Congress limits Clinton8217;s scope on troops

And in a second blow for the Clinton administration, a Democratic motion in support of US operations in Yugoslavia was also voted down. The results reflected frustration among lawmakers at Clinton8217;s tendency from Iraq to the Balkans to act first and seek Congressional authorisation later, in the style of his predecessors.

The debate proved that US President Bill Clinton needed to make a clearer presentation of his Yugoslavia strategy, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said. 8220;I would hope that the President would take this diverse debate as a signal that he should better explain the goals, the costs and the long-term strategy of why we are there,8221;Hastert said.

8220;This debate reflected the vast array of opinions in the House,8221; Dennis Hastertcontinued. More than 40 Democrats sided with Republicans to pass the ground troops Bill 249-180. A similar measure could be introduced in the Senate as early as Friday, Republican sources said. But if it passes there, Clinton is nearly certain to veto the legislation.

During the debate, many Democrats criticised the Bill, arguing it would limit Clinton8217;s manoeuvreing room in the conflict.

Missouri Democrat Ike Skelton said the President had already agreed to consult Congress before sending in ground troops. Representative Eliot Engel of New York called the Bill 8220;ill-timed8221;, and said it undermined the President. 8220;This Bill sends the wrong message to Milosevic,8221; Engel said. But Republicans still furious at not being consulted before the US-led NATO bombing operations began said they were protecting Congress8217; rights. 8220;I don8217;t think a President can conduct war in Yugoslavia without the consent of Congress,8221;said Bill Goodling of Pennsylvania. In a reference to Vietnam, Texas Republican Sam Johnson said: 8220;What we did there, we8217;re allowing here. There are no defined military objectives. There is no defined mission.8221; But in a marathon debating session, the House rejected a resolution calling for a declaration of war on Yugoslavia, and another calling for the recall of US forces from the Balkans. The measures, introduced by Californian Republican Tom Campbell, invoked the controversial 1973 War Powers Act, which was adopted in the wake of the Vietnam War to prevent a President from acting unilaterally in such matters.

Clinton heads for Germany
Washington: US President Bill Clinton will head for Germany next week for talks on Kosovo with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the White House said Wednesday, as Congress voted to curb his power to wage war in Kosovo.

Amid a flurry of diplomatic activity seeking a resolution of the crisis, the White House announced that Clinton would leave on a two-daytour of US Air force bases in Germany late Tuesday, his first foreign trip since NATO launched its campaign to drive Yugoslav forces out of the separatist Serbian province of Kosovo.

Clinton also appealed to Congress to speedily approve a White House request made nine days ago for 6 billion in emergency funding. On Tuesday, Pentagon officials told Congress that if the funds were not released within three weeks, weapon stocks, including cruise missiles, could fall to dangerous levels.