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The Clinton Administration states a commitment to achieving the fullest possible
accounting for missing American servicemen from all recent wars.
Clinton's overall foreign policy on this issue is one of "delinkage": the
POW/MIA issue is not tied to negotiations on other issues. In other words,
matters such as trade, military alliance, aid, or diplomatic relations are not affected
by the level of cooperation a particular country has demonstrated on the accounting issue.
Opinions vary on whether de-linking the POW/MIA issue is an effective way to accomplish
an accounting. Proponents of this policy categorize the POW/MIA matter as "humanitarian".
They take the position that negotiations become more complicated when you interject this
problem, and that it should be a stand alone issue.
Many people disagree with an across-the-board policy of de-linkage, including various
government officials and a large part of the collective POW/MIA community. Opponents of
de-linking point to an overall poor level of cooperation by the various countries involved
in the POW/MIA issue as evidence that de-linking is counterproductive. Their position is
that separate negotiations might resolve other issues more quickly, but they reduce the
accounting effort to a dead end issue that fails to provide incentive for cooperation by
the other countries.
If, for example, Russia will still get aid and China will still get normal trade relations status,
why would either come forward and admit to holding Americans for exploitation after the wars were over?
Russia says it "might have happened" but they can't prove it, and Chine won't discuss the
issue. This stalemate has existed for a number of years. What will break the impasse?
The two very different approaches to the problem have not been reconciled and much controversy
continues on this fundamental aspect of the accounting effort. Few would argue that, while progress has been
made on remains recovery and identification, little or no progress has been made on the question of men having
been held back after the wars, and resulting questions about their ultimate fate. The arguement comes on
how best to achieve results, in the context of a complicated world community.
As we approach another congressional year, and as we look ahead to the next
Administration, a comprehensive policy on the POW/MIA Full Accounting must be developed.
The United States must have a policy that balances the need for peace and prosperity with
its obligation to account for the men it has sent into battle to protect those vital interests
in the past. The policy must effectively address both issues pertaining to remains recovery,
and issues pertaining to men who reportedly were captured alive and never returned.
The Coalition is currently reviewing its own position on U.S. Foreign Policy and we
welcome input from family members, as well as individuals from across the diverse spectrum
of American life. This issue affects us all. We invite our readers, especially Coalition
members, to send us their comments.
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