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Senate votes to approve NATO airstrikes over Kosovo

The president sent a letter Tuesday to congressional leaders seeking their support  ALSO: NATO orders military strikes against Yugoslavia High-tech weapons put U.S. at front of any NATO action Kosovo: Why are they fighting?  BACKGROUND: Serbia is a republic within what's left of the splintered Yugoslavia. Kosovo is a province in southern Serbia where ethnic Albanians outnumber Serbs nine to one. Most Kosovo residents favor autonomy or secession from Serbia, but Serbs consider the area vital to their national identity. More than 2,000 people have died in fighting that began last year when the government of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic began a crackdown on independence-minded ethnic Albanians. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have been left homeless. The United States and its NATO allies have threatened airstrikes unless the Serbs agree to a Kosovo peace plan that restores some self-rule for the province's ethnic Albanian majority and includes a NATO peacekeeping force. The ethnic Albanians signed such an agreement earlier this month. The proposed 20,000-member NATO peacekeeping force would include up to 4,000 U.S. troops. RELATED VIDEO CNN's Jamie McIntyre looks at possible NATO targets and strategy Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Jonathan Karl looks at how the Senate is reacting to the Yugoslav situation Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

March 23, 1999
Web posted at: 8:32 p.m. EST (0132 GMT)

In this story: The arguments Clinton invited to explain policy Senator of Serb descent votes no Russian also compares it to Vietnam RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Senate voted Tuesday evening 58-41 in favor of a resolution supporting U.S. participation in NATO military operations in Kosovo, just hours after Secretary-General Javier Solana gave the go-ahead for air raids in Yugoslavia.

The brief resolution states that "the president of the United States is authorized to conduct military air operations and missile strikes in cooperation with our NATO allies against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)."

Although the measure passed, it was hardly an overwhelming show of support for President Clinton's Kosovo policy.

Thirty-eight Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi, and three Democrats -- Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico), Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) and Ernest F. Hollings (D-South Carolina) -- opposed the resolution.

Told earlier in the day by Clinton that strikes against Serbian targets would proceed with or without congressional support, Senate leaders quickly crafted a bipartisan resolution of support -- and shelved earlier plans to vote on whether to block funds for such an operation.

And even though Majority Whip Don Nickles (R-Oklahoma) was part of a bipartisan group of senators who wrote the resolution of support, he voted against the measure.

"I'm concerned we're making a mistake. I just don't believe you can bomb a country into submission and force them into a peace agreement that they determine is against their interests," said Nickles before the vote.

"I don't believe you can bomb a country and say, 'We're going to bomb you until you agree to have stationed 28,000 troops in your homeland,'" Nickles said, noting that the fighting in Serbia has been going on for centuries.

Clinton, while maintaining he didn't need congressional approval to move forward with the airstrikes, sent a letter late in the day to congressional leaders seeking their support.

"Mr. Milosevic should have no doubt about our resolve. Therefore, without regard to our differing views on the Constitution about the use of force, I ask for your legislative support as we address the crisis in Kosovo," Clinton wrote.

"We all can be proud of our armed forces as they stand ready to answer the call of duty to the Balkans," Clinton added.

The arguments

Many Republicans voiced skepticism about the wisdom of airstrikes and complained that Clinton's consultation with Congress had come late in the process.

"The president has finally grudgingly sent us a letter, not asking for our authorization, but for our support," Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Washington) said. "It is an authorization that the Senate of the United States in its wisdom should reject out of hand.

"This is not a matter for the use of the armed forces of the United States. This is not a matter demanded by our national security. This is not a way that we would even settle the civil war taking place in Kosovo today," Gorton said during debate.

News Highlights: Gallery: The conflict in review News story archive Yugoslavia's Future: What's next for Yugoslavia Map: Who controls what The Peace Settlement: A guide to the peace plan Map: Serb troop withdrawal The Military Campaign: Strike damage assessment Atlas: NATO and the Balkans Background: Timeline: Trouble in the Balkans A who's who of key players Map: Kosovo and its neighbors A history of the KLA

"This is a mistake. This is a civil war. We're going to regret it," said Sen. Robert Smith (R-New Hampshire).

And Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) declared, "We're coming close to starting World War III."

Other senators wanted more facts about the mission before they voted to back it.

"This is a very, very unintelligible plan. You can't rationally accept the president's reasoning unless you conclude that they don't want to tell you where it's going to end up," said Sen. Pete Domenici (R-New Mexico).

"It doesn't take a lot of sense to say airstrike No. 1 may not work. Airstrike No. 2 may not work. We've been told by military experts years ago that airstrikes would not work in this area of the world," Domenici insisted.

Other senators disagreed.

"Clearly we know what the goal is here. The goal is to contain Milosevic. The goal is to stop the extraordinary violation of human rights. The goal is to undermine his military capability," Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) said. "We can achieve those goals."

"This is about stability in Europe," Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Delaware) said in support of the resolution.

"I believe it would be a disastrous situation in the region if we don't act. This is a 19-nation operation," Sen. John Warner (R-Virginia) said.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Connecticut) said if NATO doesn't act, "a massacre will occur" in Kosovo as Serb troops continue their offensive.

Clinton invited to explain Kosovo policy

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) has invited Clinton to explain his Kosovo policy to a joint session of Congress.

Clinton is said to be considering it.

"I would hope that the president would come forward on a timely basis and do two things: Lay this out to the Congress and the American people, and also come forward with a plan for how we're going to pay for it," Hastert said during a photo opportunity.

Senator of Serb descent votes no

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who is of Serb descent, voted against the resolution. He said earlier that bombing Yugoslavia would be a mistake.

"You're getting into something that could turn into another Vietnam," the freshman Republican said. "Who knows how this thing could escalate?"

Voinovich emphasized his view does not reflect support for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, whom the senator described as a war criminal, "a bad person."

The opinion of many Serbs around the world, Voinovich said, is that Milosevic should be out of power, but "they believe this action is going to solidify his support so that it will be 10 times harder to get him out."

Russian also compares it to Vietnam

Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev also warned NATO on Tuesday that military strikes against Yugoslavia could lead to a conflict like the military action the United States waged in the 1960 and '70s in southeast Asia, Interfax news agency said.

"NATO strikes against Yugoslavia may turn out to be another Vietnam, now inside Europe," Interfax quoted Sergeyev as saying.

Capitol Hill Producers Ann Curley and Mike Roselli, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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