by: Phyllis Schlafly
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Let's Play Twenty Questions about NATO Expansion |
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April 29, 1998
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The Senate is scheduled to vote this week on the centerpiece of Clinton's global
plans, the NATO Expansion Treaty. Because this treaty would control our foreign policy
for decades into the future, we are entitled to have the answers to these twenty questions
before the vote.
- Why are you committing America to go to war to defend the borders of
faraway countries that were Communist until a few years ago? Under
NATO's Article V, we must "forthwith" go to war to defend any NATO
member against attack.
- Why are you giving a foreign organization (NATO) the power to commit
America to war? The U.S. Constitution gives the power "to declare war" to
Congress, not to NATO, or to the United Nations to which NATO is tied by
eight references in its charter.
- Why are you trying to perpetuate a Cold War alliance that successfully
finished its mission? The threat that NATO was designed to protect us from
is no more; the Cold War is over.
- Why are you repudiating the Reagan policy of Peace Through Strength?
Ronald Reagan built up our military power so we didn't have to use it, but the
Clinton-Albright policy is to involve us in every conflict in order to show
"world leadership."
- Why did you pass a law in 1996 to force U.S. taxpayers to guarantee payment
for the weapons that the new NATO countries are obligated to buy to upgrade
their military forces? Let's have full disclosure of the PAC donations every
member of the Senate has received from U.S. corporations that will profit
from this law.
- Is NATO Expansion a mechanism to institutionalize the Bosnian model? It's
now obvious that Clinton lied about dates and plans to exit Bosnia, and that
Bosnia was always a plan to use American troops as global cops and social
workers on a permanent basis.
- What is NATO's plan for dealing with the impending conflict in Vojvodina?
Which side will NATO take? Is there any reason to use NATO troops to
defend one side rather than the other?
- Does "collective security" mean that the U.S. does the securing and all other
countries do the collecting? If Eastern Europe needs "collective security,"
why isn't wealthy Western Europe handling the challenge instead of bleeding
Uncle Sap?
- Can you assure us that the NATO Expansion Treaty is not like the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution that put America on the track to the Vietnam War? Or
that NATO Expansion is not a slippery slope to perpetual conflicts, falsely
disguised as "peacekeeping" and with a huge potential for warmaking?
- Please list the additional countries that you anticipate will join NATO
Expansion. Clinton has already promised Romania, Slovenia, Croatia,
Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and, in his Letter of Transmittal to
the Senate, he promised that "no qualified European democracy is ruled out
as a future member" of NATO.
- Is there any rationale for admitting some countries and excluding others?
Why not admit Kosovo, Bosnia, Ukraine, and all the former Captive Nations
of the former Soviet Union?
- What is the definition of "out-of-area" NATO interests that Madeleine
Albright has already testified will include the Middle East and Central
Africa? Isn't NATO Expansion just a new mini-United Nations to get around
the fact that the only people still enthusiastic about the UN are Ted Turner
and Jane Fonda?
- Why are you letting our fair-weather friends in Western Europe off the hook
for their refusal to admit Eastern European countries into the European Union
(EU)? That's what Albright ought to be demanding that they do, instead of
putting the burden on America to admit them into the NATO military
alliance.
- Why are we alienating Russia (with its awesome store of nuclear weapons) at
a time when we should be encouraging cooperation and stability? Russia
considers NATO Expansion an unfriendly act because it will put NATO
troops directly on Russia's borders.
- How much will NATO cost the American taxpayers? In direct costs? In
maintenance of our troops in Europe? In large-scale "Marshall-Plan"-style
foreign economic aid (which is Albright's announced goal)? In guarantees to
cover the costs of arms shipments to upgrade the military forces of the new
NATO countries? In buying Russia's acquiescence?
- Who is the enemy that the Expanded NATO is designed to protect us from?
Since NATO is a military alliance, we need to know.
- Is there any provision in the NATO Expansion Treaty to prevent Communists
from being elected as NATO officials or commanders with authority over
U.S. troops? Former Communists (who may or may not be trustworthy)
persist in trying to regain power; they are experienced in working the system.
- Will the NATO Expansion Treaty institutionalize Clinton's Presidential
Decision Directive 25, in which he asserted his authority to assign American
troops to serve under foreign commanders? Will you vote to nullify PDD 25?
- Will the NATO Expansion Treaty institutionalize forcing U.S. troops to wear
United Nations uniforms, as was required of Army Specialist Michael New?
Can you assure us that NATO won't do this?
- For future world peace, why aren't you working to reduce Russia's arsenal of
nuclear weapons and to build the Strategic Defense Initiative to defend
American lives against sneak attacks by rogue dictators?
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