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D. Conclusion
In early June the bombing intensified, NATO commanders pressed Clinton to approve invasion, and Chernomyrdin and Ahtisaari issued credible warnings. Milosevic conceded. On June 9 Serbian generals formally signed an agreement to withdraw from Kosovo and allow NATO forces to bring the refugees home. A day later, the UN Security Council promptly endorsed settlement terms dictated by the allies. Russia's Council representative denounced the NATO air war before voting in favor of a NATO led peacekeeping mission involving 30 countries. Despite lingering outrage, China did not cast a veto. By a vote of fourteen in favor with one abstention, the Council approved interim U.N. administration of Kosovo guaranteed by NATO forces with Chapter VII authority to use force. NATO units could remain in Kosovo indefinitely until the Security Council formally ended their mission. NATO would consult with but not be commanded by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Operation Allied Force was over. Its NATO successor, Operation Joint Guardian would include 7,000 U.S. peacekeepers in a KFOR total of 50,000. In a June 10 public address to the nation President Clinton announced victory and the suspension of bombing. Serbian forces would evacuate Kosovo and be replaced by an international security force, paving the way for the return of Kosovar refugees and the restoration of self-government. Clinton branded Milosevic an indicted war criminal and accused him of trying to eliminate the Kosovars through a campaign of terror. While acknowledging the suffering of the Serbian people, Clinton laid the blame on Milosevic and dangled the promise of aid to Serbia if he was deposed. You may read the text or listen to a recording of the President's speech.
A U.S. poll indicated that 66% of the adult respondents supported the deployment of U.S. ground troops for international peacekeeping in Kosovo.55 Senate Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committee hearings began the post-mortem. Would the reorientation of NATO set a precedent for future U.S. humanitarian intervention or stand as an exception? Domestic critics continue the debate over whether Clinton's response achieved too little by leaving Milosevic in power, or did too much, both in wartime collateral damage and in a postwar U.S. commitment to a Kosovo protectorate for the indefinite future. In June 1999, 6,700 of the 20,000 U.S. troops from 1996 remained in Bosnia, and "not a single Serb civilian attended the anniversary of the battle of Kosovo Polje."56
Exercises:
1. Answer the study questions for this section and review the correct responses.
2. Complete an Opinion Survey and compare your answers to public opinion poll results.
3. Write a response to the three part Essay Problem and then review a model legal analysis.
