The Return: A Book for Frances about Life and Death
             Preface
            Back Cover
      You're in Charge: A Guide to Becoming Your Own Therapist
            Introduction: The Art of Self Observation
             On Dreaming
            Foreign Editions
   Since the New Deal: An Annotated Chronology of the Events That Have Changed the United States
             The C.I.A. (excerpt)
             Origins of the Cold War (excerpt)
             Some Quotations that Demonstrate the Underlying Philosophy Since the New Deal

 
      Afghanistan, "Terrorism," and Blowback   About Anthrax
     Some Thoughts on 9-11-2001

Pre-1989 Albanian Rule in Kosovo Discriminated Against ALL non-Albanian Minorities Why is there Civil War in Kosovo, Why Did Clinton Get Involved and What has Been Accomplished?

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On the NATO side, the alliance was becoming hopelessly divided within. Opposition in many parts of the world was strong, and criticism was arising within the Western nations themselves as the horrors of a war against civilians sank in. Greece opposed the war from the outset, and all three new members, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland, expressed powerful reservations about the direction NATO was taking. Norway appears to have had second thoughts very quickly about the nature of the air war. Belgium and the Netherlands followed suit. Ultimately, Italy and Germany both began to push for a compromise negotiated through the Russians, with the U.S. and Britain continuing to hold out for Yugoslavia's unconditional surrender. Clinton finally had to give in.

What have been the actual results of the war diplomatically? Though the rhetoric is seeking to conceal the reality, Clinton and Albright have agreed to a UN force rather than a NATO one, though NATO nations will be represented as UN members. Russian forces may also be used. Moreover, since the operation will be under UN supervision, China and Russia will have much say in the decision-making.

Clinton and Albright have yielded on occupying Yugoslavia in general or even Kosovo in particular. The exact form that home rule will take is not being dictated and will be worked out under a UN-appointed administrator. There is a commitment to recognize Kosovo as an integral part of Yugoslavia, and there will be no referendum in three years.

Very important is that UN forces must now seek to "demilitarize" the KLA, whom Clinton used when he thought he could get leverage to take over Yugoslavia. It was always dangerous to dither with the KLA for any purposes, since they are a terrorist organization that can also disrupt Macedonia and Greece. News reports from everywhere are indicating that getting the KLA to put down its arms or desist from military activity could be the most difficult part of the entire process.

Just what will happen now in Kosovo in the near and far future is impossible to discern. Just how much control the UN will be able to exercise over the peacekeeping force, consisting at the moment exclusively of troops from NATO countries, is impossible to say. How vindictive Clinton will be in continuing to pursue Milosevich or seek to undo Yugoslavia in other ways is an unknown. What anyone can do about the KLA is uncertain. Macedonia, which is nearly 25 percent Albanian, has been disquieted throughout this war because of seeming NATO support for the KLA. Greece also has an Albanian population, as does Montenegro, a part of Yugoslavia.

It was disturbing to see the much publicized news footage of the meetings on the Macedonian border between NATO and Yugoslav officers. With much macho bluster, the NATO generals were trying to force their way into Kosovo before the UN mandate had been approved as outlined in the plan that the Yugoslav parliament had approved. The Yugoslavs were not resorting to delaying tactics; they were standing on the text of the agreement. Were NATO actions merely a propaganda show, seeking to put the best public face on what can certainly be seen as a NATO loss? Or was NATO seeking to subvert the signed agreement in an effort to snatch a victory out of the jaws of defeat and manipulate the UN into also becoming an appendage of NATO? It is frightening to contemplate the latter scenario.

In short, after two and a half months of bombing that devastated the province we were supposed to be saving, created enormous suffering for all Kosovars, Albanian and non-Albanian alike, and destroyed much of the economy of the rest of Yugoslavia, we are right where we could have been in March without ever dropping a bomb: a guarantee that Kosovo is part of Yugoslavia, a negotiated local autonomy for the province with protections for all Kosovars, a UN peacekeeping presence, and demilitarization of the KLA terrorists.

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© Janette Rainwater 1997-2004

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