http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a37619fa73c53.htm

http://www.stratfor.com/crisis/kosovo/

Coming Soon - Stratfor.com's CIS & Eastern Europe Intelligence Center.

How We Got Here and Where We are Going

2354 GMT, 990611 - Russias TASS news agency has confirmed that Russian troops have entered Kosovo and are expected shortly in Pristina.

2345 GMT, 990611 - BBC television reports that British troops will enter Kosovo at 0300 GMT on June 12. The British contingent will depart from Macedonia while French and German forces will leave from Albania.

2340 GMT, 990611 - According to unconfirmed reports out of Yugoslavia, Russian troops entered Kosovo 90 minutes ago and have been seen near Podujevo, 30 kilometers north of Pristina. Other reports, also unconfirmed, claim Russian transport aircraft carrying paratroopers have landed at Slatina Airbase, near Pristina.

2330 GMT, 990611 - Yugoslav state news services report that as of 2030 GMT Russian troops are 15 miles from Kosovo's northeastern border. The Russian contingent reportedly passed through Kursumlija and was headed to Merdare along the Kosovo border.

2320 GMT, 990611 - Agence France Presse is reporting that a military aircraft exploded on landing at an airstrip in Kukes, Albania. The incident took place at 2115 GMT and as of yet there are no reports of injuries or the nationality of the aircraft.

2310 GMT, 990611 - Britain announced it was investigating reports that a military plane crashed on the Albanian  Kosovo border today. "We have no confirmation that a plane has gone down. It would be dangerous to speculate," a British defense ministry spokesman said.

2300 GMT, 990611 - Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov reiterated his nations insistence that Russian troops have their own sector to control in Kosovo, and that there be a separate command and control structure for the Russian contingent. "Russia's units will not be subordinated to anybody," Ivanov said. "Russia will not take part ... with a second-rate standing," he said in an interview with Russian state television. "It will participate only under conditions that correspond to Russia's interests, that respect Russia's rights and that answer the tasks that have been set."

2235 GMT, 990611 - Austrian Vice Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel met with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov in Moscow to discuss humanitarian aid for Yugoslavia. Schussel said the first humanitarian convoy is expected to arrive in Yugoslavia on June 12, and will be organized by Austria, Greece, Russia, and Switzerland.

-- This is (Not@drill.com), June 11, 1999

Answers

CNN REPORTS - WHITE HOUSE 'STUNNED' Lockhart told John King that the Russians had "promised not to go in...

-- Kiss (Your@ass.goodby), June 11, 1999.

I think it may be possible that we embarassed the Russians with the whole Kosovo thing and they want some credibility back so they do the only thing they can and assert their military presence in the Balkans. It's probably not a major sign of war but I sure don't trust our current Commander in Breifs to handle this with kid gloves, more likely he'll botch this up too.

-- (oldyeller@sanfran.com), June 11, 1999.

This is a huge problem. Russia and credibility?

There were specifics with regard to the Peace Plan that have been disregarded by the Russians now.

This is NOT good news. This is NOT good at all.

I don't think this is a huge military problem...but politically?

Mike ===================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 11, 1999.

quick questions...

have the Serbs completely pulled out?

Can they work together with the Russians?

How large a force is Russia moving in?

Will it be larger than the force agreed to?

And one minor observation...

No wonder Milosevic claimed "victory".

Mike =====================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 11, 1999.

http://cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9906/11/kosovo.06/

EXCERPT FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

-- Russian troops arrived in the Kosovo provincial capital, Pristina, early Saturday to the cheers of overjoyed Serb residents, apparently violating Moscow's promises that Russian forces would not enter Kosovo until Moscow reached an agreement with NATO.

CNN's Jim Clancy, reporting from Pristina, said a large crowd was swelling around a parade of Russian troop carriers, amphibious vehicles and hundreds of troops. Sporadic gunfire erupted in celebration.

"It's sheer madness," Clancy said.

There was no immediate reaction from NATO, which had thousands of troops poised to enter Kosovo from Macedonia and Albania sometime Saturday morning.

