CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-SENATE MR. BUMPERS ADDRESSED THE CHAIR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 1, 2008
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: September 14, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Approved For Release 2008/12/01 : CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
September 14, 1983 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE
S 12181
in Lebanon is a very serious one. Since than willing to share the responsibility sisting it be employed rather than con-
August 29, four U.S. marines have with the President for the commit- tinuing to fly by the seat or our diplo-
been killed in Lebanon as a result of ment of U.S. Armed Forces in Leba- matic and military pants in Beirut?
hostile fire, and numerous others have non-a commitment forged in the In my opinion, we should not be
been wounded. belief that only in this way can we making any long-term commitments
However, the continued presence of hope for peace and stability in the before we understand all the facts and
U.S. forces in Lebanon as part of the region, and perhaps throughout the ramifications, and I warn against what,
Multinational Peacekeeping Force is world. appears to be a rush to enter into an-
vital to achieving peace in the Middle Mr. President, I yield the floor. other form of a Gulf of Tonkin resolu-
East. A strong and independent Leba- Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I salute tion, this time in the Middle East.
non, free from external interference, and thank the President for his recent We need some time to reason togeth-
is vital, not only to U.S. interests, but action in granting field commanders in er. The time provided in the War
to the efforts toward world peace. the Beirut area the authority to retali- Powers Act is obviously the best way
In view of the critical U.S. interests ate by naval and ground fire power to proceed at this juncture.
in securing the stability of Lebanon, against attacks on our marines. To Mr. President, I yield the floor.
and the fact that our marines have date, they have become all but sitting EXTENSION OF TIME. FOR ROUTINE MORNING
been the object of hostile fire-and ducks, handcuffed in their fox holes. BUSINESS
every indication is that this will con- We could or should do no less. Mr. BAKER. Mr. President. it is
tinue-I believe the decision to keep The larger question that confronts clear that we need more time for the
our forces in Lebanon should not rest us, it seems to me, is what do we do presentation of the debate on Lebanon
with the President alone. now? and the War Powers Act. I ask unani-
Therefore, I believe section 4(a)(1) It is this Senator's conviction, often mous consent that the time for the
of the war powers resolution should be stated since the beginning of our transaction of routine morning busi-
invoked. Section 4(a)(1) states that- direct involvement there, that our ness be extended to the hour of 5:30
In the absence of a declaration of war, in ground forces should never have been p.m. under the same terms and condi-
any case in which the United States Armed deployed on Lebanese soil. My concern tions.
Forces are Introduced ... into hostilities or was and is that a superpower's ground NG OFFICER. With-
in situations where imminent involvement forces serve essentially as a dangerous The out objection, itSIDINso ordered.
in hostilities is clearly indicated by the cir- tripwire which could easily trigger 'our
cumstances.... all-out involvement in a major con- Mr. BUMPERS addressed the Chair.
The continued presence of our frontation. In this case again, we are The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
forces beyond 60 to 90 days has to be sinking into a situation over which 1ator from Arkansas.
authorized by the Congress. could lose control. Quicksand is alwayr. BUMPERS. Mr. President. I can
If the President were to invoke this dangerous and there is a lot of it iember being both a country lawyer
section of the war powers resolution I the Middle East today. Governor of my State during the
believe he would find overwhelming The question comes, now that thtnam war. I frankly confess that I
bipartisan support in the Congress for fat is in or near the fire, what do w not all that opposed to the war
the continued presence of our marines do? until my two sons began to reach draft
in Lebanon. I am convinced Congress It is clear that we cannot immediate- age. But it was not just because they
would not vote to pull the marines out ly cut and run. This term has become were reaching draft age that I came to
of Lebanon. Most Members of Con- a catch phrase by some who seem to oppose the war; it was because I knew
gress realize that to do so would result be saying that our only alternative is that if they were' called upon to go,
in increased violence and bloodshed, for a long-term commitment of troops they at least ought to have the right
leading to the probable collapse of the now for at least 6 more months, or up to know what was involved and why
government of President Amin Ge- to 18 months or longer. they might be called upon to give the
mayal. None of us would vote for such Such is not my view. I suggest we full measure of devotion in Vietnam.
