Ehrlich on Washington column, November 19, 1995

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 2 1 093 3 1 5 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of November 19, 1995 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. “NO” TO U.S. TROOPS IN BOSNIA Recently I supported legislation compelling the President to seek Congressional approval before sending American troops to Bosnia. H.R. 2606, which overwhelmingly passed in the House, prohibits the President from using funds appropriated to the Department of Defense to pay for the deployment of U.S. ground forces without Congressional approval. The measure is currently being debated in the Senate. I supported this legislation because I fear the loss of young American lives is a prohibitive price to pay for the sake of bringing "peace" to a conflict in which the U.S. has no discernible interest. Last week, the combatants announced a new peace agreement. This is certainly a positive development and one I welcome. President Clinton, however, has announced his intention to send an estimated 20,000 American troops to Bosnia as part of a NATO force which will “implement” the peace. Sending troops to Bosnia in this capacity will interject young American lives into a highly charged situation. Different ethnic groups have been in a brutal battle over Bosnia-Herzegovina for the past millennium. Accordingly, I am opposed to the President’s plan. We must proceed with extreme caution when committing American troops to play a role in any foreign conflict, particularly one in such a volatile part of the world. It is my firm belief the United States should not participate in foreign wars unless four