Packard Says Bosnia Tour Didn’t Change Opposition

Rep. Ron Packard, returning from a weekend trip to Bosnia, said Tuesday that he and the other Republican members of Congress who took the fact-finding tour still oppose the plan to station U.S. troops as peacekeepers in the region.

“The president indicated today that he thought members who had been on the trips had changed their minds,” Packard said. “I am not aware of any member of this delegation changing their mind.”

Packard traveled to the war-torn region with 14 other members of Congress to survey the situation before making any policy decisions. Many of the delegation’s Republicans opposed President Clinton’s plan to send 20,000 troops on a peacekeeping mission before the fact-finding trip.

The bipartisan delegation was unable to come to a consensus about the trip, with Democrats supporting the president and Republicans still opposed.

The split was clear at a news conference Tuesday when Rep. Sam Farr (D-Monterey) and Packard offered different conclusions after meeting with the same U.S. military leaders.

Farr said that, as he understood the statements, troops will probably leave “sooner than later.”

Packard countered, “The reason they said that was because if [the] peace [plan] doesn’t work, they’re getting out of there.”

The congressman’s statements came as the Senate began debate on several resolutions regarding Bosnia. The Senate was poised to debate three proposals: cutting off funding; expressing disapproval of Clinton’s plan, but support for the troops; and giving qualified support.

Packard said he would vote for a measure that would oppose Clinton’s policy but support U.S. troops, if such a resolution comes before the House. A vote in the Senate could come as early as today.

“I don’t believe we should tie the American people down to construe that if the troops are there that they support why they are there,” he said.

Packard, who is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee on foreign operations, met with regional leaders from Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia on the trip. The delegation also met with U.S. commanders in the region.