UNITED STATES SENATE WOULD BE INQUIF KA BRING NO, BECAUSE THE
           LESSONS OF HISTORY ARE SUCH THAT THEY TAUGHT US THAT THIS IS IN
           FACT THE RIGHT THING TO BE DOING FOR THE RIGHT REASONS AND THEY
           ARE, I THINK, EFFORTS THAT ARE WORTHY OF OUR COMMITTING TO IN
           ORDER TO SEE THROUGH TO THE END. I'M CONFIDENT IF THE CONGRESS
           AND THE COUNTRY WERE TO SPEAK WITH A SINGLE VOITS ON THIS, IN A
           SHORT PERIOD OF TIME WE WOULD SEE THIS RESOLVED AND MOST
           LIKELY, MR. PRESIDENT, WITHOUT RECOURSE TO GROUND TROOPS OR TO

           PROLONGED WAR. I YIELD THE FLOOR AND I THANK THE DISTINGUISHED
           CHAIRMAN FOR HIS COURTESY.
           

           MR. BIDEN: MR. PRESIDENT, I'VE BEEN AUTHORIZED TO, SINCE NO ONE
           ELSE IS ON THE FLOOR, TO GO DOWN THE LIST HERE. AND I BELIEVE I
           AM TO BE YIELDED 30 MINUTES AT THIS POINT. AND I ASK UNANIMOUS
           CONSENT THAT I BE ABLE TO PROCEED.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM DELAWARE.
           

           MR. BIDEN: MR. PRESIDENT, THERE ARE FEW ISSUES THAT THIS BODY
           DEBATES THAT ARE OF CONSEQUENCE EQUAL TO WHAT WE'RE DEBATING
           TODAY. WE'RE LITERALLY TALK TALKING ABOUT THE LIFE AND DEATH OF
           THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING POSSIBLY AMERICAN PERSONNEL,
           AMERICAN SOLDIERS. AND I'VE BEEN HERE FOR 27 YEARS YEARS, AND
           ON THOSE OCCASIONS WHEN I HAVE BEEN PUT IN THE POSITION OF

           HAVING TO VOTE ON MATTERS THAT RELATE TO WHETHER OR NOT SOMEONE
           WILL LIVE OR DIE, I HAVE TRIED MY LEVEL BEST TO BE AS
           INTELLECTUALLY HONEST AND RIGOROUS WITH MYSELF AS I POSSIBLY
           CAN, AND I'VE LISTENED TO THE DEBATE ON THE FLOOR TODAY WITH
           GREAT INTEREST AND SOME DISAPPOINTMENT. IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE
           TO MY COLLEAGUES WHO SERVE WITH -- WHO SERVED WITH ME THE LAST

           TEN YEARS OR SO, AND EVEN THOSE IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO, HOW
           STRONGLY I FEEL ABOUT THE BALKANS. I AM GIVEN BLAME OR CREDIT,
           DEPENDING ON THE PLACE FROM WHICH IT COMES, FOR GETTING US AS
           INVOLVED IN BOSNIA AS WE ARE ARE. I CAME BACK IN THE EARLY
           1990'S FROM A MEETING, A LONG, SEVERAL-HOUR MEETING LATE IN THE
           NIGHT IN MR. SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC'S OFFICE, WITH THE PRESIDENT OF
           YUGOSLAVIA, AND CAME AWAY CONVINCED THAT THIS WAS A MAN WITH AN

           AGENDA THAT WAS ANATHEMA TO OUR INTEREST AND WAS LITERALLY
           GENOCIDAL. AND I WROTE A REPORT YEARS AGO AGO, REFERRETO AS
           "LIFT AND TRIKE" WHEREBY I URGED US TO CHANGE OUR POLICY. AND
           SO I DON'T WANT TO ATTEMPT TO HIDE IN ANY WAY THE INTENSITY OF
           MY FEELINGS ABOUT WHAT THE APPROPRIATE ACTION FOR THE UNITED
           STATES AND NATO AND THE WORLD, FOR THAT MATTER, IS RELATIVE TO
           MR. MILOSEVIC. BUT, WHEN I RECENTLY CAME BACK FROM MACEDONIA,

