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House Republicans Alarmed By Bosnia 'Mission Creep'
Citing a recent statement by Defense Secretary William Perry, Gingrich told reporters: "What you see happening is certainly mission creep (and) a warning signal that our American forces will be in Bosnia a lot longer than President Clinton originally indicated."
President Clinton set a one-year term for the mission under which the troops would come out in mid-December, a goal frequently repeated by senior officials .
But Perry said this month that if NATO decided to keep troops in Bosnia he would recommend that the U.S. troops participate.
In a letter to Clinton, Gingrich and five other senior Republicans said Perry's comments "suggest the administration is prepared to transform what was to have been a limited military mission into an open-ended commitment of U.S. forces to nation-building in the Balkans."
The letter asked the president to send Perry, Secretary of State Warren Christopher and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Shalikashvili, to Congress "in order to review the status of the Bosnia deployment at its mid-point."
Rep. Bill Young, a Florida Republican and chairman of the subcommittee that funds the military, said the cost of the mission, now estimated at $3 billion through Dec. 20, would rise dramatically if it were extended.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior House Republicans, led by Speaker Newt Gingrich, said Thursday they were worried that the U.S. military mission in Bosnia might be extended and they asked to be briefed by top administration officials.
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Berserkistan, Mar 27 · Perry: New Bosnia Role is not 'Mission Creep'
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