an outcome in Lebanon. should be planning now to get our As I agonized over the role that I
If the United States were to with- ground forces out of Beirut, and not to had to play in explaining to my own
draw from the Multinational Force, put more in unless required to protect sons why they had to go to war, I
that force would quickly dissolve. Our our present position. could not come to any kind of persua-
withdrawal would clear away any ob- We are about to become exercised sive conclusion that our role in Viet- _
stacle to the Druze militia escalating about the War Powers Act and a great nam was legitimate or in our national
the fighting in Lebanon. This, in turn, debate is likely to be waged about the interest. So I turned against the war.
would most likely provoke renewed rights and wrongs of invoking this act The interesting thing about our soci-
fighting between Israel and Soviet- on the basis of whose turf is tromped ety as opposed to almost any other so-
backed Syrian troops. In essence, the on between the executive and legisla- ciety is that it was public opinion in
U.S. presence in Lebanon is vital to tive branches. That, in my opinion, is this country that brought that war to
preventing another war in this highly not the key issue, as important as it an end, but it was late in coming and it
volatile and strategically important might be to constitutional scholars. was after 55,000 American men died
region of the world. Our first step should be to convince and 250,000 were injured.
Mr. President, I strongly believe that the President that the War Powers Joe Stalin used to say one death is a
by invoking section 4(a)(1) of the war Act should obviously be invoked, tragedy; a thousand deaths is a statis-
powers resolution, the President would giving the Congress and the President tic. Having just returned from the
marshal public opinion, through the 60 or a maximum of 90 days under Soviet Union, I must say that I am
elected representatives in the Con- that act to review the difficult situa- afraid that that is still the Soviet men-
gress, in support of our Government's tion we find ourselves confronted tality. But it is not ours. We believe in
policies in Lebanon. The timing is with. I would hope we could bring dip- the sanctity of life and we believe that
right for the President to act. If he lomatic pressure to bear, combined the four marines who have died al-
does so now, I am confident that he with economic and military hardware ready in Lebanon and the 55,000 who
will have bipartisan, bicameral sup- assistance to the Lebanese Govern- died in Vietnam, to say nothing of the
port. If he waits, there is a danger that ment, so as to withdraw our ground untold misery and costs in human and
the American Peacekeeping Force forces. If that proves unworkable for economic suffering that was caused
could become a strictly partisan issue. any reason, the U.S. ground forces there-each one is a matter of great
Congress and the President must act would have to leave Lebanon in 60 to concern to this Nation. It ought to be
in concert. By so doing, the United 90 days unless Congress votes to let a matter of great concern to every
States will be sending a signal to po- them stay. As nearly as I can tell, that Member of this body.
tential adversaries in the Middle East, was the logic behind the War Powers So, I simply want to say this after-
and elsewhere, that Congress is more Act requirements. Why are we not in- noon-and unless something is forth-
Approved For Release 2008/12/01: CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
 Approved For Release 2008/12/01: CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
S 12182 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE September 1/{, 1.98.1
coming soon, I shall say a great deal gress shall have the right to make biguous about sections 2(a), 2(b). or
more, as will many of like mind-that war." They found that word faulty, 2(c).
as a country lawyer, I often wondered and they changed it from make to de- Section 3 just says that the Presi-
why Congress did not do a better job dare. dent, where he can, at least will con-
of handling the Vietnam war. Why In any event, Congress decided that salt with Congress before introducing
was the President allowed, without we ought to start living up to our con- U.S. forces into situations where immi-
any constitutional declaration of war stitutional responsibilities. Let the nent hostilities are anticipated.
