Nato Bombing Of Yugoslavia

After September 1990, when the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution was unilaterally abolished by the Socialist Republic of Serbia, Kosovo's autonomy was undermined and the region faced state-organized repression. Since the early 1990s, Albanian-language radio and television have been restricted and newspapers closed. . Kosovar Albanians have been laid off in large numbers from public enterprises and institutions such as banks, hospitals, post offices and schools. In June 1991, the Pristina University Council and several faculty councils were dissolved and replaced by Serbs. Kosovar Albanian teachers were barred from entering school grounds during the new school year beginning in September 1991, and students were forced to study at home. A NATO-brokered ceasefire was signed on October 15, but two months later both sides broke the deal and fighting resumed. When it was reported in January 1999 that 45 Kosovar Albanians had been killed in the Racak massacre, NATO decided that the conflict could only be resolved by introducing military peacekeeping forces and forcibly detaining both sides. . Yugoslavia refused to sign the Rambouillet Accord, which called for, among other things, to send 30,000 NATO peacekeepers to Kosovo. The right of unhindered passage of NATO forces over Yugoslav territory. Exemption from Yugoslav law for NATO and its agents. The right to free use of local roads, ports, railways and airports and free use of public facilities. NATO then used this refusal to justify the bombing and prepared to force the deployment of peacekeepers.

NATO's objectives in the Kosovo conflict were stated at the North Atlantic Council meeting held at NATO headquarters in Brussels on April 12, 1999: Suspend all military actions and immediately end the Milosevic regime's activities of violence and repression. Withdrawal of all military, police and militias from Kosovo. The presence of UN peacekeepers in Kosovo. Unconditional and safe return of all refugees and displaced persons. Establishment of a political framework agreement for Kosovo based on the Rambouillet Agreement, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter.

Allied operations mainly used large-scale air operations to destroy Yugoslav military infrastructure from high altitudes. After a third day of airstrikes, NATO destroyed nearly all of its strategic military targets in Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, Yugoslav forces continued to function, attacking Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) rebels inside Kosovo, mainly in the northern and southwestern regions of Kosovo. NATO uses long-range cruise missiles to hit heavily defended targets, such as strategic facilities in Belgrade and Pristina, and uses economic and social strategies such as bridges, military installations, official government facilities, and factories. bombed a target. NATO air forces also targeted infrastructure such as power plants (using BLU-114/B "soft bombs"), water treatment plants, and national broadcasting. Dutch Foreign Minister Josias van Aelsen said the attack on Yugoslavia should be aimed at weakening military forces and preventing further humanitarian atrocities. Due to restrictive press laws, the Yugoslav media barely covered what their forces were doing in Kosovo. Attitudes of other countries to humanitarian crises. As a result, few citizens expected bombing, instead believing that a diplomatic pact would be struck.

According to John Keegan, Yugoslavia's surrender in the Kosovo War marked a turning point in the history of warfare. It "proved that air power alone could win the war." Pre-war diplomacy had failed, and when Slobodan Milosevic agreed to a peace deal, the deployment of a large NATO ground force was still weeks away. As to why air power should have been able to act alone, military analysts argue: A few elements are required. Usually these rarely get together, but it all happened during the Kosovo War. Artillery fire must be able to cause destruction while minimizing casualties. This will put pressure on the public to end hostilities rather than prolong them. Analysts say the use of precision air power in the Kosovo war brought about this. Governments must be sensitive to pressure from within the public. As evidenced by the overthrow of Milosevic a year later, the Yugoslav government was weakly authoritarian and reliant on domestic support. There must be such a difference in military power that the other side cannot prevent the exercise of air superiority over its own territory. Serbia, a relatively small and poor country in the Balkans, faced a much stronger NATO coalition that included Britain and the United States. Karl von Clausewitz once called the "essential mass of the enemy" the "center of gravity". Destroying the center of gravity would destroy or remove a key element of Yugoslavia's will to resist. For Milosevic, the center of gravity was the seizure of power. He manipulated hyperinflation, sanctions, and demand and supply restrictions to benefit powerful corporate interests inside Serbia, and they responded by keeping him in power. The damage to the economy would have squeezed the economy to the point of almost no profit, and continued air campaigns would have caused costly infrastructure damage and undermined Milosevic's support.