           IT WAS LATE AT NIGHT ON A SUNDAY NIGHT, AND I GOT HOME AND
           AFTER FLYING, I GUESS, FOR 12 HOURS OR SO, WHATEVER THE TIME
           FRAME WAS IN THE AIR, AND I GOT HOME AND I DID WHAT MOST PEOPLE
           DO AFTER A LONG TRIP, I WENT AND TOOK A SHOWER AND BRUSHED MY
           TEETH AND TRIED AS QUIETLY AS I COULD TO CLIMB INTO BED WITHOUT
           DISTURBING MY WIFE WHO WAS ASLEEP. AND AFTER I SORT OF GOT
           SETTLED, THINKING I'D ACCOMPLISHED NOT AWAKENIN HERE, SHE
           LEANED OVER AND SAID, WELCOME HOME. AND THEN SHE ASKED ME A

           QUESTION, WHICH I SUSPECT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE ASKING, ARE
           GOING TO ASK EVERY ONE OF US, MY CONSTITUENTS ARE GOING TO ASK
           ME. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY SINCERE. SHE SAID, IN THE DARK OF THE
           NIGHT -- COULDN'T EVEN SEE HER FACE -- "JOE, ARE YOU SURE YOU
           ARE CORRECT?" "JOE, ARE YOU SURE YOU ARE CORRECT?" AND THAT
           SORT OF CUT RIGHT TO THE QUICK OF THINGS. I'VE BEEN SO

           OUTSPOKEN ON THIS ISSUE. IT TOOK ME ABACK FOR A MOMENT. AND I
           ANSWERED HER, WITH COMPLETE HONESTY AND CANDOR, AND I SAID, "NO
           KNOW. I'M NOT POSITIVE. I CAN'T GUARANTEE IT. BUT I FEEL SO
           STRONGLY THAT I'M RIGHT, THAT I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO PURSUE
           PUSHING US IN THE DIRECTION OF DOING WHAT I THINK IS RIGHT." IF

           MY WIFE IS ASKING ME, AM I SURE I AM RIGHT, AND SHE IS PRIVY TO
           MY THOUGHTS, CONCERNS, AND SERIOUS CONTEMPLATION ABOUT WHETHER
           OR NOT I SHOULD BE A PARTY TO CAUSING SOME AMERICANS TO DIE,
           THEN I WONDER WHAT THE MAJORITY OF AMERICAN PEOPLE MUST THINK.

           THEY MUST BE MOVED BY OR FIND APPEALING THE ARGUMENTS OF SOME
           OF MY COLLEAGUES TODAY ON THE FLOOR. IT'S NOT OUR FIGHT. WE
           SHOULDN'T BE THERE. WE'RE DOING IT THE WRONG WAY. THE PRESIDENT
           OF THE UNITED STATES IS NOT WORTHY OF OUR TRUST AS COMMANDER IN
           CHIEF. WE SHOULD BRING THE BOYS HOME. WE HAVE NO VITAL
           INTEREST. AND, YOU KNOW, I SAT -- I SIT IN THE SEAT NOW THAT

           MEN LIKE VANDENBURG SAT IN. I AM A SENIOR SENATOR. THERE'S ONLY
           ONE PERSON IN THE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE THAT'S BEEN THERE
           AS LONG AS I HAVE BEEN THERE, AND WHEN I WAS THE AGE OF THESE
           PAGES -- THIS IS THE TRUTH -- I USED TO WONDER WHEN I WAS IN
           HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE, AS WE STUDIED ABOUT HITLER IN GERMANY
           GERMANY, DO I -- WHY NOBODY DID ANYTHING?
           1934 -- WHY NOBODY DID ANYTHING IN 1934 OR 1935 OR 1-9D 57 OR

           1958 WHEN THE PRICE WOULD HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLY LOWER. WE LOOK
           BACK NOW AND JUST THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED HAD THE WORLD
           GONE IN AND UNITED AND TAKEN HITLER OUT. JUST THINK HOW
           DIFFERENT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN. NOW, BY THE WAY, I NOTE
           PARENTHETICALLY, I'M NOT EQUATING MILOSEVIC TO HITLER IN TERMS
           OF HIS CAPACITY, HIS ARTLEB OR HIS DANGER. HE DOES NOT, AS THE
           SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS POINTED OUT, REPRESENT A COUNTRY OF
           50 MILLION PEOPLE. HE DOES NOT REPRESENT AN INDUSTRIAL GIANT.