by the Congress, to fight a war in Viet- President introduce troops where Section 4-I hate to get legalistic
nam which nobody ever understood? there is an attack, but any time he in- about this, but how can you discuss
That was another era in the history troduces troops into hostile situations, this without getting legalistic?-sec-
of this country where it did not pay he ought to at least notify Congress, tion 4 is a critical section. If you read
politically to talk sense-not the first, and we will decide whether it is a English and if you understand Eng-
nor will it be the last. matter on which we want to declare
Mr. President, there were people all ish,
war, e I fully. you to listen to this very
across the country who wondered why , whether it is a matter we want to carefully. Section 4 says:
tolerate, or whether it is a matter declaration the Congress did not assert itself and from which we want to withdraw. In tas absence of a United States f war, in which why nothing really meaningful was It seems to me that the President Forc s~are introduced-
done StaArmed
done here. Well, it was because nobody would welcome with open arms the (1) into hostilities or into situations where
wanted to leave our men stranded over support of Congress for the troops in imminent involvement in hostilities is clear-
there; nobody wanted to cut and run Lebanon and our policy there. It is a ly indicated by the circumstances;
because of the perception that such an terrible onus for the President to take (2) into the territory, airspace of waters of
action might convey to the rest of the that on unilaterally, especially with a foreign nation, while equipped for combat,
world about United States resolve in Congress objecting not to the han- except for deployments which relate solely
its fight against communism and Com- dling of it but to the President's flout. to supply, replacement, repair, or training
munist governments. But for all of ing of the law. of 3) i forum; er
those reasons, none of which is very If we are a nation of laws, it surely (3) o numbers which suorces equipped
e persuasive, we continued. It was a ought to apply to the President. If it for combat already Alocated in a foreign
mammoth tragedy, but in the wake of does not apply to the President, it nation;
that tragedy, Congress did something does not apply to anybody. Why the President shall submit within 48 hours
to try to make sure we never got should some two-bit white-collar crimi- to the Speaker of the House of Representa-
caught in that situation again. That nal abide by the law, if he sees the tives and to the President pro tempore of
was the passage of the War Powers President of the United States thumb- the Senate a report, in writing, setting
Act. ing his nose at it? forth-
Mr. President, we have a very check- The War Powers Act was a very (A) the circumstances necessitating the in-
ered history. It was not just in Viet- carefully crafted law. It was debated troduction of United States Armed Forces;
nam. The Senator from Nebraska and debated in committee and on the (B) the constitutional and legislative au-
knows nobody ever declared was in floors of both Houses before it was thorny under which such introduction took
Korea. President Ford did not declare passed. It was not something done place; and
war during the Mayaguez incident, hastily. (C) the estimated scope and duration of
uTh-
YcvNie witu naa been taken off the tand the English language,listen to First. Is Lebanon a hostile situation?
Mayaguez
Mayaguez by the Cambodians. Wellead, when you have four marines
There is time after tin our histo- wording of the War Powers Act. d and more than a dozen others in-
w ere the time after time i hintroduced In section 2(a), Congress sets out the jured, some seriously; when everybody
ry h into President has
situations and has policy behind the act, and here is the believes that it is a quagmire likely to
troops hostile stated purpose:
literally waged war, and Congress was .. to fulfill subje escalate and the Marines aes every
simply either a willing conspirator or the intent of the framers of subjected to artillery barrages every
just lacked the courage to do anything the Constitution
the the UudgStates and day, that is not something likely to
about it. insure that the collective judgment of both
the Congress and the President will apply to become hostile-it is hostile.
That was not the intention of the the introduction of United States Armed All the War Powers Act says is that
Founding Fathers when they wrote Forces into hostilities, or into situations the President will submit a report. We
the Constitution. The Founding Fa- where imminent involvement in hostilities is will hear arguments by people on the
thers of this Nation did give the Presi. clearly indicated by the circumstances * ? ?. other side of this issue saying that
dent the authority to repel attacks. I ask, if you read English, is there they believe that, as Commander in
In 1941, when the Japanese attacked anything confusing or ambiguous Chief, he has the authority to do this.
