Word: airing
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Many have criticized the air strikes for solidifying Molosevic's power. Perhaps, if the air strikes had not occurred, Milosevic would eventually have fallen; but the Kosovar Albanians did not have that long to wait. According to statements by the German Defense Ministry, a plan for the expulsion of the Kosovar Albanians had been implemented in October 1998, even as Milosevic agreed to peace talks, with U.S. diplomats, and has continued since under the guise of strike against the pro-independence Kosovo Liberation Army...
...NATO's air attacks are therefore not responsible for the expulsion of Albanians from Kosovo but instead only caused a planned operation of ethnic cleansing to begin sooner rather than later. In any case, the NATO strikes could never be truly responsible; Serb troops, not stealth fighters, are forcing people from their homes...
Even more disturbing are reports that the Serbs may be mining the Albanian border and aerial photographs which show freshly turned earth resembling the mass graves dug during the Bosnian war. According to CBS, NATO reports spotting 96 freshly dug graves from the air over Kosovo last Saturday night and Sunday...
...face of Milosevic's protestations for peace and make it clear that, at least for the foreseeable future, it will be impossible for the Kosovar Albanians to live safely under Yugoslav control. An autonomous Kosovo will require the protection of an international force; even if the current conflict remains air-based, some type of ground forces, U.S. or otherwise, must eventually become involved after the fighting has ceased...
From the position of an armchair general, it is difficult to know whether an air war is enough; however, it would be wise to maintain the use of ground troops as an option. Doing otherwise would send the signal that the U.S. is prepared to punish genocide only when the perpetrators are easy targets for bombardment...