I emphasize that this is not a panacea. It is only the beginning of a long and difficult process, but it is a step our country should not be afraid to take. The fact that negotiation is a long-term process should be no obstacle to our trying to achieve it. The United States can and should remain strongly engaged internationally, because regional instability will not solve itself. But we must choose our tools very carefully, for the stakes do not allow failure.
Power is a finite quantity.
If we wantonly expend it all over the world for every thinkable cause, we diminish ourselves. America should carefully husband its military power. Protecting the American people and using our power effectively where it will provide greater stability and security for the world. A mediated settlement of the Kosovo crisis may not be politically popular at the moment, but it may look considerably wiser to us and our children in the future.