[marcusmaximus]

From GROK:

Douglas Macgregor’s Role in the Kosovo War

Colonel Douglas Macgregor, a retired U.S. Army officer, played a significant role as a planner under General Wesley Clark during NATO’s 1999 air campaign against Serbia, known as Operation Allied Force. Specifically, Macgregor served as the Director of the Joint Operations Center at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) during the Kosovo War. In this capacity, he was a key planner, contributing to the strategic and operational aspects of the 78-day bombing campaign aimed at halting ethnic cleansing in Kosovo by Serbian forces under Slobodan Milošević. His work involved coordinating and developing plans for the air operations, which were central to NATO’s strategy of using air power to pressure Serbia without deploying ground troops initially. For his contributions, Macgregor was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal.

[Robert DeLong]

It was exactly that conflict that opened the door for Russia to invade Ukraine, for it exposed that NATO was not just a defensive arrangement, which is why Russia was against NATO expansion into Ukraine, & Georgia. While Macgregor may have embraced it at that time, I also think it was a learning lesson for him as well.

But then again, it wasn't designated to be a proxy war either. Thus it was a NATO effort which increased the likelihood of success. Furthermore, Yugoslavia was not a nuclear power either. Lastly, Macgregor's focus was more on the restructuring of the U.S. Army and the strategic implications of the NATO intervention.