Pearl Harbor, nobody expected Frank- about that? They said that the pur- If he does, why does he not submit it
lin Roosevelt to wait until he could pose is to fulfill the intent of the in his report and say, "I am submitting
convene Congress and get a declara- framers of the Constitution, and that this report to you and telling you that
tion of war. It did not take long in is that the U.S. Congress declare war, I have the privilege and the constitu-
coming. It happened immediately. But and that the President be Commander tional right-indeed, the duty-to do
he had a right to do it. He always has in Chief. what I have done."
the right to repel attacks. Section 2(b) of that act recognizes So the President is required, under
If you read the Federalist Papers, the power of Congress under article I, the bill, to report to Congress, within
Alexander Hamilton was very clear on section 8, of the Constitution to do all 48 hours, the introduction of troops
that point. They intended for the those things "necessary and proper" into "hostilities or into situations
President to have that right, and they for exercising other powers. where imminent involvement in hostil-
intended for him to be Commander-in- Section 2(c) says that the constitu- ities is clearly indicated by the circum-
Chief, much as the kings have been tional powers of the President to in- stances."
commanders in chief in England. But troduce Armed Forces into imminent Not only have American marines lost
they specifically said that Congress is hostilities are to be exercised only pur- their lives, not only are other Ameri-
the only body that shall have the suant to first, a declaration of war, can marines going to lose their lives,
right to declare war. second, specific statutory authoriza- not only have American marines been
There is another Federalist Paper-I tion, or third, a national emergency injured, and not only are more and
think it is No. 69-by Alexander Ham- created by attack upon the United more American marines going to be in-
ilton in which he goes into great detail States, its territories or possessions, or jured, but also, the President has said
about the debate that went on in the its Armed Forces. that we are going to retaliate-indeed,
Constitutional Convention on that Now, do you read English? There is we have retaliated-with mortar and
issue. The words originally were: "Con- absolutely nothing confusing or am- artillery, and then some.
Approved For Release 2008/12/01: CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
 Approved For Release 2008/12/01: CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
September 14, 1983
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE S 12183
We are in a combat situation just as
surely as if Congress had declared war
on the Druze and the Palestinians and
everybody else who is firing at the Ma-
rines.
I do not think the Supreme Court
would touch the first section of this.
There is no question that the veto
power of Congress has been declared
unconstitutional. You can make an ar-
gument that the Chada decision does
not really render the veto power un-
constitutional. I agree with the posi-
tion of the Supreme Court. I do not
think one of the two Houses should be
vetoing provisions. The Founding Fa-
thers did not set up anything such as
that.
I voted for a lot of those vetoes here.
They come in handy, and they can
hold the President's feet to the fire.
But the Founding Fathers intended
Congress to pass bills and the Presi-
dent to sign them.
So I have no quarrel with the Chada
decision.
But they did not intend for the
President to declare war either. That
is the reason they specifically gave
that very awesome responsibility to
Congress.
Section 5(b) of the War Powers Act
says that within 60 days after the
report is submitted to Congress by the
President or is required to be submit-
ted pursuant to section4(a)(1), which-
ever is earlier, the President shall ter-
minate the use of U.S. troops unless
one of five things happens.
Here are those five things.
First, Congress declares war;
Second, Congress enacts a specific
authorization for such use of U.S.
troops, which we may do, and I am in-
clined to think we would do that; or
Third, that Congress extend by law
such 60-day period, and I think we
might do that; or
Fourth, the President determines
and certifies to Congress that unavoid-
able military necessity respecting the
safety of troops requires continued use
of such troops in the course of bring-
ing about a prompt withdrawal of the
troops. In this case the 60-day period
for removal can be extended for not to
exceed another 30 days during which
time Congress could extend the time
to enact legislation or declare war; and
Fifth, Congress is physically unable
to meet because of armed attack.
Mr. President, we have some very
distinguished guests here that the dis-
tinguished Senator from South Caroli-
na, Senator THURMOND, wishes to in-
troduce. And I certainly want to coop-
erate.
But I conclude my remarks by
saying that no one in this body should
underestimate the seriousness of the
situation, no one should misunder-
stand that American lives are on the
line and Congress has a role to play.