On Friday, the vanguard of the NATO's peacekeeping force was ordered into Kosovo, but then was told without explanation to stand down.

The order to move -- and its reversal several hours later -- came after a small contingent of Russian troops crossed from Bosnia into Yugoslavia and drove toward the Kosovo border -- to the apparent surprise of Western officials.

A U.S. envoy made a quick return to Moscow to discuss the action, and British officials said their 13,000 troops in Macedonia were put on "ready" status as a result of the Russian move.

NATO estimated the Russian force at roughly 200 troops, which came from Moscow's peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. They moved into Yugoslavia on Friday morning in a convoy of 15 light armored vehicles and 25 trucks.

The vehicles bore the name of the Kosovo peacekeeping force - - KFOR -- in hastily painted letters.

Moscow says troops await agreement

Moscow told U.S. officials they will wait for an agreement on the peacekeeping force before moving into the province.

"We've been given absolute assurances that they won't move into Kosovo," Vice President Al Gore said.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright about the matter Friday, telling Albright the Russians' mission was to scout for a staging area that would be used for later Russian elements of KFOR.

Western officials were not the only ones caught by surprise: Some Russian officials appeared to have been in the dark as well. Russia's Defense Ministry initially would not confirm that Russian peacekeepers were moving from Bosnia to Yugoslavia.

Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott had left Moscow on Friday after unsuccessful talks with Russian officials about the makeup of KFOR. But he quickly headed back to the Russian capital, his plane turning around in mid-flight.

Talbott said Friday that Russia and NATO would "move forward together."

"That isn't to prejudge what the nature and arrangements will be for Russian participation in KFOR, nor has Russia decided categorically that it is going to be part of KFOR," Talbott said. But he warned that a unilateral Russian move would be "potentially quite dangerous."

-- justme (finally@home.com), June 11, 1999.

From the BBC:

Saturday, June 12, 1999 Published at 00:25 GMT 01:25 UK

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_366000/366543.stm

Russians enter Kosovo

The arrival of Russian forces took Nato by surprise

A convoy of Russian soldiers has arrived in the Kosovan capital, Pristina, in the early hours of Saturday, to a cheering crowd.

There was shouting and fireworks as thousands of people crowded the main street of the city to greet the soldiers, who arrived aboard trucks and troop transports.

They arrived as British and French Nato troops waited in Macedonia on Kosovo's southern border to enter as part of an international peacekeeping force authorised by the United Nations.

Earlier, Nato said it had received assurances from Moscow that it would not attempt to deploy troops in the Serbian province before western forces.

British paratroopers were put on stand-by to fly to Pristina, on Friday, to head off a possible Russian attempt to take control of the airport there.

They were later stood down during a day of confusion about the column of Russian troops and military vehicles heading through Yugoslavia for the Kosovo border. There were also reports that Russia was preparing to fly in paratroopers.

The first troops of the international intervention force - K-For - are to cross the border from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at 0500 local time (0300 GMT).

Meanwhile Serbian forces have been continuing to withdraw in large numbers, along with many Serb civilians who are taking all their belongings with them.

Moscow's threat

The deployment of the small Russian force came shortly after Moscow threatened to bypass Nato and establish its own peacekeeping sector in Kosovo in conjunction with Belgrade.

The Russian vehicles were marked with K-For, the insignia of the international intervention force in Kosovo.

US Vice President Al Gore said Washington had received assurances that the Russians would not enter Kosovo.

BBC Defence Correspondent Mark Laity says Russia is playing a high-stakes game of brinkmanship in Yugoslavia, after the US refusal in Moscow to accept Russian modification to the peace plan.

(Click here to see an animated map showing timetable of Serb withdrawal)

US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott had left Moscow after inconclusive talks on the future of the Russian presence in Kosovo when the reports came through about the convoy.

He abruptly turned his plane around and went back into talks with Russian officials which were expected to go into the early hours of Saturday.

Correspondents say Mr Talbott had "played hard ball" with the Russians, refusing any modification to the UN-backed formula for peacekeeping in Kosovo.

