President. the Senate already approved an amendment. of which I sponsored. that seeks to do exactly these things. It imposes a number of reporting requirements. designed to provide the basis for moving us in the direction We all want to go. According to the amendment already passed by the Senate just over one month ago. each time the Administration submits a budget request for funding military operations in Bosnia. the Administration must clearly state its best assessment of six items: (1) our overall objectives and multiyear timetable for achieving these objectivestaking account of the benchmarks already required under the supplemental appropriation passed earlier this year. (2) the military and nonmilitary missiosn the President has directed U.S. forces to carry outincluding specific language on our policy on war criminals. returning refugees. police functions. and support for civil implementation. (3) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staffs assessment of the risks these missions present to U.S. military personnel. (4) the cost of executing our strategy over several fiscal years. (5) the status of plans to move forward a European force inside Bosnia with a U.S. force outside Bosnia that would deter threats and provide support to the European force. and (6) an assessment of the impact of reducing our forces according to the timetable proposed in the original ByrdHutchison amendment. This may seem like a detailed and onerous reporting requirement. but it is nothing more than the king of longterm planning the Administration should be doing anyway. And by requiring it in a report to Congress. we ensure that the Congress is operating off the same set of assumptions and plans as the Administration.
Keywords matched
refugees