Diplomacy: According to British Lieutenant General Mike Jackson, Russia's decision to back the West and urge Milosevic to surrender on June 3, 1999 was "the most important event in ending the war". Yugoslavia surrendered on the same day. At the time, Russia was dependent on Western economic aid and was therefore vulnerable to pressure from NATO to withdraw aid to Milosevic. Milosevic's indictment by the United Nations as a war criminal (May 24, 1999) made it unlikely that Russia would resume diplomatic assistance, even if it had no effect on him personally. The Rambouillet Agreement of 18 March 1999, had Yugoslavia agreed, would have given NATO forces the right to transit, encamp, maneuver, billet and use throughout Serbia. By the time Milosevic surrendered, NATO forces were to have access only to mainland Kosovo. International civilian presence in the province was under United Nations control, with Russia's veto if Serb interests were threatened. Simultaneous Ground Operations – The KLA also conducted operations in Kosovo itself, with some success against Serb forces. Yugoslav forces abandoned a border crossing across from Molinna near the Yugoslav military outpost in Koshale in the northwest of the province. The Yugoslav military outpost at Koshale remained in Yugoslav hands throughout the war, allowing the establishment of supply lines into the state and the subsequent occupation of the territory of the Žnik region. The KLA also penetrated several miles into the Pashtrik Mountains region of the southwest. However, most of the province was still under Serb control. Potential ground attack – Allied Commander-in-Chief General Wesley Clarke was "convinced" that plans and preparations for a ground intervention "particularly forced Milosevic into concession". Yugoslavia's surrender comes on the same day that US President Bill Clinton held a highly publicized meeting with four military commanders to discuss options for deploying ground forces in case air warfare fails. Ta. However, France and Germany vehemently opposed ground attacks, and had been doing so for several weeks since April 1999. French estimates suggested that a successful invasion would require 500,000 troops. This made it clear that NATO, and especially the United States, had no support for ground operations. With this in mind, the United States has reaffirmed its confidence in air operations. NATO's reluctance to commit ground forces casts serious doubt on the idea that Milosevic surrendered for fear of a ground invasion.

On 20 March 1999, the Observers of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission withdrew from Kosovo, citing a "steady deterioration of the security situation", and on 23 March 1999 Richard Holbrook returned to Brussels and peace talks failed. announced it was over. The announcement came hours after Yugoslavia announced on state television that it had declared a state of emergency and had begun a massive mobilization of troops and resources, citing "an imminent threat of war against Yugoslavia by NATO." At 22:17 UTC on March 23, 1999, NATO Secretary General Javier Solana told General Wesley Clarke, Supreme Commander for the Allied Forces in Europe (SACEUR), to commence air operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ', he announced.

The operation involved 1,000 aircraft operating from Italian and German air bases and the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt sailing in the Adriatic Sea. During the ten weeks of the conflict, NATO aircraft flew more than 38,000 combat missions and at 19:00 UTC on March 24, NATO launched a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia. F/A-18 Hornets of the Spanish Air Force became the first NATO aircraft to bomb Belgrade and conduct Operation SEAD. BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from ships and submarines in the Adriatic Sea. In addition to fixed-wing air power, 1 Battalion of Apache Helicopters, 11th Air Regiment, US Army, was deployed to support combat missions. The regiment was reinforced by pilots from the 82nd Airborne Attack Helicopter Battalion at Fort Bragg. The battalion secured refueling points for AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and sent a small forward team to the Albanian-Kosovo border to identify targets for NATO airstrikes. The operation was originally designed to destroy Yugoslav air defenses and high-value military targets. NATO military operations intensified attacks on Yugoslav forces on the ground and continued strategic bombing. Montenegro has been bombed several times, and NATO has refused to support the precarious position of anti-Milosevic leader Milo Dzukanovic. "Dual-use" civilian and military targets were hit, including bridges over the Danube, factories, power plants, communications facilities, the headquarters of the Yugoslav Left, a political party led by Milosevic's wife, and the Avala television tower. Some protested that these actions violated international law and the Geneva Conventions. NATO argued that the bombing was justified because these facilities were potentially useful to Yugoslav forces. On 12 April, NATO airstrikes hit a railroad bridge in Grderica, colliding with a civilian passenger train, killing 20 people. General Wesley Clark later apologized while showing video footage, saying the train was going too fast and the bomb was too close to the target to turn around in time. The German daily Frankfurter Runschau reported in January 2000 that NATO videos were shown at three times the actual speed, giving a misleading impression of train speeds. On 14 April, NATO aircraft bombed Albanians near Kolisha used by Yugoslav forces. as a human shield. Yugoslav forces brought a TV crew to the scene shortly after the bombing. The Yugoslav government claimed that NATO was targeting civilians. On April 23, NATO bombed radio and television at its Serbian headquarters, killing 16 civilians. This was declared a war crime by Amnesty International. NATO argued that the bombing was justified because the agency served as a propaganda tool for the Milosevic government. On May 7, the United States bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists and injuring at least 20 others. The U.S. Secretary of Defense explained why. He explained that the mistake was due to the fact that the bombing instructions were based on an old map, but the Chinese government did not accept this explanation. The Chinese government issued a statement on the day of the bombing, calling it a "barbaric act." This target was selected by the Central Intelligence Agency outside of the normal NATO target-setting regime. US President Bill Clinton apologized for the bombing, saying it was an accident. The United States gave China monetary compensation. The bombing strained relations between the People's Republic of China and NATO and sparked angry demonstrations outside the Western embassy in Beijing. The victims were Xu Xinghu, his wife Zhu Ying, and Shao Yunhuan.

