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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ish who wrote (39951)	3/23/1999 8:31:00 PM
From: JBL	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 67261

Senate prepares to pass resolution authorizing airstrikes Breaking News 3/23/99 Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Told by President Clinton that strikes against Serbian targets would proceed with or without congressional support, Senate leaders worked Tuesday to craft a bipartisan resolution supporting ''military air operations and missile strikes'' to help resolve the Kosovo dispute. The measure was expected to win approval Tuesday night. But many Republicans voiced skepticism about the wisdom of airstrikes and complained that Clinton's consultation with Congress had come late in the process. Opponents of the airstrikes abandoned an effort to try to block funds for the operations unless Clinton sought congressional approval first. In fact, Clinton did ask for congressional support late in the day, sending a letter to House and Senate leaders. ''Mr. Milosevic should have no doubt about our resolve. Therefore, without regard to our differing views on the Constitution about the use of force, I ask for your legislative support as we address the crisis in Kosovo. We all can be proud of our armed forces as they stand ready to answer the call of duty to the Balkans,'' Clinton wrote. Senate leaders shifted gears and scrambled to come up with bipartisan language ''authorizing'' the operation, even though Clinton contends he does not need congressional authorization. A draft of the bipartisan resolution prepared by Senate Republican and Democratic leaders, which Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., was expected to put to a vote late Tuesday, asserts that ''the president of the United States is authorized to conduct military air operations and missile strikes in cooperation with our NATO allies against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).'' The Senate debated whether to add a provision requiring Clinton to return to Congress to receive authorization if he decides to send ground troops into the region, including as part of a NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Senators briefed by the president at the White House, and later in the day by members of the president's national security team, said Clinton told them he had made up his mind - and that the airstrikes were ''imminent'' and were to begin either late Tuesday or on Wednesday. ''It's not if, it's when,'' said Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. ''I have a gut feeling that we have initiated something that will be very hard to control from now on,'' he said. Meanwhile, many of those seeking to block funds for the operation put aside their efforts. ''That is a debate for another time. We are at a critical hour,'' Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said. ''Milosevic by now should be getting the message, if he hasn't already,'' said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va. ''There is a consensus that there is going to be bombing,'' Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., told reporters. ''And since there is going to be bombing, the president should be given authorization for it.'' Considerable Senate opposition remained to using U.S. military might to end what many senators have characterized as a civil war in the Serbian province. ''I disagree with the policy of what we're doing in Kosovo, but I think it becomes a different issue when action is imminent and when you are getting ready to have troops go in harm's way,'' said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, one of the sponsors of the earlier measure to block funds for military action in Serbia.