| Submitted by former Vice President Dan Quayle, Candidate for the Republican presidential nomination |
QUAYLE ON KOSOVO:
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“As I have said from the outset of our military involvement in Yugoslavia, this is the wrong war in the wrong place. The United States should never commit our military unless it is in our vital national security interests. Involving ourselves in a civil war of ancient origins does not meet that test. No one is better off as a result of this ill-advised mission: not the United States or its allies; not NATO; and certainly not the Albanian Kosovars, whose suffering has increased dramatically. “There is an opportunity for the refugees to return to their homes under the protection of an international security force in Yugoslavia. We should seize the moment, stop the bombing, and pursue this opportunity now. The key difference between the Yugoslav government’s proposal and the earlier Rambouillet framework concerns the composition of such an international force and how it is to be armed. There is ample reason to believe that these issues can be resolved by negotiations, and the discussions should begin in earnest at once. America’s role is not to negotiate with Milosevic, but to pursue peace by bringing together the real parties to this conflict – the Kosovars and the Yugoslav government. “The present policy risks miring us in a protracted military campaign that further depletes our armed forces and diminishes our ability to confront real threats in other parts of the world. America’s credibility has been undermined by the president’s actions, and that credibility can best be restored by a new president. In the meantime, however, we can avoid compounding the Clinton administration’s mistakes.” Quayle has opposed the administration’s handling of
the conflict in Kosovo throughout its duration. In a statement
issued on April 7, Quayle urged Clinton to keep US ground troops
out of Kosovo, calling the crisis a “direct result of blunders.”
During a discussion on Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields on April
17, Quayle pushed for a halt to the air campaign in order to
pursue negotiations. On April 27, during an appearance on Crossfire,
Quayle explained that US involvement must be determined by “America’s
vital national security interests” and that Kosovo failed
that test.
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