Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 14, 1993 TAG: 9310140175
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Aided by lobbying from Clinton, who spoke by telephone with waivering and undecided senators throughout the day, Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, D-Maine, predicted that calls for a speedier withdrawal would be deflected by the eventual passage of a resolution "generally supportive of the president's position."
As the negotiations moved behind closed doors, it was also clear that lawmakers remained deeply divided. Supporters of the administration conceded they face an uphill fight.
In Somalia, U.S. forces were ordered to cease all military operations aimed at capturing or harassing Oakley clan leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid while a new political initiative to resolve the standoff between Aidid and the United Nations is under way, officials in Washington said Wednesday night.
They said the informal cease-fire is an outgrowth of Clinton's stated intention to "depersonalize" the conflict and to support diplomatic efforts to halt the fighting there.
Clinton's special envoy to Somalia, Robert Oakley, suggested discussions with associates of Aidid could soon win the release of captured Army Warrant Officer Michael Durant. Oakley said the United States would not bargain with Aidid for Durant's freedom.
Durant was captured Oct. 4 in the fiercest battle of the U.N. operation in Somalia. The fight left 18 U.S. servicemen dead and more than 70 wounded.
In a letter to Congress accompanying a report on the administration's Somalia policy, Clinton warned anew of the dangers of an early U.S. departure.
"We cannot leave immediately because the United Nations has not had an adequate chance to replace us, nor have the Somalis had a reasonable opportunity to end their strife," Clinton wrote. "Moreover, having been brutally attacked, were American forces to leave now we would send a message to terrorists and other potential adversaries around the world that they can change our policies by killing our people."
The Clinton policy came under attack from an unexpected quarter Wednesday, when former President Bush, in a rare criticism of his successor, said he feared the humanitarian mission he launched 10 months months ago was in danger of getting "messed up."
"I think I might have tried to do some of the things differently than we're seeing now," Bush said. "I just hope we don't get the mission messed up now."
The main congressional challenge to Clinton's plan is being mounted by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Byrd said he was introducing legislation that would cut off funds for the peacekeeping mission after Feb. 1 unless Clinton requests and Congress approves an extension.
It appeared from the comments of senators emerging from closed-door meetings that they had split into at least three distinct groups: those who supported the administration; those who favor the Byrd alternative; and those who favor getting out of Somalia even sooner, but oppose setting a deadline for fear that it could complicate efforts to free Durant.
Keywords:
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by CNB