WHITE HOUSE MUST LEARN POLICY LESSON

Fourth of July festivities across Southern Missouri and the nation allow us the opportunity to again gauge America's place in history and in the world today. We are the "home of the brave and the land of the free." However, to ensure our rightful place into the future, we must hold steadfast to the principles and resolve witnessed in our country's first 218 years.

In order to do so, I believe the United States must have a clearly defined foreign policy. There have been numerous conflicts in our nation's past where millions of Americans have put their lives on the line so that democracy's "experiment could thrive." I share the concerns of many folks in the Eighth District who have told me that the Clinton administration's foreign policy is adrift and they have concerns that the global community questions America's world leadership.

Business Week recently noted: "Clinton's flip-flops on Bosnia, Haiti, and China have unsettled Americans. Allies worry that the pattern of bluster and retreat might encourage Third World despots. Yet the President remains unwilling to shake up his visionless team of foreign policy advisers."

Not mentioned in that piece are the rising tensions and possible nuclear buildup in North Korea. We must never forget, it was America's policy of "peace through strength" that won the Cold War and defeated Soviet communism. Mr. Clinton should return to that proven strategy, rather than stray further from it.

America is still a land of opportunity; still a land where dreams can come true; still a land where the concept of liberty remains the foundation of the Nation. We must work now harder than ever to reaffirm and reclaim our status as the leader of the free world. The White House must learn that a clearly defined foreign policy is the place to start.