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Congressional Republicans Express Tenuous Support for U.N. Resolution in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Top congressional Republicans expressed conditional support for a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing a rapid reaction force in Bosnia-Herzegovina, while emphasizing their concerns about the potential costs and implications. Senate Republican leader Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich wrote a letter to President Clinton, stating that they would support the resolution if it did not require additional U.S. financial contributions or troop deployments. They also sought assurances that the costs of protecting U.N. peacekeepers in Bosnia would not be passed on to other U.N. member states.

Key Takeaways:

  • Congressional Republicans expressed conditional support for the U.N. resolution, contingent on the U.S. not contributing more money or troops.
  • Dole and Gingrich asked for assurances that the costs of the rapid reaction force would not be passed on to other U.N. member states.
  • The financing of the force has held up a vote by the Security Council to authorize its deployment.
  • Reps. Bob Livingston, Benjamin Gilman, and Harold Rogers, three House Republicans, threatened to block funding for the operation due to concerns about U.S. financial obligations.
  • Dole and Gingrich stated that their initial backing of the resolution should not be interpreted as support for President Clinton's policy on Bosnia.
  • They advocated for abandoning the current "neutral" approach, withdrawing UNPROFOR, and lifting the arms embargo on the Bosnian government.
  • The House passed a foreign aid bill that calls for the unilateral lifting of the arms embargo against the Bosnian government.

Statistics:

  • $520 million: The proposed increase in the cost of the UNPROFOR peacekeeping operation in Bosnia.
  • 15: The number of nations on the U.N. Security Council that met to discuss the resolution.
  • 2: The number of House Republicans (including the chairman of two committees) who threatened to block funding for the operation.

Sources:

  • "Top Republicans Express Conditional Support for U.N. Resolution," Associated Press, June 15 (no date mentioned in the original text).

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