Kosovo and Serbia conflict of 1999

¶ … Kosovo and Serbia conflict of 1999. The writer examines the roles played by United States President Bill Clinton and the United States Congress. The writer examines the opinion of each entity and their agreements and disagreements with regard to each conflict. There were three sources used to complete this paper.

For some people, the defining moment of Clinton's foreign policy mistakes can be seen in the Kosovo-Serbia conflict. Others believe that he was completely right in his decisions during that time and that the true issues have to do with the way Congress worked against him. Regardless of what side one is on the one commonality within the equation is the fact that few people will forget the tug of war created in that situation.

For most of the industrialized world, bombing without complying with the rules of war is against the rules. Nations rallied against Japan when it bombed Pearl Harbor without warning just as others voiced their opposition to the retaliation bombing of Hiroshima. For most of civilized society, bombing without following the rules of war is inhumane and something that should be avoided, however, throughout history there have been events of bombing and war that are not so clearly defined as right or wrong. It is during those conflicts that governments can find themselves divided on whether or not they should proceed. Such was the case in the Kosovo-Serbia conflict. Bill Clinton was the president at the time and the conflict brought the president into a battle of policy, opinion and words with many members of Congress. When all was said and done, Americans had a renewed lesson on the powers of the commander in chief and the role of congress when it comes to foreign affairs.

The overview

One of the most cited outrages of the actions by Clinton during that conflict was the fact that he asserted it had to do with the Kosovo importance to the vital interests of America. Those who disagreed with him believed that if America's vital interests were the case, he would have also been interested in Turkey, Romania, and other nations that were struggling with their very structural foundations at the same time period (Layne, 1999).

At the height of the Kosovo conflict then president Clinton pushed to have Congress pass a quickly designed $6 billion emergency appropriation of funds for the purpose of maintaining with he referred as military readiness (Clinton warns Congress not to double Kosovo appropriations request http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/04/28/kosovo/

April 28, 1999 Web posted at: 6:24 P.M. EDT (2224 GMT)).

In attempting to convince Congress to see it his way he argued that "I told them that now is the time to pass the supplemental funding for Kosovo that I requested nine days ago," Clinton said in a public statement following the briefing.

Let me stress that my request fully funds our military and humanitarian needs in Kosovo," Clinton said. "Congress should resist the temptations to add unrelated expenditures, even important ones, which could delay the process, because that would undermine the very goals that this funding is intended to meet (Clinton warns Congress not to double Kosovo appropriations request http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/04/28/kosovo/

April 28, 1999 Web posted at: 6:24 P.M. EDT (2224 GMT))."

Congress reacted with a divided house initially and as often happens the lines were clearly drawn between the political parties.

Clinton's request included funding to support the United States share of the NATO air campaign against Yugoslavia.

As NATO plans to "intensify the air campaign," Clinton said the operations are working. "Each day our military campaign takes a toll on Serbia's machinery of repression (Clinton warns Congress not to double Kosovo appropriations request http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1999/04/28/kosovo/

April 28, 1999 Web posted at: 6:24 P.M. EDT (2224 GMT))."

He believed that ground forces were not needed and that continued air strikes would bring about the desired result of having Serbian forces leave Kosovo.

Clinton assured all involved if he believed ground troops were needed he would seek advice from Congress, to which the House of Representatives decided to require its authorization if ground troops were requested.

As the conflict continued members of Congress began to assert that Clinton was actually committing acts of war, without the approval of Congress, by calling it something other than war (Albright to Congress: "We cannot fail' in Kosovo (http://www.counterpunch.org/serbia.html).According to Clinton the U.S. was simply "strengthening and maintaining its military strength" while Congress argued that he was permitting and ordering acts of war against Yugoslavia without going through the mandated federal steps to do so.

The response by Congress was swift. A lawsuit was filed on behalf of 13 congressional members against Bill Clinton (Albright to Congress: "We cannot fail' in Kosovo (http://www.counterpunch.org/serbia.html).

The suit accused Clinton of going to war without permission as well as demanded he remove U.S. troops within 60 days of the filing unless Congress voted to declare war within that time frame (Albright to Congress: "We cannot fail' in Kosovo (http://www.counterpunch.org/serbia.html).