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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pz who wrote (40665)	3/30/1999 1:46:00 AM
From: JBL	Respond to of 67261

Kosovo confronts Clinton with biggest foreign policy crisis WASHINGTON, March 30 (AFP) - Tiny Kosovo is confronting US President Bill Clinton with a mammoth foreign policy crisis, challenging his post-impeachment credibility, resolve and leadership. A stern-looking Clinton returned Monday from a brief respite at the Camp David presidential retreat and headed immediately into a briefing on the NATO air campaign by his national security team. But there was not much good news to report. Nearly a week of allied assaults on Serb targets has failed to budge Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and US officials are now expressing "alarm" at the Serbs' massive retaliation against the Kosovars. And though the downed US pilot was spectacularly rescued, the incident was a painful reminder for Clinton that he has embarked on a mission that could prove far deadlier than Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia or Iraq. Cracks have also emerged in the NATO alliance and the risky operation has pushed US relations with Russia to one of the lowest points in the post-Cold War era. Republican lawmakers too are stepping up attacks on Clinton for embroiling the country in an internal foreign conflict, refusing to lay out an "exit strategy" and failing to acknowledge ground forces may be necessary to finish the job. Clinton has put on a confident public face, but the White House is clearly frustrated with the way things are playing out so far. "Just because some people thought maybe (Milosevic) would cave in after a day or two -- we can't be held responsible for that. You have to be fair on how you judge us. It's getting ridiculous," an official said on condition of anonymity. There are indications too that Clinton's sex scandal continues to damage his credibility. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright bristled when asked whether the president was again using the same kind of linguistic hair-splitting made famous by his sex scandal when he said he has "no intention" of using ground troops. "All I can tell you is the words," she said when asked on CBS television Sunday what "no intention" actually means. "He will not send ground -- he says he has no intention," she stumbled along. "He is the commander-in-chief and when he speaks, he should be respected," Albright admonished the interviewer. The exchange underscores continued fallout from the humiliating Monica Lewinsky scandal, in which Clinton denied the affair by using a narrow definition of sex. Many of the pro-Serb demonstrators picketing the White House in recent days are also bearing signs referring to the scandal. And though Republicans deny they are seeking revenge for their impeachment defeat, they initially opposed US involvement in the conflict and are now challenging Clinton's claim that ground troops will not be necessary to finish the job. "We must win this conflict with whatever it takes," Republican Senator and presidential hopeful John McCain told ABC television Sunday. He said Clinton had "very poorly handled" Kosovo and opposed US involvement, adding however: "now that we are here, and we have said that we are going to not allow him (Milosevic) to succeed, then I would argue that our national interests are at stake at this moment." But Clinton, who heavily relies on polls, is faced with surveys showing fewer than half of Americans would support sending US ground troops to Yugoslavia. "This is the largest foreign policy crisis of this administraiton (but) the preparation of the public and Congress has been inadequate," explained Richard Haass, head of the Brookings Institution think tank. In the run-up to the NATO campaign, Clinton had bowed to congressional demands to make a strong public case for the action, going on national television to outline his motivations and goals. But the justifications have moved from fears of a third world war to the urgency of the humanitarian crisis. "It's convenient for the administration. They needed something," Doug Bandow with the conservative Cato Institute said of the humanitiarian crisis in Kosovo. Clinton has also changed the emphasis on his objectives. In laying out his case last week, the president stressed that the Serbs had rejected the Rambouillet peace deal the Kosovars had accepted, indicating Belgrade must be bombed back to the bargaining table. Since then, however, the approved administration language has moved away from the signing of the peace agreement to "degrading" Milosevic's ability to wage war against the Kosovars. Balkans specialist Ivo Daalder said the United States had underestimated Milosevic's resolve. "We miscalculated. We did not look at what makes Milosevic tick, which is to remain in power," he said. But the White House official said the Clinton administration was confident all was going as planned. "I don't think anyone is surprised that (Milosevic) moved forward on the offensive he has been planning for months," he said, adding that NATO's move into a more intensive second phase was also on course. "(Clinton) has said this is not a 30-second commercial and we have to be steady as we go," he added.