klipper noe fra The Independent i dag:
http://www.independent.co.uk/stories/B0505907.html
som ikke er sitert i aviser jeg har sett. Stavanger Aftenblad trykker
isteden spissartikler av Solanas (Stavanger Aftenblad) og "gode meldinger "
fra SACEUR Clark.
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War in The Balkans - General admits failure of air strikes
By Stephen Castle in Brussels and Rupert Cornwell
NATO's senior military official yesterday conceded that the alliance had
failed in its initial war aims and admitted, for the first time, that two
allied planes have been shot down.
In remarkably blunt terms, General Klaus Naumann, the chairman of Nato's
powerful Military Committee, said that political limitations of the
19-nation alliance had led it to sacrifice crucial advantages in the early
stages of the campaign.
Because Nato had not surprised the enemy or overwhelmed the Yugoslav armed
forces, the conflict had been prolonged, the German general said, adding
that the the need to avoid civilian casualties was inhibiting the campaign.
He refused to admit that the early use of ground troops was inevitable. At
a farewell press conference in Brussels, General Naumann, who retires from
his post tomorrow, referred for the first time, to two allied aircraft
being "shot down". Nato sources later said that that referred to the F-117A
Nighthawk "Stealth" fighter-bomber lost during the early stages of the air
bombardment, and an F-16 which was brought down over the weekend.
The losses, both of which resulted in dramatic rescues of airmen from
inside Yugoslav territory, had been put down to mechanical failure with
Nato refusing to say whether the planes had been shot down.
General Naumann said bluntly: "Quite frankly and honestly we did not
succeed in our initial attempts to coerce Milosevic through air strikes to
accept our demands, nor did we succeed in preventing the FRY [Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia] from pursuing a campaign of ethnic separation and
expulsion." Not only was there a lengthy diplomatic build-up to the
bombardment, but the first phase of the strikes was made deliberately
light, in the hope that President Slobodan Milosevic would concede quickly.
"This", the general added, "cost time, effort and potentially additional
casualties, the net result being that the campaign is undoubtedly prolonged."
He also accepted that the alliance was powerless to prevent the expulsion
of the remaining ethnic Albanians. "President Milosevic's campaign of mass
deportation is still achievable. If he really wants to get them out and he
uses the same brutal methods he may have a chance to do this."
The striking honesty of General Naumann's account of the 41-day campaign
was put down to his impending departure, to make way for Admiral Guido
Venturoni of the Italian Navy.
As chairman of the Military Committee, General Naumann is technically
senior to General Wesley Clark, the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, the
man in charge of operation Allied Force.
...
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Knut Rognes