The Americans insist on a Nato-led structure which would place all peacekeeping forces in Kosovo under their command. Russia is demanding independent control of their soldiers in a separate sector.

Delay in Macedonia

The first units of the Nato contingent had been expected to cross into Kosovo from Macedonia at about 4am local time on Friday, but some troop-contributing countries were reported to have requested more time to assemble their forces.

Nato denies the deployment has been delayed, saying everything is going smoothly.

However a BBC correspondent at Nato headquarters in Brussels says it is understood that there was a delay - caused by Greece's refusal to allow US forces on their way to Macedonia to come ashore in Greece until the last moment.

Fighting continues

The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has accused Serb forces of burning houses as they withdraw from Kosovo.

The rebels said the Serbs had set fire to homes in the southern town of Kacanik and a BBC correspondent in the hills overlooking the town said he could see plumes of smoke rising from it.

Our correspondent also reported a number of very loud explosions from the valley, which appeared to be mines going off, and the sound of automatic fire as trucks carrying Serbian police drove away.

He said this could have been an exchange of fire with guerrilla forces or the Serbs shooting as they left.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 11, 1999.

I'm back with another question...

Is this action by Russia one by the "official" Russian government or is this an action taken independent of the government?

====================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 11, 1999.

X-URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_367000/367078.stm

From the BBC:

Friday, June 11, 1999 Published at 22:29 GMT 23:29 UK

British plane explodes in Albania

The Hercules plane burns on the runway

A British Hercules aircraft has exploded on an Albanian runway just hours before Nato's dawn push into Kosovo.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that a C130 Hercules transport plane caught fire during take-off from Kukes, in northern Albania. One person has suffered minor injuries, according to reports.

All 12 crew members were evacuated from the aircraft, which burst into flames, causing ammunition on board to explode.

An Independent Radio News reporter near the scene said he saw "a big flash, a huge explosion, immediately afterwards huge plumes of smoke billowed up into the skies".

The plane is still on an airstrip outside Kukes, where more than 100,000 ethnic Albanian refugees have sought asylum in refugee camps and local homes.

Hercules crews have recently stepped up their operations to move personnel and equipment in the Balkans ahead of the Nato push into Kosovo.

Troops ready

British troops now are massing on the Macedonian border to lead the push.

After a day of frustration and uncertainty, when British paratroopers and Gurkhas were first told to be ready to go in and then ordered to stand down, the go-ahead was finally given for tanks to move into position.

In a column of 420 vehicles, headed by Challenger tanks, the King's Royal Hussars moved from the Petrovac training area in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia towards a forward holding position just the other side of the border on Friday evening.

The Hussars' are expected to enter Kosovo at about 0400 BST on Friday and drive towards the capital Pristina.

Kosavan refugees mobbed the British troops as they moved in formation towards the border. Other soldiers in the battlegroup cheered as the column began to move off.

Among the troops moving in are specialist engineers, who will be responsible for clearing the hundreds of mines expected to be found in the province.

As the column, thought to be 15km long, moved through the Macedonian capital of Skopje thousands of people came out to line the street, clapping, waving and cheering the passing soldiers.

On the outskirts of the city some protesters chanted anti-Nato slogans and threw stones at the armoured vehicles.

Troops from the UK, which will make up the largest contingent of the peacekeeping force, are expected to hold the central region of Kosovo, which includes Pristina, as part of K-For.

The column of 14 Challengers, 31 Warriors and 362 infantrymen could reach Pristina by Saturday evening.

Moments before leaving, battlegroup commander Jonathan Powe said: "I can assure you the boys are well-motivated, spirits are high and we are keen to get in there.

"Everyone here understands there is an important job to do and they are keen to get on with it.

"We have been sitting around here for a few weeks now and there has been a certain frustration and we now just want to go."

Earlier, British Nato forces were put on "immediate alert" to enter Kosovo after Russian troops - who will also make up part of the peacekeeping force - were seen to be moving towards Kosovo from Bosnia, where they have also been involved in peacekeeping.

At one point it looked like British paratroopers and Gurkhas would be airlifted into Pristina in order to head off any Russian force securing the city.

