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DEBACLE IN KOSOVO
by Major Shawn Pine

The NATO attack on Yugoslovia is a strategic debacle. NATO had hoped that the shock effect of NATO bombings would quickly subdue Milosevic and compel him to acquiesce to NATO demands concerning the plight of Yugoslavia's ethnic Albanian population. When Milosevic used the cover of war to accelerate the expulsion of his ethnic Albanian population, NATO had no response. It is frightening to think that NATO strategic planners never considered that Milosevic would accelerate his ethnic cleansing in response to Allied
bombing.

NATO's argument that it is responding to a moral imperative is without merit. While horrific to many Americans, Yugoslovia's purging of its ethnic minority has unfortunately been a part of our world since time immemorial. Moreover, Milosevic's campaign against the ethnic Albanians pales in magnitude and duration to other atrocities that have taken place during the watch of the Clinton administration. The claim that the United States or NATO could not have intervened to prevent these atrocities is vacuous. The United States could have intervened in any of these conflicts with a fraction air power used against Yugoslavia. Indeed, the deployment of a division from our Rapid Deployment Forces in any of these conflicts could have saved literally hundreds of thousands of lives throughout the world.

It is ironic that NATO has gone to war to protect the right of one ethnic minority in its struggle for self-determination yet includes among its members countries that have committed far worst atrocities. If indeed NATO is sincere, Turkey should worry that it may be next. Yugosovia's treatment of its ethnic Albanians pales in comparison to what Turkey has done to its Kurdish population in both magnitude and duration.

Equally spurious is the argument that Yugoslovia's systematic purging of its ethnic Albanian citizens, if not stopped, would spill over to neighboring countries and ignite another world war. A primary cause for the first two world wars were the "entangling alliances" which precipitated a domino effect as countries honored their treaties. Today, the only entangling alliance appears to be that of NATO. Ironically, it was the NATO attack on Yugoslavia that precipitated the spread of the conflict and exacerbated the suffering and plight of the ethnic Albanians. What was once just another unfortunate outcome of a civil war has spread to militarily involve over 25 nations.

In the final analysis, no matter what the pretext, nothing can negate the fact that the NATO alliance has violated the basic tenets of international relations, and those enunciated in the charter of the United Nations, by its violation of the territorial integrity of a sovereign nation. All of this in an apparent attempt to justify the continued existence of an organization whose reason for existence has been nullified by the collapse of the Soviet
Union.

Even more dangerous is the precedent that NATO has set in intervening in the internal affairs of a sovereign country. By its action, NATO has transcended the Wilsonian principle that democracies should promote peoples right to self-determination. With its attack against Yugoslovia, NATO has set a precedent that it is the obligation of the Western alliance to military defend the right of ethnic minorities to their right of self-determination. This is indeed a slippery slope with no bottom in sight.

It is important to remember in chosing sides, that previous to our attack on Yugosolvia, the KLA was characterized by our State Department as a terrorist organization. For the past decade the KLA has routinely attacked Serbian police and civilians in an attempt to force Yugoslavia to grant Kosovo independence and allow it to become part of a greater Albania. Moreover, the historical animosity between the two peoples runs long and deep. It was only some fifty years ago that Albania was supporting the Nazi's in their systematic slaughter of the Serbs.

Contrary to our apparent Pollyannish view of the world, the collapse of the Soviet Union has not made the world a peaceful utopia. Butchers such as Milosevic and Hussein are the rule rather than the exception in the world. Consequently, America needs to reevaluate its world role in the new millennium. If it is indeed to ensure the self-determination of all peoples in the world, then we should not delude ourselves as to the price, both economically and in terms of American lives, in pursuant of such a policy. Howeverver, if this latest endeavor is nothing more than a liberal flinch then we are as morally bankrupt as those we condemn.
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Major Shawn M. Pine is a Military / Strategic Analyst for the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies. Prior to attending Georgetown University, he served three years in the Golani Brigade of Israeli Defense Forces. He completed nine years active duty as an officer in the United States Army and served in a myriad of positions including: serving with the Multinational Force and Observers mission in Sinai, Egypt, commanding a mountain training camp at Fort Lewis, Washington, and serving as detachment commander of the Fort Sam Houston Counterintelligence detachment, San Antonio, Texas. He is currently serving as a counterintelligence officer in a Military Intelligence unit located in Austin, Texas.

He has published a number of articles concerning the prevailing political, military, and strategic environment in the Middle East. In addition to THE MACCABEAN, his works have appeared in Israel Affairs, The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, The Jerusalem Post, and Nativ. Most recently, he contributed an article to the recently published work 'From Rabin to Netanyahu: Israel's Troubled Agenda.'