Solana instructed Clark to "start air operations in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." Clark then delegated responsibility for conducting Allied operations to the Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces in Southern Europe, which in turn delegated control to Lt. Gen. Michael C. Short, Commander of the Allied Air Forces in Southern Europe. Operationally, day-to-day responsibility for carrying out the mission was delegated to the Commander, Allied 5th Tactical Air Force.

The Hague Court has ruled that more than 700,000 Kosovar Albanians were displaced by the Yugoslav army to neighboring Albania and Macedonia, leaving thousands internally displaced within Kosovo. The United Nations reported that 850,000 refugees had left Kosovo by April. A further 230,000 were listed as internally displaced persons (IDPs), displaced from their homes but still inside Kosovo. German Foreign Minister Joshka Fischer and Defense Minister Rudolf Sharping claimed at the time that the refugee crisis was caused by a Yugoslav ethnic cleansing program organized under the code name "Operation Horseshoe". The existence and nature of such a plan have been questioned. Serbian television claimed that large lines of refugees were fleeing Kosovo not because of a Yugoslav military operation, but because of NATO bombing. Yugoslavia and its Western supporters argued that the refugee exodus was caused by mass panic in Kosovo's Albanian population, and that the exodus was largely caused by fear of NATO bombing. The United Nations and international human rights organizations believed that the crisis was the result of a policy of ethnic cleansing. Many of the testimonies of both Serbs and Albanians pinpoint Yugoslav security forces and militias as culprits, responsible for the forced flight of Albanian populations and the systematic elimination of towns and villages. there is The atrocities committed against Kosovar civilians were the basis for UN war crimes charges against Milosevic. Other officials charged with directing the Kosovo conflict. On March 29, 1999, Jat Airways evacuated and stored about 30 commercial aircraft from Belgrade to neighboring countries to avoid possible destruction.

Although not directly related to hostilities, on March 12, 1999, at a ceremony in Independence, Missouri, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined NATO by depositing their instruments of accession pursuant to Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty. Did. These countries did not directly participate in hostilities.

A large component of the operation is the NATO Air Force, which includes F-16, F-15, F-117, F-14, F/A-18, EA-6B, B-52, KC-135, KC-10, AWACS, and JSTARS are delivered from bases across Europe and from regional aircraft carriers. The French Navy and Air Force operated the Super Etendard and the Mirage 2000. The Italian Air Force operated 34 Tornados, 12 F-104s, 12 AMXs and 2 B-707s, while the Italian Navy operated Harrier IIs. The Royal Air Force operated Harrier GR7 and Tornado ground attack aircraft, as well as a range of support aircraft. The Belgian, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese and Turkish air forces operated the F-16. The Spanish Air Force deployed EF-18s and KC-130s. The Royal Canadian Air Force deployed a total of 18 CF-18s, allowing them to carry his 10% of all bombs dropped in operations. The fighters were equipped with both guided and unguided "dumb" weapons, including the Paveway series of laser-guided bombs. This bombing campaign marked the first time the Luftwaffe had actively attacked targets since World War II. U.S. B-2 Spirit stealth bombers achieved their first combat success during Operation Allied Force, striking from their home base on the U.S. mainland. Even with this airpower, "NATO has never been able to completely neutralize an enemy's radar-guided SAM threat," notes the RAND Corporation study.