The exact role of Russia in the peacekeeping operation has still not been made clear, and there are fears that they may be seeking an area of control within the province separate from the rest of K-For.

The Russians later pledged that their forces would not enter Kosovo without consulting the alliance, and the British troops were stood down from alert.

A British Army source said: "We had a major hiccup today, but it was a one-day drama and things appear to be back on track now.

"It was certainly one of the most interesting days I've had in the military".

The advance of British troops into Kosovo was halted early on Friday when other allies, particularly the Americans, declared that they were not ready to join the push.

But military sources say the delay was partly due to US troops being denied access to Greek ports.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), June 11, 1999.

Russian Foreign Minister speaking via an translator on CNN:

to paraphrase

"Unfortunate"

"this is not official"

"leave Prestina immediately"

====================================================================

Is this an embarassing incident or something more dire? Something wicked this way may be comming.

Mike ====================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 11, 1999.

"We've been given absolute assurances that they won't move into Kosovo," Vice President Al Gore said. Yeah Al....we just want you to know, "We feel your pain".

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 11, 1999.

cnn REPORTS that the russian troops moved with out autherization.... IS RUSSIA LOSSING CONTROL....

This could be bad.... very bad....

Keep the faith

-- helium (heliumavid@yahoo.com), June 11, 1999.

Getting uglier.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 11, 1999.

Mike,

ROLTF at Old Git's post. Not in the seriousness of the matter, but wondering what kind of look our tree hugging VP had on face when he got the news. Wonder if some of Slick Willie's thunder was stolen. It was the first good laugh I had today. Thank you for all the posts Old Git.

-- trafficjam (judgementday@ahead.soon), June 11, 1999.

According to information I have seen posted elsewhere, the Russian generals will call the shots on this, not the government. This should come as no big surprise to those who understand that the military, in many countries, is the actual power and final authority. It would seem that Russia is in that camp, and the generals are determined that there will be *no* takeover of the Kosovo area by NATO alone. It also seems that they are willing to go to war with NATO over this. And they have admitted that there could be a nuclear exchange if NATO decides to confront them in battle. Wonder why our super duper intelligence system hasn't got this all figured out? One mistake after another! Makes you wonder who making the decisions and why?

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), June 11, 1999.

Gordon, has anyone from the Whitehouse admitted to the knowledge of the events you have just described?

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 11, 1999.

Are you kidding? "Slick Willy" wouldn't admit that his guts were on fire even if smoke was coming out his ass. . .

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), June 11, 1999.

hardliner, LOL. Good one. Is that cigar smoke I smell?

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 11, 1999.

The tragic thing is that ol' Al would have known all about it if he had only listened to C4i...

This it what you should expect when a babe with wet ears plays with a bear.

-- Unc D (unkeed@yahoo.com), June 11, 1999.

Heard on CNN (wish there were some other sources I could turn to right now!!!) that there was an interception earlier today of a Russian military communication which ordered a stop at the border. Whether or not the order to continue was already planned or if it came after that communication is up for speculation.

For me, this seems to answer the question about just how much control Yeltsin's government has over the military.

I have a worry regarding an "accidental" fire incident. It's no wonder that there were demands by both the Serbs and the Russians that bombing cease prior to the ground troops moving in.

In this case I can't find reason to blame the Whitehouse. To me, this easily could have been an orchestrated plan which not only gives the illusion that Milosevic has indeed been given a partial victory but also blackens the eye of NATO and steals their thunder.

I have no idea what military planning might be in an invasion scenario. But, wouldn't taking control of Prestina before NATO moves in be considered an excellent strategy? I wonder just how many other troops are waiting on the border, Russian and Serbian and in the high ground in Kosovo. I keep thinking about all those caves.

Not a good thing, IMH but very naive O.

Mike =======================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 11, 1999.

Poor Billy-J...what to do, what to doooo. Should he stay and play and run the risk of taking on the "ultimate" glow show, OR play "bumper boats" with the Koreans, OR....hmmmm, go GOLFING!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 11, 1999.