If the President triggers the War
Powers Act, as he is most assuredly re-
quired to do under the law, in my
opinion he will receive good bipartisan
support in Congress.
I opposed sending American Marines
to Lebanon in the first place. I op-
posed it because I thought the United
States would be the focal point of the
hostility of the Druze, the Palestin-
ians, and all the other Arabs in the vi-
cinity.
I would have been happy to pay the
expenses of any other nation on Earth
to join the peacekeeping force, but
what I thought would happen has
happened and now we must make the
best of it.
I do not want to undermine the
President or our policy in the Middle
East, but I want the law complied with
and in my opinion, if the President
will read the War Powers Act and do
his constitutional duty by submitting
a report to the U.S. congress, he will
be surprised at the bipartisan support
he gets just as he might have been
surprised at the bipartisan support he
got in the method and manner he used
in handling the Korean airliner inci-
dent, and I supported him strongly on
that.
Mr. President, Congress has to face
this issue. We are not going to be able
to shirk our duty. We cannot ignore it.
We have a duty and we have a respon-
sibility. It just depends on the manner
in which we are going to face up to it.
The laws are on the book on how we
should do it, and I sincerely hope that
the President and his legal counsel
will do this forthwith because I can
tell you it is not going away.
Mr. President, I yield to the major-
ity leader.
Mr. BAKER. Mr. President, I thank
the Senator.
Mr. President, the distinguished
President pro tempore of the Senate,
who is our senior Member on the ma-
jority side and presides in the absence
of the Vice President, has advised me
that he has a delegation of distin-
guished visiting parliamentarians.
I yield now to Senator THURMOND so
that he may present them to the
Senate.
VISIT TO THE SENATE BY BRIT-
ISH MEMBERS OF PARLIA-
MENT
Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, we
are honored today by having nine dis-
tinguished members of the British
Parliament here, and it is my distinct
pleasure at this time to present them
to the Senate. When I finish calling
their names I will ask them all to rise
and be acknowledged by this body.
The members are: John David
McWilliam, Labor M.P. for Blaydon;
Michael John Martin, Labor M.P. for
Springburn, Glasgow; David Mudd,
Conservative M.P. for Falmouth and
Camborne; Patrick Nicholls, Conserv-
ative M.P. for Teignbridge; William
Powell, Conservative M.P. for Corby;
Martin Redmond, Labor M.P. for Don
Valley; Allan Roberts, Labor M.P. for
Bootle; Sir Hugh Alexis Louis Rossi,
Conservative M.P. for Hornsey and
Wood Green; and Jonathan Sayeed,
Conservative M.P. for Bristol East.
This group is accompanied by U.S.
Escort Officer Mr. James Moffett.
It is my pleasure now to present
them and ask them if they will rise
and be acknowledged. (Applause.]
RECESS
Mr. BAKER. Mr. President, I ask
unanimous consent that the Senate
now stand in recess for 2 minutes so
we may have an opportunity to greet
our visiting Parliamentarians.
There being no objection, the
Senate, at 4:55 p.m., recessed until 4:57
p.m.; whereupon, the Senate reassem-
bled when called to order by the Pre-
siding Officer (Mr. SPECTER).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Two
minutes having elapsed, we are back in
session.
The majority leader is recognized.
Mr. BAKER. I thank the Chair.
Mr. President, I have cleared the re-
quest I am about to make with the mi-
nority leader. I have discussed it with
others who are principles of the
debate which will occur on the Korean
plane resolution. This is done to suit
the maximum convenience of the most
Members.
Mr. President, I am going to ask the
Senate to change the convening hour
for tomorrow in the following manner.
ORDER FOR RECESS UNTIL 9:30 A.M. TOMORROW
Mr. BAKER. Mr. President, I ask
unanimous consent that when the
Senate completes its business today it
stand in recess until 9:30 a.m. on to-
morrow.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. With-
out objection, it is so ordered.