           HE DOES NOT HAVE THE MILITARY BACKGROUND OF A COUNTRY AS GREAT
           AS GERMANY. HE DOES NOT PRESENT THE SAME THREAT. BUT IT IS
           ANALOGOUS IN THE FOLLOWING WAY. IN A CLOSED MEETING OF THE
           FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE WITH SENIOR MEMBERS OF THE SENATE
           IN ATTENDANCE BEYOND THE COMMITTEE FROM APPROPRIATIONS AND, I
           BELIEVE, ARMED SERVICES, I WAS MAKING A CASE SEVERAL MONTHS AGO
           ABOUT WHY WE HAD TO BE INVOLVED. AND ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES, FOR

           WHOM I HAVE AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF RESPECT, A VETERAN WHO
           PUT HIS LIFE ON THE LINE FOR THIS COUNTRY, A VERY PRO
           PROMILITARY GUY, LOOKED AT ME AND ASKED THE FOLLOWING QUESTION,
           WHICH ANSWERED FOR ME THAT QUESTION I COULD NEVER ANSWER AS A
           YOUNG MAN -- "WHY DID WE NOT ACT?
           " HE SAID, AFTER LISTENING TO MY CASE, AS TO WHY WE SHOULD BE
           INVOLVED WITH NATO, HE SAID, "BUT, JOE, CAN YOU GUARANTEE ME NO

           AMERICAN WILL BE KILLED KILLED?" AND IT WAS LIKE SOMEBODY TOOK
           ONE OF THOSE LITTLE HAMMERS THAT THE DOCTORS USE TO TEST YOUR
           REFLEXES IN THE DOCTOR'S OF COURSE, IT'S LIKE THEY WENT, BOING
           AND HIT ME RIGHT IN THE HEAD. THE LIGHT WENT ON. AND ALL OF A
           SUDDEN, I REALIZED WHY THE VANDENBURGS OF THE WORLD DID
           NOTHING. IT IS INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN TO THE AMERICAN
           PEOPLE HOW YOU WOULD RISK EVEN ONE AMERICAN LIFE, OR MORE THAN
           THAT, HOW YOU'D BE ABLE TO SAY TO THEM, I CAN ASSURE YOU

           AMERICANS WILL DIE. FOR SOMETHING THAT HASN'T HAPPENED YET. HOW DO YOU DO THAT?
           I'M SURE SOMEBODY SAID IN 1935, IF WE GO IN AFTER HITLER, IT'S
           GOING TO COST 100 OR 1,000 OR 2,000 AMERICAN LIVES TO GET THE
           JOB DONE. AND I'M SURE SENATORS, LIKE THE PRESITEDING OFFICER
           AND ME SAT AND SAID, HOW AM I GOING TO GO HOME AND EXPLAIN TO
           TO MY FOLKS?
           HOW ASK K. I EXPLAIN WE'RE COMBG TO LOSE SEVERAL AMERICAN LIVES
           TO TAKE TOUT A GUY THEY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHO'S NO

           IMMEDIATE THREAT TO THEM NOW AND ALL HE'S DOING IS BEEGT UP
           JEWS AND GYPSIES?
           HARD SELL. THAT'S WHERE WE ARE NOW. WE GOT A GUY WHO'S DOING
           MORE THAN BEATING UP JEWS AND GYPSIES. WE'VE GOT A GUY WHO YOU
           TURN ON YOUR TELEVISION AND HE'S LOADING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
           INTO RAILROAD CARS IN THE HEART OF EUROPE. HE'S CAR RALING THEM
           LIKE -- HE'S CORRALLING THEM LIKE CATTLE, PUTTING THEM IN

           RAILROAD CARS. I LOOKED AT IT AND I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, THIS IS
           ALMOST LIKE A VIDEO GAME OR SOMETHING. IS THIS REAL?
           THIS IS 1999. THEY'RE LOADING PEOPLE IN RAILROAD CARS BECAUSE
           OF THEIR RELIGION. THE SENATOR FROM OKLAHOMA, MR. INHOFE, SAID
           HE WAS RECENTLY IN THE CAMPS IN MACEDONIA. SO WAS I -- SAME

           CAMPS. YOU KNOW, WE CAME AWAY WITH TWO DIFFERENT IMPRESSIONS.
           WE AGREED THAT THEY WERE HAPPY TO BE THERE. WE AGREED THAT THEY
           WERE GETTING FED WELL. BUT HE KNOW WHAT STRUKE -- BUT YOU KNOW
           WHAT STREK STRUCK ME, I'VE BEEN IN REFUGEE CAMPS ALL OVER THE
           WORLD AS A UNITED STATES SENATOR.
           
