Elder Statesmanship: Dole Says ‘No Deals With Milosevic’

(Washington, D.C.): What a difference a week makes! Last Thursday, the Washington
Post
published an intemperate op.ed. by Victor Chernomyrdin — the former
Russian Prime Minister
who now serves as President Yeltsin’s consigliere for the Butcher of Belgrade, Slobodan
Milosevic. Apart from warning of an imminent nuclear war and an end to his missions to
Belgrade if NATO did not stop bombing at once, its principal message seems to have been that
there was no alternative but to do a deal with Milosevic.

Then came the Serbian dictator’s indictment Friday on war crimes. And today, the
Post
published an extremely powerful essay (see the attached) by
former Senate Majority Leader
and Republican Presidential candidate Robert Dole. Entitled “No Deals with
Milosevic,” it
declares that:

“It is…incomprehensible for the administration to offer Serbia a deal that contains terms that
are
equal or more favorable to Milosevic than the terms he rejected at Rambouillet
immediately
before the massive attacks. Yet, this is precisely what appears to be happening. Even to
sit
down and negotiate terms with an indicted war criminal would be a blow to American
moral leadership, a travesty of justice and a slap in the face of the tribunal.” (Emphasis
added.)

Sen. Dole is, of course, entirely correct in his assessment of the repercussions of what
amount to
direct or indirect negotiations with Milosevic. Among these will be the following:

• First, America will find itself humiliated, its strategic interests harmed and its Treasury
  depleted by the obligation to pay costly war reparations.

• Second, the victors — Slobodan Milosevic and his Russian sponsors — will find new
  legitimacy, an enhancement of their strategic position in the region and more generally, the
  benefit of vast sums of U.S.-subsidized international largesse. In Yugoslavia’s case, these
  will amount to war reparations. In Russia’s, these will be billed as a reward for its “positive”
  contribution to “peace” from the international community.

• Third, and perhaps worst of all, such a deal will signal to other odious regimes — from
  North
  Korea to Iraq to Cuba — that this U.S. government can be counted on to reward, rather than
  punish, the most despicable and aggressive behavior. History teaches us that such signals
  tend to beget such behavior, not deter it.

The Bottom Line

Over the past four years, Senator Dole has repeatedly suppressed his fully justified criticism
of
the Clinton Administration’s hapless policy (if it can be called that) regarding the Balkans.
Unfortunately, in so doing, he has occasionally provided indispensable political cover as they
first fashioned, and then foisted, successive dubious Balkan policies on the American people.

The least the Administration can do now is heed his wise counsel:

“For eight years, Milosevic has carried out genocidal policies that have made him an
international
pariah. At long last, the UN War Crimes Tribunal has given legal weight to this reprobation.
Rather than negotiating with Milosevic, the United States should reinforce the principles of
justice embodied in the new indictment by purging Serbia of the source of its
ruination.”
(Emphasis added.)