Typical was a column published in Sunday's Washington Post by Clinton's former Secretary of State Warren Christopher. We must do so unambiguously, using whatever force is necessary to accomplish this goal. There are a host of questions not addressed by Christopher and the other advocates of a ground invasion. The only logical conclusion that flows from such demands is the long-term occupation of Serbia and its transformation into a de facto colony of the United States. Such a policy would require the indefinite deployment of hundreds of thousands of American and NATO troops in a hostile environment.
Critical issues are raised, moreover, that go well beyond the confines of southeastern Europe.
Clinton, Albright and company give complacent assurances that events in the Balkans would never bring Russia to the point of military conflict with the West. Here ignorance merges with arrogance, producing an incendiary combination. The US proclaims that the fate of Kosovo, thousands of miles from its borders, is a crucial US interest, while denying that Russia, whose geo-political interests in the Balkans go back hundreds of years, has vital concerns in the region. US policymakers seem to overlook the fact that for 45 years the Balkans formed a critical part of the defense perimeter of the Soviet Union. Still earlier in the century, Russia entered the First World War in response to a foreign attack on its Serb ally.