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- LONDON (Reuters) - The former
commander of United Nations troops in Bosnia has dismissed NATO's Kosovo
bombing campaign as a tragic failure.
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- Britain's General Sir Michael Rose said NATO and British
politicians were running a propaganda campaign to persuade people that
the air war met its objectives.
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- The alliance had been forced to redefine the objectives
of its air war against Yugoslavia after it "manifestly" failed
to accomplish its initial aims.
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- In a letter to The Times newspaper published on Wednesday,
Rose said NATO had defined its initial objective as the prevention of more
suffering, repression and violence against Kosovo's ethnic Albanians.
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- "After 11 weeeks of one of the most intensive air
campaigns in the history of warfare, it is clear that NATO has tragically
failed to accomplish these initial objectives.
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- "For thousands of people were brutally murdered
and more than a million people were driven from their homes by the Serbs,"
said Rose, who has retired from the British army.
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- NATO had therefore been forced to redefine the purpose
of the war as being that of allowing Kosovo's ethnic Albanian refugees
to return to their homes.
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- "Its success in achieving this lesser task should
not be allowed to obscure the fundamental message that it is not possible
to safeguard a people by bombing from 15,000 feet," Rose said.
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- He was referring to NATO's policy of not allowing its
warplanes to attack from low altitude.
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- http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/Reuters19990713_2688.html
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- Confirming story from The Times:
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- NATO's 'Failure' To Achieve Its Aims
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- From General Sir Michael Rose
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- Sir, I am surprised to see you (leading article, July
12) supporting the current propaganda campaign by Nato and British politicians
who are repeatedly stating that Nato's air campaign over Kosovo met its
campaign objectives. It manifestly did not.
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- When Nato went to war on March 24, its objectives were,
in the words of the Secretary-General of Nato, "to prevent more human
suffering and more repression and violence against the civilian population
of Kosovo". Put another way by our own Ministry of Defence, the purpose
of going to war was "to curb the Serbs' capability to repress the
Kosovo Albanian population - and thus avert a humanitarian catastrophe".
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- After 11 weeks of one of the most intensive air campaigns
in the history of warfare, it is clear that Nato had tragically failed
to accomplish these initial objectives. For thousands of people were brutally
murdered and more than a million people were driven from their homes by
the Serbs.
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- The Alliance was thus compelled to redefine the purpose
of the war as being that of allowing the safe return of the Kosovo Albanian
people to their homes. Its success in achieving this lesser task should
not be allowed to obscure the fundamental message that it is not possible
to safeguard a people by bombing from 15,000ft.
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- Rather than engage in cynical propaganda exercises, Nato
should examine how it is going to be able more effectively to fight humanitarian
wars in the future. This will require the Alliance to develop better leadership
and to demonstrate a greater preparedness to deploy troops on the ground.
Sadly, both these critical ele- ments seem to be missing at present.
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- Yours faithfully, MICHAEL ROSE (Commander UN Protection
Force, Bosnia, 1994), c/o RHQ Coldstream Guards, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage
Walk, SW1E 6HQ. July 12.
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- http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/Times/frontpage.html?1124027
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