NATO Launches First-Ever Attack Against Sovereign State Amid Escalating Kosovo Crisis

Strategic Insights -

In a drastic escalation of the Kosovo crisis, NATO launched its first-ever attack against a sovereign state, targeting Yugoslavia in an effort to force President Slobodan Milosevic to accept a peace plan for the region. The move follows a decade of failed diplomatic efforts to stop the brutal ethnic strife that has torn Yugoslavia apart, with NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana giving the command to initiate air operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Key Takeaways:

  • NATO has launched its first-ever attack against a sovereign state, with over 400 warplanes, including six Canadian CF-18s, ready to strike Serbian targets.
  • The initial strikes will be borne by U.S. forces, with cruise missiles launched from U.S. warships in the Adriatic Sea and dropped from long-range B-52 bombers.
  • The targets will include the MUP police units, Serbian armored units, and bases in Kosovo, as well as military targets in the rest of Serbia.
  • NATO's military action is designed to undercut Serbia's military capacity to continue its offensive in Kosovo, with the goal of stopping an authoritarian regime from repressing its people in Europe.
  • The Yugoslav air force isaging, untested, and short of spare parts, making it no match for NATO warplanes, which are the most modern in the world.
  • The diplomatic door remains open, with U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke stating that "diplomatic channels will remain open."
  • President Milosevic has been accused of making a similar calculation as in 1995, when he joined the Dayton peace process after NATO warplanes destroyed the command-and-control structure of the breakaway Bosnian Serb statelet Srpska.

Statistics:

  • 400 warplanes are ready to strike Serbian targets, including six Canadian CF-18s capable of dropping laser-guided bombs.
  • The initial strikes will be borne by U.S. forces, with cruise missiles launched from U.S. warships in the Adriatic Sea and dropped from long-range B-52 bombers.
  • The targets will include the MUP police units, Serbian armored units, and bases in Kosovo, as well as military targets in the rest of Serbia.
  • Yugoslavia's military is completely outclassed by NATO warplanes, with an aging, untested, and short-of-spare-parts air force making it no match for NATO's advanced fighter jets.
  • The Yugoslav air-defense system is substantial and well-organized, with hundreds of anti-aircraft missiles in place.
  • The U.S. has a "stealth fleet" of advanced fighters, including the F-117A and B-2 bombers, which will play a key role in the initial strikes.

Sources:

  • "I have just given orders to the supreme commander of allied forces in Europe, [U.S.] General Wesley Clark, to start air operations against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," - Javier Solana, NATO Secretary-General.
  • "The failure of exhaustive diplomatic efforts has given NATO no choice but to initiate military action against Yugoslavia," - Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada.
  • "If President Milosevic is not willing to make peace, we are willing to limit his ability to make war on the Kosovars," - Bill Clinton, President of the United States.
  • "Diplomatic channels will remain open," - Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy.