Complaints have been filed with the world court. But NATO officials say there is no evidence of environmental damage from the continuing bombing of hundreds of targets across Yugoslavia. They say they are doing all they can to minimize civilian casualties and environmental harm. Still, reports of a major oil slick on the Danube have some environmentalists outside Yugoslavia worried. But most international environmental groups have remained mum, saying humanitarian issues take precedence over the environmental ones.
War is messy stuff.
Green Cross poised Most experts agree that after the war evidence of at least some environmental damage is likely to be found. From Sherman's Civil War march to the sea to Agent Orange in Vietnam and oil-well fires in Kuwait, war has damaged the environment. It is such a concern, diplomatically and militarily, that numerous national and international rules tell armed forces not to harm the environment unless it is a military necessity. Each branch of the U.S. military has voluminous rules about limiting environmental harm during warfare. And NATO says it is living by those rules when selecting targets for bombing.