Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 / Apr. 15 Statement on House Action on the Republican Budget Proposal April 14, 1999 The budget passed by House Republicans falls Nation’s most serious long-term challenges. I short of what the American people need for will continue to work with the Congress to use meeting the challenges of the 21st century. It the surplus to pay down our national debt, to fails to lock away the surplus to strengthen So- strengthen Social Security and Medicare, to en- cial Security and Medicare, and it fails to meet courage our people to save for the future, and many of America’s other critical needs for the to meet our defense, education, and other long- future. The fiscal discipline of the past 6 years term needs. has given us a historic opportunity to meet our Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With the American Society of Newspaper Editors in San Francisco, California April 15, 1999 The President. Thank you very much, Mr. philosophy that teaches people to dearly love Seaton, distinguished officers, and members of a piece of land while utterly dismissing the hu- the American Society of Newspaper Editors. I manity of those who occupy it. want to thank you for giving me the opportunity That is what Mr. Milosevic has been doing to address the crisis in Kosovo, why we’re there, ever since Yugoslavia started breaking up in what our objectives are, how this fits in with 1989. For a decade, he has been trying to build our larger vision of the future. a Greater Serbia by using military force to rear- Since I’m here I can’t help noting that one range the ethnic character of the nations which of the truly striking aspects of this moment is emerged from Yugoslavia. That is what he did the stark contrast it illuminates between a free for years in Croatia and, horribly, in Bosnia— society with a free press, and a closed society what he is doing in Kosovo now. where the press is used to manipulate people Last year he drove hundreds of thousands by suppressing or distorting the truth. of people from their homes into the frigid In Belgrade today, independent journalists are mountains and let them back only after NATO being persecuted. This week, one brave editor threatened to use force. He is now determined was murdered in cold blood. Meanwhile, the to crush all resistance to his rule even if it Government-run press has constructed an alter- means turning Kosovo into a lifeless wasteland. native reality for the Serbian people in which As these difficult days proceed, it is important the atrocities their soldiers are committing in to remember that we have no quarrel with the Kosovo simply don’t exist. Under those condi- Serbian people. They were our allies in World tions, decent people can remain in denial, sup- War II; they have often been our allies. In a porting policies that lead them to political and sense, they are victims of this tragedy, too. And economic ruin. we must understand the anguish of Serbian- Thank goodness our press and free press Americans who, like Albanian-Americans, are throughout the world have tried to get at and worried about their loved ones back home. get out the truth, to ensure that words like Americans should not blame Serbs or look down refugees, displacement, ethnic cleansing don’t on Serbian-Americans because we disagree with become stale and lifeless but remain causes for the Milosevic government. We must not let his action. ethnic cleansing provoke us to ethnic bias. The tragedy in Kosovo is the result of a me- We and our 18 NATO Allies are in Kosovo ticulously planned and long-premeditated attack today because we want to stop the slaughter on an entire people simply on the basis of their and the ethnic cleansing; because we want to ethnicity and religion, an attack grounded in a build a stable, united, prosperous Europe that 551 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:57 Mar 19, 2001 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00551 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 C:\99PUBPAP\99PUBPAP.TXT txed01 PsN: txed01 Apr. 15 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 includes the Balkans and its neighbors; and be- the leaders of Europe and the people they rep- cause we don’t want the 21st century to be resent are determined to maintain and intensify dominated by the dark marriage of modern our attacks until Mr. Milosevic’s forces leave weapons and ancient ethnic, racial, and religious Kosovo and the refugees return under the pro- hatred. We cannot simply watch as hundreds tection of an international force or until his mili- of thousands of people are brutalized, murdered, tary is weakened to the point when he can no raped, forced from their homes, their family his- longer keep his vise-like grip on Kosovo. tories erased, all in the name of ethnic pride At the beginning of the operation, we focused, and purity. properly, on Serbia’s highly developed air de- NATO was pivotal to ending the killing and fenses, to reduce the risks to our pilots. There ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. We can do so again, are still significant air defenses up, and there- and this time we have responded more quickly. fore, there is still risk with every mission. But Were we to stand aside, the atrocities in we have degraded the system to the point that Kosovo would go on and on. Neighboring de- now NATO can fly 24 hours a day, not simply mocracies, as you see, would be overwhelmed at night. We’ve struck at Serbia’s machinery of by permanent refugees and demoralized by the repression, at the infrastructure that supports failure of democracy’s alliance. The Kosovar Al- it. We’ve destroyed all of Serbia’s refineries, half banians would become a people without a of its capacity to produce ammunition. We’ve homeland, a burden to host countries, a magnet attacked its bridges and rail lines and commu- for radical ideologies, a breeding ground for nications networks to diminish its ability to sup- unending warfare in the Balkans. NATO would ply, reinforce, and control its forces in Kosovo. be discredited, yes, because it made promises Increasingly now, we are striking the forces not kept but, more important, because its values themselves, hitting tanks, artillery, armored per- and vision of Europe would be profoundly dam- sonnel carriers, radar missiles, and aircraft. aged. Ultimately, the conflict in Kosovo would As the allies have said, all of us, repeatedly, spread anyway, and we would have to act any- Mr. Milosevic can stop NATO’s bombing by way. meeting these conditions: One, Serbian security Now, when we decided to launch the air cam- forces must leave Kosovo; two, the displaced paign, after Mr. Milosevic rejected peace, we Kosovars must be able to return; three, there believed there was at least a possibility that our must be an international security force to pro- readiness to act would deter him from moving tect all Kosovars, including the Serb minority forward as it had in the past. But we also under- there, as they work towards self-government. stood clearly that with 40,000 troops and over If he refuses, our military campaign will con- 250 tanks massed in and around Kosovo he tinue to destroy as much of his military capa- might intensify his repression and go on with bility as we can so that each day his capacity his planned attack, as I made clear in my ad- for repression will diminish. dress to the Nation the night the airstrikes Meanwhile, his actions, though absolutely dev- began. astating to the civilian population and horribly There was only one possibility that we and burdensome to the frontline states of Macedonia our NATO Allies were not willing to entertain, and Albania, have not destroyed the armed op- that the international community would look the position among Kosovars. Indeed, their numbers other way in the face of this brutality. and determination are growing. Ultimately, Mr. Now the NATO air campaign has been under- Milosevic will have to choose, either to cut his way for 3 weeks, often interrupted or limited mounting losses or lose his ability to maintain by bad weather. This is, however, a good time his grip on Kosovo. to assess what has been accomplished and where As for NATO, we are prepared to continue we’re going. this effort as long as necessary to achieve our Mr. Milosevic’s strategy has been to complete objectives. Our timetable will be determined by the ethnic cleansing, then break the unity of our goals, not the other way around. NATO by taking the bombs and offering phony In the meantime, we must do more to aid concessions. But NATO is more united today the refugees. They are pouring out of Kosovo. than when the operation began. Whether they We must help to preserve their lives and health are Conservatives in Spain, Socialists in France, and their hope of return. This week, NATO New Labor in Britain, or Greens in Germany, approved Operation Allied Harbor, under which 552 VerDate 11-MAY-2000 11:57 Mar 19, 2001 Jkt 010199 PO 00000 Frm 00552 Fmt 1240 Sfmt 1240 C:\99PUBPAP\99PUBPAP.TXT txed01 PsN: txed01 Administration of William J. Clinton, 1999 / Apr. 15 8,000 troops will work with relief agencies in did get involved, we were doing what at least Albania to establish camps, provide logistical we thought was right for humanity. support, deliver aid, and ensure security.