ORDER FOR A PERIOD FOR THE TRANSACTION OF
MORNING BUSINESS ON TOMORROW
Mr. BAKER. Mr. President, on to-
morrow, after the recognition of the
two leaders under the standing order,
I ask unanimous consent that there be
a period for the transaction of routine
morning business from the expiration
or yielding back of that time until the
hour of 10 a.m. in which Senators may
speak for not more than 2 mintues
each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. With-
out objection, it is so ordered.
ORDER TO PROCEED TO THE CONSIDERATION OF
THE KOREAN AIR LINES RESOLUTION ON TO-
MORROW
Mr. BAKER. Mr. President, I ask
unanimous consent that the Senate
then proceed to the consideration of
the Korean plane resolution beginning
at 10 a.m. on tomorrow.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. With-
out objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BAKER. I thank the Senators
for permitting me to make these ar-
rangements, and I now yield the floor.
THE WAR POWERS ACT
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
Senator from Tennessee.
Approved For Release 2008/12/01: CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
 Approved For Release 2008/12/01: CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9
S 12184 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE September 14, 198.1
Mr. SASSER. Mr. President, I rise tive value of the war powers resolu- Now, I have no doubt that there
today to join my colleagues and speak tion. may be strong sentiment for keeping
to the importance of the war powers The war powers resolution of 1973 our forces in Lebanon if it can be
resolution attendant to the current came about as a result of our involve- clearly shown that their presence
conflict in Lebanon. ment in Vietnam and is one of the there will promote the peace. But I
The continuing conflict in Lebanon most important foreign policy instru- also believe firmly that the American
lem
and this
i
,
conflict -
s escalating as
far as involvement of American forces
are concerned.
We began by evacuating the PLO
from Beirut, and that was a successful
operation. We then reinserted our
Marine contingent in Lebanon after
successfully taking them out following
the evacuating of the PLO, and we are
now being gradually committed to de-
fending the Lebanese army under cer-
tain circumstances.
Twelve hundred Marines have been
stationed in Lebanon since September
of 1982 as a part of the multinational
peacekeeping effort. Several Marines
have been killed and many have been
wounded, and just yesterday 2,000
more Marines arrived on station off
the coast of Lebanon ready for imme-
diate deployment. And on September 8
a U.S. naval vessel shelled Druze artil-
lery positions that were believed to be
endangering positions held by the U.S.
Marine Corps.
Mr. President, our fighting men are
in a deeply precarious position in Leb-
anon and they are being asked to keep
the peace. They are doing their best to
do that, to keep the lid on in Lebanon.
But they are being put in combat situ-
ations day in day out, and presently do
not have full-scale authority to pursue
or to destroy their attackers. They are
being shot at, they are being killed,
they are being wounded. They are on
occasion shooting back and they are
drawing combat pay.
Now, make no mistake about it, Mr.
President, there are factions in the
Lebanese conflict that have no desire
whatsoever to have the U.S. peace-
keeping forces play their rightful role.
These forces have no real stake in a
peaceful settlement in Lebanon. On
the contrary, they wish to prolong the
conflict. They most likely would like
to see Lebanon dismembered and de-
stroyed as a sovereign nation, and if
provocative attacks on U.S. Marines
will help toward that end, they are
prepared to undertake such attacks.
Yet despite the growing conflict the
President has not moved to invoke the
war powers resolution and by refusing
to acknowledge the need to put the
war powers resolution into effect the
administration is apparently, for some
reason known only to itself, refusing
to attempt to build a national consen-
sus about the extent of our involve-
ment in the Lebanese crisis.
This is most troublesome and I
submit, Mr. President, highly danger-
ous. U.S. Marines in Lebanon have
been described as sitting ducks in this
escalating conflict. They are trying to
keep the peace in an environment that
is anything but peaceful. But no less
importantly it appears this adminis-
tration is totally disregarding the posi-
resolution insures that the collective
judgment of the Congress and the
President will be used when our
Armed Forces are introduced into hos-
tile situations or into situations where
hostilities may be imminent.
