II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1607

To ensure that the United States Armed Forces are not endangered by

placement under foreign command for military operations of the United

Nations, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 21, 1999

Mr. ASHCROFT introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

A BILL

To ensure that the United States Armed Forces are not

endangered by placement under foreign command for

military operations of the United Nations, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preservation of the

5 United States Military Chain of Command Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:
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1 (1) United Nations peacekeeping and peace en2 forcement operations inherently involve improvised

3 command and control structures that function poorly

4 under the pressure of combat situations, endan5 gering the lives of personnel engaged in the oper6 ations and undermining the objectives of the mis7 sions involved.

8 (2) The United Nations bureaucracy is poorly

9 structured to organize and administer complex mili10 tary operations involving combat.

11 (3) A tested and reliable command structure is

12 as essential to the safety of members of the United

13 States Armed Forces as sophisticated weaponry and

14 professional training.

15 (4) To protect the integrity of the United

16 States military chain of command and ensure the

17 highest possible level of security for the United

18 States Armed Forces, the United States should not

19 participate in military operations commanded or

20 controlled by the United Nations.
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1 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON PLACEMENT OF ARMED FORCES

2 UNDER FOREIGN COMMAND FOR A UNITED

3 NATIONS PEACEKEEPING OR PEACE EN4 FORCEMENT OPERATION.

5 (a) LIMITATION ON PLACEMENT FOR OPERATIONS

6 GENERALLY.—Members of the United States Armed

7 Forces may not be placed under the command or oper8 ational control of any foreign national for participation in

9 a United Nations operation unless the President certifies

10 to the appropriate congressional committees that such

11 members will not be involved in combat.

12 (b) PROHIBITION ON PLACEMENT FOR CERTAIN OP13 ERATIONS.—Members of the United States Armed Forces

14 may not be placed under the command or operational con15 trol of any foreign national for participation in a United

16 Nations operation authorized under chapter VII of the

17 United Nations Charter.

18 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON PARTICIPATION OF ARMED FORCES

19 IN UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING OR

20 PEACE ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Members of the United States

22 Armed Forces may not participate in conjunction with or

23 in support of a United Nations operation unless the fol24 lowing requirements are met:

25 (1) The President has certified to the appro26 priate congressional committees that the proposed
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1 participation of such members in conjunction with or

2 in support of the operation is in the national secu3 rity interests of the United States.

4 (2) The President has certified to the appro5 priate congressional committees that the United Na6 tions has not imposed or sought to impose any con7 straints on United States participation in conjunc8 tion with or in support of the operation, including

9 limitations on the use of force by the United States

10 Armed Forces, the composition of the United States

11 Armed Forces participating in the operation, or tac12 tics employed by the United States Armed Forces to

13 achieve mission objectives, which could endanger the

14 lives of the members of the United States Armed

15 Forces participating in the operation.

16 (3) The President has certified to the appro17 priate congressional committees that the United

18 Slates Armed Forces participating in conjunction

19 with or in support of the operation are fully

20 equipped to defend themselves, to the extent pos21 sible, under any contingency in the operation.

22 (4) The Secretary of Defense has submitted to

23 the appropriate congressional committees a report

24 identifying the mission and structure of the oper25 ation, including an identification of United States
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1 military objectives in the operation, an overview of

2 the United States Armed Forces to be deployed to

3 meet such objectives, and an assessment of potential

4 difficulties in command and control, logistics, and

5 interoperability of personnel and equipment which

6 could endanger the mission and the lives of members

7 of the United States Armed Forces.

8 (b) DEADLINE FOR MEETING REQUIREMENTS.—(1)

9 Except as provided in paragraph (2), the requirements in

10 subsection (a) shall be met with respect to the participa11 tion of the members of the United States Armed Forces

12 in a United Nations operation not fewer than 15 days be13 fore the commencement of the participation of such mem14 bers in the operation.

15 (2) The President may, upon determining that an

16 emergency exists which prevents meeting the requirements

17 in subsection (a) within the time otherwise provided for

18 in paragraph (1), meet the requirements at a later time,

19 but in no event later than 48 hours after the commence20 ment of the participation concerned.

21 (c) MONTHLY REPORTS.—While members of the

22 United States Armed Forces are participating in conjunc23 tion with or in support of a United Nations operation, the

24 Secretary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate con-
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1 gressional committees on a monthly basis an assessment

2 of the following:

3 (1) United States military objectives in the op4 eration and whether such objectives are being met.

5 (2) The personnel strength of the operation,

6 whether any shortfall in such strength exists, and

7 whether such shortfall, if any, endangers members of

8 the United States Armed Forces participating in the

9 operation.

10 (3) An assessment of difficulties encountered in

11 command and control, logistics, and interoperability

12 of personnel and equipment.

13 (4) Any combat activity of the operation and

14 the performance of command and control structures,

15 logistical operations, and interoperability of per16 sonnel and equipment under such circumstances.

17 SEC. 5. BIANNUAL REPORTS ON ARMED FORCES UNDER

18 FOREIGN COMMAND.

19 (a) REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than January 1,

20 2000, and every six months thereafter, the Secretary of

21 Defense shall submit to the appropriate congressional

22 committees a report on the service of units of the United

23 States Armed Forces under the operational or tactical

24 control of a foreign national, whether in an established
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1 regional alliance such as the North Atlantic Treaty Orga2 nization or in an ad hoc military coalition.

3 (b) ELEMENTS.—Each report under subsection (a)

4 shall set forth, for the six-month period ending on the date

5 of the report, the following:

6 (1) A description of the manner in which mem7 bers of the United States Armed Forces served

8 under foreign nationals.

9 (2) A description of any breakdown in the chain

10 of command during such service.

11 (3) An analysis of any difficulties in the inter12 operability of equipment and personnel in training

13 and combat operations during such service.

14 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this Act:

16 (1) UNITED NATIONS OPERATION.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘United Na18 tions operation’’ means a United Nations peace19 keeping or peace enforcement operation author20 ized and commanded or controlled by the

21 United Nations.

22 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term does not in23 clude an operation authorized but not adminis24 tered by the United Nations.
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1 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means the following:

4 (A) The Committees on Appropriations,

5 Armed Services, and Foreign Relations of the

6 Senate.

7 (B) The Committees on Appropriations,

8 Armed Services, and International Relations of

9 the House of Representatives.

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