By Hill H.C.R. No. 120 74R6407 KMP-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, In recent years, United States foreign policy has 1-2 allowed U.S. military personnel to be placed under the direct 1-3 control of United Nations commanders, strategists, and policy 1-4 makers; and 1-5 WHEREAS, The constitutional role of the United States 1-6 military is to protect the life, liberty, and property of American 1-7 citizens and to defend our nation against insurrection and foreign 1-8 invasion; and 1-9 WHEREAS, In 1945, the Congress of the United States adopted 1-10 legislation that allows the president and congress to furnish armed 1-11 forces and equipment for limited peacekeeping operations; since 1-12 that time, however, the scope and complexity of United Nations 1-13 military interventions has grown dramatically, with operations now 1-14 under way in 20 of the most dangerous regions around the globe 1-15 involving personnel from more than 70 countries; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Recent events in Somalia and other war-torn areas 1-17 have graphically demonstrated the vulnerability that U.S. military 1-18 personnel must face while serving with troops of other nations; and 1-19 WHEREAS, Since the ratification of the U.N. charter, more 1-20 than 1,200 military personnel, including many Americans, have been 1-21 killed during United Nations peacekeeping operations or observer 1-22 missions; as our nation's involvement in U.N. military 1-23 interventions continues to mount, more and more American parents 1-24 will be told that their sons and daughters have been killed while 2-1 serving under foreign commanders; and 2-2 WHEREAS, At a peacekeeping conference held this February, 2-3 U.N. officials met in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss 2-4 standardization of training methods and military procedures among 2-5 United Nations troops; if implemented, this would be a truly 2-6 inappropriate and unacceptable subordination of our nation's 2-7 long-standing military laws, procedures, and traditions; and 2-8 WHEREAS, The United States of America maintains the 2-9 best-trained, best-equipped, and best-educated military force in 2-10 the world, a force whose integrity is severely compromised when it 2-11 is placed in the hands of foreign commanders; now, therefore, be it 2-12 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-13 hereby request the Congress of the United States to take all 2-14 necessary action to prevent members of the U.S. Armed Forces from 2-15 being placed under the command of foreign officers during their 2-16 participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations or observer 2-17 missions; and, be it further 2-18 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-19 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 2-20 the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the 2-21 senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 2-22 Texas delegation to the congress with the request that it be 2-23 officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the 2-24 Congress of the United States of America.