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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: D. Long who wrote (1115)	4/2/1999 1:15:00 AM
From: Trippi	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

D. Long -- I agree with you about guts etc. We got em as a nation when we need em etc. However I really disagree with you about if we had really committed and dug in -- Milosevic would have been to the table within days. I was tangentialy involved in the Bosnia Peace process (cease fire and Dayton Accords) I have met with Milosevic and Miletinovic as well as Vujuvic several times -- and met Robert Fraiser on occasion during the process until his untimely death when his personel carrier hit a mind field on a Bosnia road in a storm. Fraiser was the only American who really understood Milosevic and could conduct real negotiations with him. Milosevic sent every signal possible that he would move on any issue but Kosovo -- and it might surprise most Americans to know that the Dayton accords -- Which our govenrment signed contain very specific language that Kosovo must remain part of Serbia. There are a lot of geopolitical reasons for the US position -- most of them having to do with the fact that if Kosovo were to successfully break away -- Macedonia would be next. Not to mention Bosnia would erupt again -- and the possible entry of Greece and Turkey into the ensuing battle over the what ever would be left of Macedonia. Now the bombing is actually making at least Macedonia less stable as more Albanians go there. All of this works to Milosevic's advantage -- it is unfathomable to me that NATO did not recognize that refugees would begin to flood into Albania and Macedonia -- they had to know what Milosevic would do. I honestly believe if we had hit him with everything we had -- we would have won but we would have lost several thousand men and Milosevic would not be at the table any sooner -- to give up Kosovo would be political suicide for him. Kosovo to a Serb is like Jeruselem to an Isreali -- it would not mater who was leading Serbia he could never let Kosovo go. I have been in the region -- I am not talking about the leadership I am talking about the people -- even Milosevic's leading opposition will support him on Kosovo. We are uniting a country on the one issue they are willing to put internal differences aside and fight for. I can't recall the modeling (I mean the source) but I believe the projections were a ground force of 200,000 minimum was required to win a ground war in the Kosovo region -- If memory serves me right those same projections showed a body count of 10,000 to 20,000 -- I know we are talking about guts -- but most of Serbia's neighbors in the region (Greece, Italy etc) that are members of NATO would never support the use of ground forces with that kind of costs.

To: D. Long who wrote (1115)	4/2/1999 1:04:00 PM
From: 91fxrs	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

The current administration is, to make myself more clear, dangerously wishie washie. The reason this mess in Kosovo isnt over yet is because of the gradualism being conducte there. If the administration would have had the guts to make a real commitment there, we would have had a substantial build up and threw everything and the kitchen sink at Serbia. Milo would have been at the table within days. But it got flubbed. Big time. And this flubbing is indicative of every operation this administration has been involved in. A lack of resolve, a lack of leadership, a lack of will to get the job done and do it right. Integrity, in a word, is lacking. The guts follow, or rather fail to follow. The following article says it all about this administration. IMO For now, the White House said it remains confident that something will be achieved from the air. "You make the cost higher and higher," said one senior administration official. "At some point, Milosevic is going to cry uncle." Something will be achieved? Hello.. Is anybody home?? washingtonpost.com Btw, In the San Jose Mercury there is a caption with the title: In fight with Milosevic, Clinton is a troubled warrior I wonder how our men/women in the Force's would react to a most noble title given to a draft dodger?