Operation Allied Force incorporated the use of large-scale satellites for the first time as a direct method of weapon guidance. This mass bombing was the first combat use of the Integrated Direct Attack Munition JDAM kit, which uses inertial guidance and a GPS-guided tail to increase the accuracy of conventional gravity munitions by up to 95%. A JDAM kit was fitted to the B-2. The AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW) was previously used in Operation Southern Watch in early 1999.

NATO naval forces operated in the Adriatic Sea. The Royal Navy has sent a large task force, including the aircraft carrier Invincible, which operates Sea Harrier FA2 fighters. The RN also deployed destroyers and frigates, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Force (RFA) provided support ships, including the air training/primary casualty receiving ship RFA Argus. It was the first time the RN had used a cruise missile in combat, and was launched from the nuclear submarine Splendid. The Italian Navy provided a naval task force including the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, a frigate (Maestrale) and a submarine (Sauro class). The U.S. Navy provided a naval task force that included the aircraft carriers Theodore Roosevelt, the Bella Gulf, and the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge. The French Navy provided the aircraft carrier Foch and an escort. The German Navy has deployed the frigate Rhineland-Pfalz and the Oste-class Fleet Service Ship Oker to naval operations. The Netherlands has dispatched the submarine HNLMS Dolphin to maintain the embargo off Yugoslavia.

NATO ground forces included the U.S. Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. The force was sent to Albania in March 1999 to support bombing operations, where the battalion secured Tirana airfields, Apache helicopter refueling sites, and prepared for multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) attacks and offensive ground operations. established a forward operating base for A small team equipped with AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radar systems was then deployed to the Albanian-Kosovo border, where it acquired targets for NATO airstrikes. Shortly after the bombing campaign, the battalion was redeployed at Tirana airfield and given orders to move to Kosovo as the first marching force in support of Operation Joint Guardian. A Task Force Hawk was also deployed. Task Force Hunter was deployed to Camp Able Sentry, Macedonia in March from the US Army Surveillance Command (FORSCOM) Military Intelligence Brigade (MI Bde) based on IAI RQ-5 Hunter drone 'A' Squadron. Ta. Real-time information about Yugoslav forces in Kosovo. They made a total of 246 sorties and lost five of his drones to enemy artillery fire. A German Army drone squadron based in Tetovo had a similar task. Between December 1998 and July 1999, the Germans flew 237 sorties over Yugoslav positions using CL-289 unmanned aerial vehicles, six of which were lost to enemy artillery fire.

Human Rights Watch concluded that "only 489 and a maximum of 528 Yugoslav civilians were killed in 90 separate incidents during Allied operations." Refugees were among the victims. Between 278 and 317 of the deaths (almost 60% of the total) occurred in Kosovo. 201 civilians were killed in Serbia (5 in Vojvodina) and 8 in Montenegro. Nearly two-thirds of registered civilian deaths (303 to 352) occurred in 12 incidents with 10 or more confirmed civilian deaths.

In April 1999, during the NATO bombings, Yugoslav officials said the bombing campaign had so far cost about $100 billion in damage. In 2000, one year after the bombings ended, Group 17 published its findings on damage and economic recovery. The report concluded that the direct damage from the bombings outside Kosovo totaled $3.8 billion, of which only 5% had been repaired at the time. In 2006, a group of economists from the G17 Plus Party calculated the total economic loss from bombing. It was about $29.6 billion. This figure includes indirect economic damage, loss of human capital and loss of GDP. The bombing damaged bridges, roads and railroad tracks, and damaged 25,000 homes, 69 schools and 176 cultural buildings. In addition, 19 hospitals and 20 health centers were damaged, including Dr. Dragisha Michovic of the University Hospital Centre. The NATO bombing also damaged medieval monuments such as Gracanica Monastery, Pec Patriarchate and Vysoki Decany, which are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Avala Tower, one of the most popular symbols of Serbian capital Belgrade, was destroyed in a bombing raid. The use of depleted uranium munitions was brought to the attention of the United Nations Environment Programme, which warned of the risk of future groundwater contamination and detailed "decontamination measures taken". by the Yugoslav, Serbian and Montenegro authorities. ”

