Some were brought to the region for humanitarian work and others for potential deployment as peacekeepers. But they could serve as the nucleus of an invasion force if the leaders of NATO reverse themselves and decide that only an invasion will achieve their aims against Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. The possible deployment of combat troops was discussed on both sides of the Atlantic Sunday. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said anew that the Clinton administration is confident air power will achieve NATO's purposes, and NATO Secretary General Javier Solana said the allies have no plans to authorize an invasion. Britain's foreign secretary, Robin Cook, stressed it would take two to three months to prepare an invasion, if one were ordered.
Military experts agree.
Allied ground forces arriving in the Balkans include some of the keys to ground combat, including U.S. Army Bradley infantry carriers and Apache attack helicopters, and British battle tanks. About 12,000 NATO troops are in Macedonia, including some 600 Americans. In neighboring Albania about 2,000 of a planned force of 8,000 allied troops are preparing for a humanitarian relief effort. There also are several thousand U.S. troops in Bosnia as part of a NATO-led peacekeeping force. A NATO assessment last summer concluded that it would take about 200,000 allied group troops to conquer Kosovo.