Cox, Republicans Want Say in Bosnia Decisions : Foreign policy: Representative asks that Congress approve any troops the Administration decides to send.

Republican lawmakers, led by Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), have called on President Clinton to seek Congressional approval before sending 25,000 American troops to Bosnia.

Clinton has said he would seek a vote of confidence--not necessarily approval--from Congress before sending American forces to Bosnia as part of a U.N. peacekeeping effort under negotiation. Clinton is not required by law to seek congressional approval.

Cox, who chairs the GOP policy committee, said Friday the Clinton Administration’s Bosnia mission seems to be a “repeat” of the military mission to Somalia, which some believe yielded questionable results.

“And just as our troops were little more than sitting ducks in Somalia, so the main mission of our troops in Bosnia will be to serve as targets for the warring parties in the former Yugoslavia,” Cox added.

The policy statement was released the day after Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Rep. Joel Hefley (R-Colo.) introduced legislation to prohibit Defense Department funds from being used in Bosnia.

“The President has the right to send troops anywhere, but we have a right to authorize the money,” Rohrabacher said in an interview. “The Cold War is over. Congress expects to be consulted.”

Rohrabacher said he is seeking a vote by all Republican House members in support of the bill to cut off funds.

“Our efforts are aimed to activate the House leadership,” Rohrabacher said. “I expect it will come to a head [this] week. If leadership is opposed, it will be hard-fought.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) gathered three dozen signatures on a letter to be sent to President Clinton recommending that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher be nominated as the new Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

“As the alliance faces its biggest challenges since the beginning of the Cold War, including the conflict in Bosnia and the expansion of NATO eastward, we believe that Lady Thatcher possesses the unique experience, political vision, and demonstrated leadership necessary to successfully lead NATO through these crises,” the Dornan letter said.