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[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 80 (Monday, May 15, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

            ``A PATTERN OF SLIGHTS TO OUR STRONGEST ALLIES''

                                 ______

                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 15, 1995
  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, as leader of the free world, the United 
States has been ably joined in our foreign policy pursuits by a number 
of steadfast friends and allies. Nations such as France and, in 
particular, Great Britain, have stood by the United States when others 
remained silent. While international relations have changed 
dramatically with the end of the cold war, we should understand that we 
cannot, we must not, take these relationships for granted. Indeed, in 
the post-cold-war era, the United States can ill afford to slight our 
friends and allies when a wide range of challenges to our economic and 
security interests abroad cannot be effectively confronted 
unilaterally.
  Two actions, in particular, have recently frayed the strong ties 
binding the United States with Great Britain--our staunchest ally in 
Western Europe. To the consternation of the British Government, the 
Clinton administration first granted visas to members of the Irish 
Republican Army and then invited IRA leader Gerry Adams to the White 
House. Moreover, relations between the United States and its West 
European allies have been seriously strained as a result of failed 
efforts to quell the conflict on the Balkan Peninsula. There have been 
occasions when the Clinton administration proposed major initiatives in 
Bosnia-Hercegovina without consulting our European allies--nations that 
have thousands of troops on the ground. Such affronts to our best 
friends, whether intended or not, are actions that do little but to 
undermine our longstanding relations with these nations.
  Mr. Speaker, this Member would point out that the most recent slight 
to our European allies occurred during the 50th anniversary of the 
Allied victory in Europe. As noted in the May 9, 1995, Omaha World 
Herald editorial entitled ``Clinton's Affront to England, France,'' 
President Clinton's decision not to participate in the English and 
French V-E ceremonies was a shabby way to acknowledge those allies that 
did so much not only to halt Nazi aggression in World War II but to 
protect the free world during the cold war era. This Member commends 
this editorial to his colleagues.
               [From the Omaha World Herald, May 9, 1995]

                  Clinton's Affront to England, France

       President Clinton showed little loyalty to America's 
     staunchest World War II allies and even less to the lessons 
     of history when he chose to commemorate the 50th anniversary 
     of V-E Day in Moscow rather than with other Allied leaders in 
     more appropriate cities.
       Clinton sent Vice President Al Gore to represent the United 
     States in London, Paris and Berlin. This was a shabby way to 
     acknowledge the allies that did so much to save the Free 
     World, allies that after the war formed the Atlantic Alliance 
     to protect freedom in the decades since.
       Russian President Boris Yeltsin deserves criticism, too. 
     Yeltsin, whose position as head of the Russian nation is far 
     from solid, was unwilling to celebrate V-E Day outside of 
     Moscow. Yeltsin should not have forced Clinton into such a 
     choice.
       Just as the ``Big Three'' leaders of World II, Franklin 
     Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin, met together 
     during the war, so today's American, British and Russian 
     leaders should have stood together on the 50th anniversary of 
     V-E Day.
       Yeltsin should not have set up such a situation, and 
     Clinton should not have allowed himself to be manipulated so 
     cynically with a schoolyard me-or-them ultimatum.
       Certainly, the Soviets paid dearly in blood and treasure in 
     order to defeat Germany on the Eastern Front. And yes, this 
     was integral to the Allied victory. Moscow, however, embraced 
     virtue only out of necessity.
       Despite Allied efforts to enlist the Soviets, Stalin 
     initially signed a nonaggression pact with Germany. Only when 
     Hitler violated that pact by invading the Soviet Union did 
     Stalin come to his senses.
       Through it all--betrayal by Stalin, the fall of France, the 
     blitz, the darkest days of the war--England and her people 
     refused to waver. In his ultimately unsuccessful plea that 
     the Vichy government not give in to the Nazis, Churchill 
     reminded everyone of how much was at stake in the war against 
     Hitler:
       ``If we can stand up to him, all Europe, may be freed and 
     the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit 
     uplands. But if we fail, the whole world, including the 
     United States and all that we have known and cared for, will 
     sink into the abyss of a new dark age.''
       Clinton chose not to honor this rich and moving legacy 
     during the commemoration of V-E Day. It was an affront to the 
     people of England and the people of France.
     

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