Now, if the President were to indi-
cate to the Congress that our Marines
have been engaged in hostilities pursu-
ant to the language of the statute or
faced imminent hostilities, the Con-
gress would have 90 days in which to
specifically authorize the presence of
U.S. Marines in Lebanon or they
would be withdrawn.
I believe the President should set
the war powers resolution into motion.
When troops are being shot at, when
they are returning fire, when troops
are being killed and wounded, when
troops are drawing combat pay, then I
believe, Mr. President, they are en-
gaged in hostilities and certainly hos-
tilities are imminent.
I believe it would be proper and fit-
ting if we should have a national
debate about the extent of U.S. in-
volvement in the Lebanese situation.
As a nation we remain committed to
the course of peace in Lebanon and in
all of the Middle East, but that goal
should always be discussed and de-
bated in a public forum in a democra-
cy. The war powers resolution is the
proper vehicle for the debate about
the Lebanon situation.
Second, Mr. President, by putting
the war powers resolution into effect
the administration is bound to make a
full report to the Congress on three
levels: First, the circumstances necessi-
tating the introduction of our Armed
Forces into Lebanon; second, the con-
stitutional and legislative authority
under which the introduction of such
Armed Forces take place; and, third,
the estimated scope and duration of
the hostilities or involvement of our
Armed Forces.
In short, the war powers resolution
will help to provide the American
public with the information they need
to appraise the nature, scope, dura-
tion, and, indeed, worthiness of our in-
volvement in Lebanon.
It goes without saying that the
American people have the right to
know about the full extent of our in-
volvement in Lebanon. The war
powers resolution will provide them
with that information.
people want all of their political lead-
ers, not just the President, to be ac-
countable for that decision, and to
bring their collective wisdom to bear.
I have no doubt, Mr. President, that
as the debate on the Lebanon situa-
tion unfolds, and if the facts warrant,
the American people will not shirk
from continuing to try to keep the
peace in that area even if it means a
continued military presence, but only
if the facts show after debate that
peace can ultimately be promoted by
the presence of Armed Forces of the
United States of America.
Mr. BIDEN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
KASTEN). The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I will be
relatively brief. Much of what I have
to say will be redundant based on
what I have heard said thus far this
afternoon.
As far as I see it, several things are
very clear. First of all, since Septem-
ber 1982, when the Marines were sent
as part of the multinational force, I
believe they were entering into an
area of hostilities.
Some disagreed with that assertion
of mine back then in the Foreign Rela-
tions Committee, but I think they are
hostilities. And I think the War
Powers Act should have been triggered
immediately and have so stated in the
past.
But I do not know how anyone can
deny since August 28, 1983, about a
year later, after they had been there a
year and four more Marines had been
killed, at that time two, and we are
sending air strikes, as we should under
the circumstances, up into the moun-
tains and we have amassed additional
Marines off the shore, that we are not
in combat hostilities. The fact of the
matter is they are required,to return
this fire. We are not merely a peace-
keeping force, although that is the
purpose. They are, in fact, in hostil-
ities. They are in a war.
I find it interesting that some of my
older colleagues-and the President of
the United States is somewhat older-
always point out the bravery and hero-
ism, which is true, of those who
fought in World War II. Well, one of
the things that I find continuingly
being denied my generation, whether
it was in Vietnam or even now, is the
notion that their efforts to kept the
peace, in the same sense we have at-
Finally, the war powers resolution tempted to keep the peace in World
makes the Congress as well as the War II, the Korean war and Vietnam,
President accountable for what is hap- that their efforts are not even given
pening in Lebanon with regard to the courtesy of acknowledging that
forces of the United States of Amer- they are risking their lives. They are
ica. It requires the Congress to make a as much in combat as anyone who was
decision within 90 days as to whether in the Battle of the Bulge or anyone
our Armed Forces will continue to be who was in any famous battle in which
stationed in Lebanon. Americans distinguished themselves.
Approved For Release 2008/12/01: CIA-RDP95B00895R000200070008-9