House critics: Missile defense will be victim of Kosovo

WASHINGTON [MENL] -- Republican congressional critics warn that the cost of U.S. participation in NATO's offensive against Yugoslavia will deplete funding for national missile defense.

The critics issued their warning during testimony by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the House International Relations Committee on Wednesday.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, said the deployment of U.S. troops could prove a return to bloody American intervention in Lebanon in 1982. He said after Beirut President Ronald Reagan focused on building the U.S. military.

"Bombing then rebuilding former Yugoslavia will cost us in more ways than one, however," Rohrabacher said. "Because of the expense, we're going to end up having to pass on missile defense, probably. Where is this money going to come from? Maybe missile defense. Or if we end up trying to be the policeman of the world, we're not going go be able to thwart real threats to our national security, namely in Asia."

President Bill Clinton has asked Congress for $3.88 billion for missile defense, with $1.29 billion requested for fiscal 2000. National missile defense advocates in Congress said overall funding for missile defense requires more than $4.5 billion.

Another critic, Rep. Matt Salmon, a Republican from Arizona, said the United States does not have any vital interests at risk in the Balkans. He agreed that the U.S. mission "has placed considerable strain on our armed forces and military resources. We're critically low on air- launched cruise missiles, which have been our weapon of choice since the 1980s."

Salmon said the United States is withdrawing aircraft carriers from the Pacific for redeployment near Yugoslavia in the Mediterranean at a time when Washington seeks to deter China and North Korea.