           WHAT STRUCK ME IS THE 2308ING: I'M STANDING THERE TALKING TO
           PEOPLE AND IT WAS A LINE OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN LINE. LIKE
           THE LONG MOVIE LINE. AND THEY WERE ABOUT SIX- OR EIGHT-WIDE.
           AND I'M STANDING THERE ANSWER QUESTIONS AND ASKING QUESTIONS,

           FROM THE REFUGEES. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT STRUCK ME. I WAS
           STANDING NECK TO A SGI WHO HAD ON A SPORTCOAT THAT MUST HAVE
           COST $750. ANOTHER GUY LOOKED DOWN AT HIS SHOES. THEY HAD TO BE
           $300 ITALIAN-MADE LEDGER SHOES AND IN BETWEEN THEM WAS AN OLD
           LAID DEMID A BABUSHKA WITH HER TEETH MISSING AND ALL OF A
           SUDDEN, IT CAME TO ME. THIS IS THE ENORMITY OF THE CLEANSING.

           IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THEIR ECONOMIC STATION. IT HAD
           NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SPECIFIC TERRITORY THEY LIVED IN. IT HAD
           TO DO WITH THEIR RELIGION AND THEIR EDGES NISTY -- AND THEY ARE
           ETHNICITY. IT'S LIKE IF SOMEONE WALKED INTO AN OFFICE BUILDING
           IN DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON AND TOOK OUT THE $400,000 LAWYERS ALONG

           WITH THE CLEANING LADIES. BECAUSE THEY WERE BOTH MUSLIMS.
           PEOPLE SAY, NO VITAL INTEREST. LET ME ASK MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE
           LISTENING AND THE STAFF OF MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE MONITORING
           THIS DEBATE, ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING
           
           QUESTION: CAN ANYONE SAY THAT THEY WILL BE LEAVING THEIR
           CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN A MORE SECURE FUTURE IF NATO AND THE

           UNITED STATES DOES NOTHING TO STOP THE ETHNIC CLEANSING IN THE
           HEART OF EUROPE?
           FORGET FOR A MOMENT WHETHER OR NOT I'M RIGHT AND OTHERS THAT IF
           WE DO NOT ACT IT WILL RESULT IN AN OPEN WAR AND A SPLIT BETWEEN
           GREASE AND TURKEY, A DIVISION WITHIN EUROPE THAT IS REMINISCENT
           OF THE 1910 AND 1915 -- ALTHOUGH THE HAPSBURG EMPIE WAS
           AVAILABLE THEN AND THE HOTMAN EMEMPIRE. ASSUME WE'RE WRONG

           ABOUT THAT. IN TELL ME. CAN ANYBODY EXPLAIN TO ME, HOW MY CHILD
           AND GRANDDAUGHTERS ARE GOING TO BE MOVE SECURE IF IN FACT YOU
           HAVE A MILLION PEOPLE DISPLACED, YOU HAVE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
           -- AT LEAST NOW DOCUMENTED, HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE BROUGHT OUT IN
           THE BACKYARDS OF THEIR HORPBLGS KNELT DOWN AND HAVE THEIR HEADS

           BLOWN OFF. THERE ARE FIVE MILLION ETHNIC RUSSIANS LIVING IN THE
           CR CREMLIN. THERE ARE THOUSANDS LIVING IN ROMANIA. THERE ARE
           HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF THANK YOU, LIVING IN -- THERE ARE
           HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF TURKS LIVING IN BULGARIA. TELL ME HOW
           THIS WORKS. SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME. AND THEN EVEN IF THEY CAN
{END: 1999/05/03 TIME: 18-45 , Mon.  106TH SENATE, FIRST SESSION}