Congressional Documents
[Page: S584]
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, Senators Warner and Levin are absent from the Senate this week so that they can accompany Secretary of Defense Cohen on his trip to the Persian Gulf. They are representing the Armed Services Committee on this important trip, and will report their findings to the Committee and to the Senate leadership.
During his absence, Senator Warner has requested that I insert the following statement in the Record on his behalf. I am happy to do this for my colleague. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Warner's statement be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the statement was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
This past weekend I was privileged to attend the annual Wehrkunde Conference in Munich, Germany. A main topic of discussion at this NATO security conference was the issue of NATO expansion. I have consistently expressed my sincere concerns with this policy.
NATO has been the most valuable and successful military alliance in the history of this Nation. It has worked far beyond the expectations of its founders--keeping peace in Europe for 50 years, and securing victory in the cold war. President Truman cited NATO and the Marshall Plan as the greatest achievements of his presidency. I am concerned that we not do anything to undermine the effectiveness of this great alliance.
Recently, the Senate Armed Services Committee received testimony from former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on the issue of NATO expansion. Although both said that the Senate should provide its advice and consent for the first round of expansion, they expressed a number of concerns. Secretary Schlesinger called this first round of NATO expansion `a bad idea whose time has come.' And Secretary Kissinger warned that we are in danger of transforming NATO into a `U.N.-type instrument' if expansion is not handled properly.
It seems clear that this first round of expansion will go forward as planned. My concern is that we build in a mechanism to guard against precipitous, future expansion rounds.
During the Wehrkunde Conference, I had the opportunity to discuss an idea I have been contemplating to establish a moratorium--of 3 to 5 years--on new members being invited to join the NATO alliance, following the likely addition of Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic in 1999. In my view, such a moratorium is crucial to allow NATO to begin the process of integrating the three new nations, and more fully assess the impact of this integration before proceeding with further expansion rounds.
The purpose of this statement today is to promptly inform my colleagues of my discussions in Germany and my intent, upon returning from the trip with Secretary Cohen, to submit to the Senate for consideration an amendment which will establish a 3-year moratorium on future NATO expansions. This amendment will be drafted as a condition to the resolution of ratification, and will effectively prevent the United States from agreeing to any further expansion of the NATO alliance for a period of three years.
I will make a full set of remarks on this amendment and seek co-sponsors following my return. I look forward to engaging in an extended debate on this issue--and other aspects of NATO expansion--in the weeks to come.
I thank Senator Thurmond for assisting me in making this statement a part of the Record during my absence on official business as part of Secretary Cohen's delegation to the Persian Gulf and Russia.