Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 28, 1995 TAG: 9511280149
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
But they predicted full and complete support by Congress when the troops are sent on the peacekeeping mission.
Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke, said he always has been opposed to sending ground troops to Bosnia and believes the president's speech left many unanswered questions.
``I have grave concerns about the president's proposal, and I will give him every opportunity to answer [those] concerns,'' Goodlatte said.
Clinton still has not clearly defined the U.S. troops' mission, Goodlatte said.
``The basic test is, why is this worth the life of a single American soldier?" he said.
``He has a long way to go to convince me."
Goodlatte said he will reserve judgment until he hears reaction from his constituents and details on how troops will be used. In any case, he said he expected Congress to give bipartisan support to troops deployed in Bosnia.
But Democratic U.S. Sen. Charles Robb said Clinton's words were ``a presidential speech'' and said all the answerable questions have been answered for him.
``He explained why U.S. leadership and U.S. participation are critical to maintaining the peace,'' Robb said. ``He acknowledged the risks and made it very clear what would happen if any attempt was made against U.S. forces.
``It's a tough sell, but I expect Congress to respond to the challenge by providing bipartisan support for President Clinton and for our troops, just as we did for President Bush in Desert Storm.''
Robb said sending troops ``is absolutely the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do for this country and for him as commander in chief and leader of the free world.''
Robb said he relayed his support to the president just minutes after the speech, when Clinton called Robb for his reaction.
``He made a very, very strong case to support the action he laid out,'' Robb said.
Although Robb conceded that getting the public to back the plan will take additional work by Congress, he noted that there initially was strong opposition to the Persian Gulf War, later supported by a majority of Americans.
Both Robb and Goodlatte said the vast majority of calls and letters to their offices expressed opposition to the use of U.S. troops.
U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., Rep. L.F. Payne, D-Nelson County, and Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, could not be reached for comment Monday night.
by CNB