Mike - Hardliner

ROLFLMAO HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Thanks for the levity.

justme

-- justme (finally@home.com), June 11, 1999.

Will Continue,

Regarding the Whitehouse question, I don't think I have seen or heard anything from them that could be considered a real description of what was going on and why. The stuff I have seen was coming from some people who had personal knowledge of Russian military comments from a few weeks ago. At the time, I truly wondered about it, but now it is unfolding *exactly* as had been described. Did the Whitehouse know about this stuff too, back then? Of course. This seems to be a decision to challenge the Russian statements, but that's dangerous. I see the Russian attitude to be one of never-give-up when it comes to problems on their own borders. What makes this extra dangerous is that the basic Russian military equipment is not anywhere near as sophisticated as NATO (ours) and they know that. What they do have, if it comes down to win or lose, is plenty of field grade nuclear missiles, and the will to use them if confronted by a severe NATO challenge. There is a world class game of "chicken" in progress right now. The Russians are not backing off, in fact they will add more troups to the conflict. This is partly my own opinion and partly opinions of others who know them and have heard their statements. Perhaps Andy can dig up some relevant published statements on it.

-- Gordon (gpconnolly@aol.com), June 12, 1999.

If any of you have ever played a game called "diplomacy" (from the 60's) you would recognize the CRITICAL nature of that piddly piece of mountain land. It qualifies as the tip of the spear pointed into the soft underbelly of the Soviet Lands. It is SO CRITICAL in a geopolitical context because it controls the movements into and out of Soviet Lands. Hte Soviet military TAUGHT that lesson more than a fewe years ago, why would we think they would forget it??

Chuck who is NOT sanguine about this.

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), June 12, 1999.

(1) Remember that NATO really means not able to organize.

(2) Add in Russian troops moving without authorization, and you do have an interesting situation.

(3) Anybody remember Berlin at the end of World War II?

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), June 12, 1999.

Sorry Chuck. I hope I didn't give you the impression that I don't take this seriously as well. I do. This stinks. I tend to make light in the face of escalating crisis, which is totally out of my control. Under these circumstances, I'm *most* grateful for every valid opinion here. This whole mess has the hair on the back of my neck standing up. My feelings towards our Commander in Chief aren't helping matters at all, I must say. (not to mention some of those at his side)The timing of this event along side of our "mystery poster" is just a bit more than my feeble mind wants to deal with today.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 12, 1999.

Hay Chihuahua!

About describes it.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), June 12, 1999.

CNN Quicknews

http://www.cnn.com/QUICKNEWS/< /a>

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), June 12, 1999.

Time to exhume the truth in Kosovo

[ For Educational Purposes Only ]

6/12/99 -- 1:16 AM

WASHINGTON (AP) - In April 1945, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower stood in the Ohrdruf death camp in Germany, a witness to strewn bodies, whipping racks, butcher blocks and the ovens, and spoke to his officers in a cold fury.

``I want every American unit not actually in the front lines to see this place,'' he said. ``We are told that the American soldier does not know what he is fighting for. Now, at least, he will know what he is fighting against.''

Now, and once again in Europe, allied soldiers are to see what their countries have been fighting against.

``It is inevitable that some unpleasantries will greet them,'' Lt. Gen. Michael Jackson, commander of the forces going into Kosovo, said with a touch of his native British understatement.

In a massive search for those unpleasantries, investigators will fan out to gather evidence on mass murders, rapes and destruction the ethnic Albanian refugees have accused Serb forces of committing during the NATO campaign. A whole land may be a crime scene.

Some 50,000 international peacekeepers are to enter Kosovo, replacing 40,000 withdrawing Serbs and giving NATO the first opportunity to take the full measure of alleged atrocities. Until now, that evidence has consisted of photos or videos of burning homes, piles of dirt that spoke of possible graves, stories of the fleeing refugees and their many missing men.

Soon ``the world is going to be outraged,'' Defense Secretary William Cohen predicted. ``I think that you are going to see evidence of barbarity that we have not seen before.''

