Support there now would evaporate if the specter of a quagmire were to be evoked by Kosovo. For now, the events in Yugoslavia have brought together disparate elements along the political spectrum in support of a more robust U.S. response to the evidence that Serbian forces have used the bombing campaign as an excuse to drive ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo. The arguments in favor of preserving U.S. and NATO credibility have, if anything, been made even more strongly by the foreign policy elite. On almost any day, the editorial pages of major newspapers and television talk shows have been filled with such commentary from former secretaries of state and members of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees. The policy debate has grave implications for Clinton and Vice President Gore but also may affect attitudes toward Republican candidates seeking the 2000 presidential nomination.
Republican candidates remain divided on the deployment of ground forces.
If the mission is to win, then I think all options ought to be available to the military planners. The Texas governor was asked whether he thought his father's administration had made the correct judgment. I haven't seen the piece. My assessment now is to say to Milosevic, who is on a terrorist campaign of ethnic cleansing, that we are going to stop you. Quayle, who was vice president to Bush's father, has argued that NATO countries other than the United States should supply ground troops if they are needed.