In early June, a Finnish-Russian mediation team led by Marti Ahtisaari and Viktor Chernomyldin traveled to Belgrade to meet with Milosevic to discuss an agreement to end the airstrikes. When NATO agrees that Kosovo will be politically overseen by the United Nations and will not hold an independence referendum for three years, the Yugoslav government agrees to withdraw its troops from Kosovo under heavy diplomatic pressure from Russia, prompting the bombing. was canceled on the 10th. June. The Yugoslav army and NATO signed the Kumanovo Agreement. Its provisions are considerably less stringent than those presented at Rambouillet, most notably the removal of Appendix B from the agreement. Annex B called for NATO forces to move freely and conduct military operations throughout Yugoslavia (including Serbia). The Yugoslav government saw the Rambouillet Agreement as a threat to its sovereignty and used this as the main reason for not signing it. The war ended on 11 June, when Russian paratroopers captured Slatina airport, becoming the first peacekeepers in the war zone. British troops were still massing on the Macedonian border and were due to enter Kosovo at 5am, but the Serbs hailed the Russian arrival as proof that the war was a UN operation, not a NATO operation. . After the fighting ended on June 12, the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne, 2-505th Parachute Infantry Regiment entered Kosovo as part of Operation Joint Guardian. Yugoslav President Milosevic survived the conflict, but was indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. Former Yugoslavia and many other Yugoslav political and military officials. As Milosevic could be arrested if he left Yugoslavia, his indictment led to the ostracism of the entire Yugoslavia by much of the international community. The country's economy was severely affected by the conflict, which, along with electoral fraud, contributed to the overthrow of Milosevic. Thousands died during the conflict, and hundreds of thousands more fled the state to other parts of the country. to neighboring countries. Most Albanian refugees returned home within weeks or months. However, much of the non-Albanian population fled again after the operation to other parts of Serbia and protected enclaves within Kosovo. Albanian guerrilla activity spread to other parts of Serbia and the neighboring Republic of Macedonia, but subsided in 2001. Since then, the non-Albanian population has declined further following new outbreaks of intercommunal conflict and harassment. In December 2002, Queen Elizabeth II awarded the Battle Medal "Kosovo" to the RAF squadrons that participated in the conflict. These were the 1st, 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 23rd, 31st, 51st, 101st and 216th Squadrons. This also applied to the Canadian 425th and 441st Squadrons sent to the operation. Ten years after the operation, the Republic of Kosovo declared independence with a new Republic of Kosovo government.

On June 12, KFOR began entering Kosovo. Its mandate was, inter alia, to deter hostilities and establish a safe environment, including public safety and security. A member of the NATO force, KFOR was preparing for combat operations, but its mission was ultimately to keep the peace. It was based at the headquarters of the Allied Rapid Response Corps, then commanded by Lieutenant General Mike Jackson of the British Army. This force consisted of the British (a brigade made up of the 4th Armored Brigade and the 5th Airborne Brigade), the French Army Brigade, the German Army Brigade which entered from the west while all other forces advanced from the south, the Italian Army and the United States. It consisted of army brigades. . The U.S. contribution, known as the Early Penetration Force, was led by the U.S. 1st Armored Division. Subordinate units include TF 1-35 Armor from Baumholder, Germany; 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; 26th Infantry Regiment, Schweinfurt It included the 1st Battalion. Germany and Echo Troops of the 4th Cavalry Regiment from Schweinfurt, Germany. The US Army also served in the Greek 501st Mechanized Infantry Battalion. Initially U.S. forces established an area of ​​operations around the town of Urosevac, later Camp Bondsteel, and Guniran at Camp Monteith, spending four months (as the beginning of an ongoing stay) in the southeastern Kosovo region. established order. . The first NATO forces to enter Pristina on June 12, 1999, were Norwegian special forces from the Forsvaret Special Command (FSK) and soldiers from the British Special Air Force 22 S.A.S, but were diplomatically embarrassed for NATO. was the first arrival of Russian troops at the airport. FSK Norwegian soldiers were the first to make contact with Russian forces at the airport. The FSK's mission was to level the bargaining ground between the belligerents and to fine-tune the detailed local agreements necessary to implement a peace agreement between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians. During the initial invasion, American soldiers were greeted by Albanian cheers and cheers. U.S. soldiers and KFOR ran around the village and offered flowers. There was no resistance, but three US soldiers of the early entry force were killed in the accident. After the military action, the involvement of Russian peacekeepers proved tense and challenging for the NATO Kosovar forces. The Russians had hoped for Kosovo to have an independent sector, but were disappointingly surprised by the prospect of operating under NATO command. Without prior contact or coordination with NATO, Russian peacekeepers entered Kosovo from Bosnia and occupied Pristina International Airport. In a 2010 interview, James Blunt described how his force was tasked with securing Pristina ahead of a 30,000-strong peacekeeper. And before his troops could arrive, Russian troops had arrived and overran the airport. As a field lieutenant, Blunt participated in the difficult task of responding to a potentially violent international incident. His own account tells how he refused to obey orders from NATO command to attack Russian forces. Outpost Gunner was established in the highlands of the Preševo ​​Valley by the Echo Battery 1/161 Field Gun for the purpose of monitoring and supporting peacekeeping operations in the Preševo ​​Valley. Russian department. Operating in support of the 2/3rd Field Artillery Corps, 1st Panzer Division, the battalion deployed and continued to operate fire-detecting radars to enable NATO forces to closely monitor activity in the area and in the Preševo ​​Valley. was successful. Ultimately, an agreement was reached under which Russian forces would operate as part of KFOR rather than under the NATO chain of command.

