniversary of NATO, Ellis Island, NY
Apr 21, 1999
Bomb until Serb forces withdraw & refugees return.
We will roll back Milosevic’s reign of terror - and we will not stop until he withdraws his forces, allows the refugees to return, and accepts an international security force to protect all Kosovars, including the Serb minority, as they work toward the
self-government they once enjoyed and still deserve. If he refuses to back down, we will continue to target and degrade the military capacity he uses to repress and torture the people of Kosovo.
Source: Speech on 50th Anniversary of NATO, Ellis Island, NY
Apr 21, 1999
Click here for definitions & background information on Kosovo.
