April 23, 1975
Page 11466
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, I shall vote for this bill because I think it represents a reasonable response to the dangerous, volatile situation which prevails in the Saigon area today.
The bill authorizes the use of American forces, if the President deems it necessary, to assist in the evacuation of remaining U.S. citizens in South Vietnam along with their dependents. It also authorizes the use of such troops for the withdrawal of such foreign nationals as may be brought out with U.S. citizens. It provides $100 million to be used for these purposes. It provides another $100 million for humanitarian assistance to be channeled through international organizations.
The use of American forces for evacuation purposes has raised grave questions in all our minds, and many of us have quite properly urged the President to evacuate American citizens and their dependents as rapidly as possible so as to minimize the need for any U.S. military operation. I am satisfied that the administration is following this course, and I urge the President to continue this rapid withdrawal until all U.S. officials and other Americans who wish to leave are out of the country.
Should the President decide in future circumstances that he must use American forces, I am satisfied that there are adequate safeguards in the bill to prevent any situation from developing in which Vietnamese attacks on our forces could serve as a pretext for a larger U.S. military intervention. Clearly, we have come to the end of that road, and I simply cannot believe that the President would consider using the authority given him under this bill to reintroduce a significant American military presence in the last stages of this tragic war.
The safeguards are as follows: If the President wishes to use our Armed Forces, he must submit a report to the Congress as required by the war powers resolution and he must further certify to Congress the following: First, that there existed a direct and imminent threat to the lives of American citizens and their dependents; second, that every effort was made to terminate that threat by diplomatic means; and third, that American citizens and their dependents are in fact being evacuated as rapidly as possible.
While engaging in such an operation, our Armed Forces would also be authorized to assist in the evacuation of foreign nationals, but also under carefully circumscribed conditions: First, that every effort had been made to terminate the threat to such foreign nationals by diplomatic means; second, that a direct and imminent threat exists to their lives; third, that U.S. forces would not be required beyond those essential to the withdrawal of U.S. citizens and their dependents; fourth, that the duration of the exposure of U.S. forces to hostilities would not thereby be extended; and fifth, that such withdrawal would be confined to areas where U.S. forces are present for the purpose of protecting U.S. citizens while they are being withdrawn.
The purpose of these safeguards is to insure that any evacuation of foreign nationals be limited in scope – involving only such numbers as can be accommodated as part of the withdrawal of U.S. citizens and their dependents. Moreover, the bill requires that Americans be withdrawn as quickly as possible once our armed forces are employed, so that remaining U.S. citizens could not be used as an excuse to mount a massive evacuation of Vietnamese nationals. I oppose any large-scale evacuation which I believe would be extremely dangerous and administratively impossible in present military circumstances.
Mr. President, I hope that the use of American troops will not be needed. Circumstances would have to be extremely threatening to the lives of American civilians to justify their use, and it is not at all certain that the involvement of U.S. troops would insure the security of our citizens. We are talking about a very complex and dangerous situation.
But I believe that Congress should give the President the specific statutory authorization under the war powers resolution which he needs to consider the option of using U.S. troops. The bill before us is narrow and limited in scope, but it does add constructively to the President's flexibility in this crisis. I trust him not to abuse the authority so provided. I will therefore vote for the bill.