Those involved in NATO airstrikes have supported the decision to take such action. US President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Defense William Cohen said, "The horrific reports of genocide in Kosovo and the photographs of refugees fleeing Serb oppression for their lives demonstrate that this is a fight for justice over genocide. I am clarifying," he said. On CBS' Face the Nation, Cohen claimed, "Right now, there are about 100,000 military-age men missing. They could have been murdered." Clinton, citing the same figure, said that "at least 100,000 [Kosovar Albanians] are missing." Mrs Clinton then said of the Yugoslav elections, "They will need to really understand what Mr Milosevic has ordered in Kosovo... Will they support his leader or not? I'll have to decide," he said. It doesn't matter that tens of thousands of people were all killed. …” At the same press conference, Clinton also said, “NATO has halted its deliberate and systematic efforts against ethnic cleansing and genocide.” Clinton likened the events in Kosovo to the Holocaust. Accusing Serbia of 'ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo akin to the genocide of Jews during World War II, Clinton said Tuesday that an impassioned President Clinton would send U.S. troops to fight Yugoslavia on Tuesday. He tried to garner public support for his decision, but reported that it was becoming increasingly likely." President Clinton's State Department also claimed that the Yugoslav army carried out the genocide. The New York Times reported that "the administration said evidence of 'massacres' by Serbian forces had expanded to include large-scale 'horrible criminal acts'." Until then, the State Department had been the strongest language for denouncing the . The State Department also gave the highest estimate of the number of Albanians who died. In May 1999, Secretary of Defense William Cohen suggested that the Albanian death toll could be up to 100,000. A post-war investigation revealed that these statements and casualty figures were exaggerated. Five months after the end of NATO bombing, about a third of the reported Albanians had visited the cemetery so far, and 2,108 bodies were found, with an estimated total of 5,000 to 12,000 at that time. However, the Yugoslav army systematically hid the cemetery and transported the bodies. The US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution on March 11, 1999 with 219 votes in favor. –191 Conditionally approves President Clinton's plan to commit 4,000 troops to NATO peacekeeping operations In late April, the House Appropriations Committee approved $13 billion in emergency spending to cover air warfare costs, but In a powerless second resolution, the mandate was defeated in the House of Representatives by a vote of 213 to 213. The Senate had passed a second resolution in late March by a vote of 58-41.

Avele, Derek. “From Pristina to Tskhinvali: The Legacy of Allied Operations in Russian-Western Relations,” International Affairs 85#3 (2009), pp. 575–591 in JSTOR. Byman, Daniel. L, Waxman, Matthew C. "Kosovo and the Great Air Power Controversy." International Security, Vol. 24, No. 4, 2000. 5-38. Waging Modern Warfare: Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Future of Warfare. New York: Public Relations. 2001. ISBN 1-58648-043-X. Power, Samantha. "A Matter From Hell": America and the Age of Genocide (2002) covers Bosnia, Kosovo, Srebrenica and Rwanda. Pulitzer Prize. Borrow for free online New York Times—Chinese Embassy Bombing: A Widespread Net of Condemnation, April 17, 2000.

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