Neither aerial photos nor refugee reports can provide the clarity that will be possible only when NATO ground forces explore the territory. A photo shared by the Pentagon this week, showing a dark area on a hillside, was presented as possible evidence of mass graves that Serbs had exhumed as they prepared to leave. It looked to some observers like a mere shadow.

Moreover, refugees leaving Kosovo ``tend to be stressed when they come across,'' Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon said shortly before the bombing halt. ``It's hard to know from talking to these refugees ... the magnitude of the activities they describe.''

``Clearly, this issue of atrocities is on everybody's mind,'' Bacon said. ``It's one of the reasons why we're so anxious to get the Serb troops out and the NATO troops in.''

A United Nations war crimes tribunal, backed by forensic teams from a variety of countries, will seek to nail down the case charging Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and four associates with war crimes. Cohen said he expected evidence to be found of mass executions that Milosevic ordered or condoned.

``I don't think it's possible to erase all traces of what is alleged to have happened in Kosovo,'' said Cpl. Gilles Moreau of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, one of the forces sending in forensic teams. In a murder, he said, ``There's always evidence left behind.''

Even with the passage of time, said Moreau, it is often possible to identify the bullets used to kill people, calculate the distance from which they were shot and come up with other vital evidence. ``It may be harder to find, but it's part of police work,'' he said.

Mass grave searches can take years: 1,700 bodies were found last year from the 1992-95 Bosnian war, from which 24,000 people are still missing. More than 250 were exhumed in the last two months.

President Clinton, in his television address Thursday night regarding Kosovo, spoke of ``500 villages burned,'' ``children made to watch their parents die,'' ``men of all ages separated from their loved ones to be shot and buried in mass graves,'' ``women raped,'' ``a whole people forced to abandon in hours communities their families had spent generations building.''

It had been an air campaign justified largely on humanitarian grounds, not any mortal danger to the United States.

Even in his controlled rage at Ohrdruf, Eisenhower underscored that the United States had not gone to war for the sake of Europe's Jews. Yet he wanted everyone to see the panoramic horror of a place wrapped in barbed wire and reeking of fresh death in the bright sun of a pastoral German spring.

Officers had known something of what was coming - ashen-faced advance troops had already reached the camps. But Eisenhower chose to get ``firsthand evidence of these things, if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda.''

It was all too much for Gen. George Patton, his companion that day, who left the scene to get sick to his stomach.
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-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), June 12, 1999.

Last one there buys! ....Guess that will be us.

-- (snowleopard6@webtv.net), June 12, 1999.

Michael... note... its a disconnect between leaders and military.

See also...

http://cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9906/11/kosovo.07/index.html

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), June 12, 1999.

(3) Anybody remember Berlin at the end of World War II?

-- Mad Monk

I agree with you, Mad Monk. No wonder Milosevic was willing to sign. What are the odds that this little arrangement was in place all of the time?

-- none (none@none.none), June 12, 1999.

Doesn't look like the Bilderburger's have their finger on the pulse of this one...or do they?

-- Yep (yougotth@right.com), June 12, 1999.

My uncle lead 8th AAF into Dachau, and Buchenwald (he was Intel.). After the war, his VERY FAST cars lasted between 6 days and 5 months. He finally talked about it to my mom, and the cars started to last more than 6 months.

'Nuff said

chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), June 12, 1999.

Just had a chance to check in, Saturday 3:32 pst.

Anyway, what do I hear on radio news but that there was a stand off at the airport in Pristina between the Serb troops backed by the Russian troops who went STRAIGHT to the airport upon arrival yesterday.

The Russians had a specific mission to control the airport, no doubt about it. This seems to be something arranged between Milosevic and some portion of the Russian military.

I suppose if I were the Russian military I'd want to have some force standing between NATO and Yugoslavia.

Mike ===============================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 12, 1999.

I should make time to proof before hitting that darn submit button. That first paragraph should read:

Anyway, what do I hear on radio news but that there was a stand off at the airport in Pristina between the Serb troops backed by the Russian troops who went STRAIGHT to the airport upon arrival yesterday and NATO troops.

Mike ================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), June 12, 1999.