Newsweek: "Clark Covers Up Failures in Kosovo" (May 2000)

Newsweek, May 15 2000 ^ | May 15, 2000 | John Barry And Evan Thomas

[Robert A Cook PE]

NATO said it won a great victory, but the war did very little damage to Serb forces. By not conceding this, the Pentagon may mislead future presidents about the limits of U.S. power. A NEWSWEEK exclusive.

It was acclaimed as the most successful air campaign ever. "A turning point in the history of warfare," wrote the noted military historian John Keegan, proof positive that "a war can be won by airpower alone." At a press conference last June, after Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic agreed to pull his Army from Kosovo at the end of a 78-day aerial bombardment that had not cost the life of a single NATO soldier or airman, Defense Secretary William Cohen declared, "We severely crippled the [Serb] military forces in Kosovo by destroying more than 50 percent of the artillery and one third of the armored vehicles." Displaying colorful charts, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Henry Shelton claimed that NATO's air forces had killed "around 120 tanks," "about 220 armored personnel carriers" and "up to 450 artillery and mortar pieces." An antiseptic war, fought by pilots flying safely three miles high. It seems almost too good to be true—and it was. In fact—as some critics suspected at the time—the air campaign against the Serb military in Kosovo was largely ineffective. NATO bombs plowed up some fields, blew up hundreds of cars, trucks and decoys, and barely dented Serb artillery and armor. According to a suppressed Air Force report obtained by NEWSWEEK, the number of targets verifiably destroyed was a tiny fraction of those claimed: 14 tanks, not 120; 18 armored personnel carriers, not 220; 20 artillery pieces, not 450. Out of the 744 "confirmed" strikes by NATO pilots during the war, the Air Force investigators, who spent weeks combing Kosovo by helicopter and by foot, found evidence of just 58.

[Robert A Cook PE]

I figured Newsweek would want to re-read their own article as they continue to "promote" Clark as a "military leader" for his role in Clinton expensive Kosovo debacle.

[Support Free Republic]

Thanks for your support!

[Robert A Cook PE]

I know that Wash. Post articles are "off limits" but this is from Newsweek.

Same (liberal, biased, incompetent)company I believe. Check me, please.

[dennisw]

bttttttttttttt

[UB355]

Excellent post, thanks.

[At _War_With_Liberals]

Clark LIED.

What did he know and when did he know it?

I guess nW still supports Howie.

[eureka!]

The "Crisis in Kosovo" was, indeed, a huge fraud on the world by Clinton and the presstitutes. To this day, I feel sick for the innocents, our WWII allies (and I'm not talking about the KLA)...

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Yes, thanks for the post.

Military planners do not like to talk frankly about terror-bombing civilians ("strategic targeting" is the preferred euphemism), but what got Milosevic's attention was turning out the lights in downtown Belgrade. Making the Serb populace suffer by striking power stations

I do not blame our military. The leftist hero warrior president, Mrs. leftist hero warrior, and Madeline Allbright directed the attacks on civilians.

I'll never forget the bombings on Easter. Even Hitler's national socialists did not bomb Belgrade on Easter. The Clinton international socialists did. Bombing Christians on one of their most important holy days must have been especially pleasing to the Clintons. They probably had sex together for the first time in decades.

BTW, with a "Fairness Doctrine" applied to the Internet and talk radio bringing up embarrassing historical events reported by the Newsweek (Newsweak?!) article could be protested as not "fa-a-a-a-a-air" and likely censored by government employees. Keeping our free press and free speech is worth killing for. IMO it's that serious. Never again!

[spokeshave]

Remember when it was all over and the Serbs withdrew...columns miles long of tanks, artillery, trucks and well rested soldiers...they even had some of the damaged tanks on low loaders....

[Cicero]

That was then (when clinton decided to fire Clark); this is now (when clinton decided Clark would make a good stalking horse for Hillary.

As far as Newsweak is concerned, such considerations are far more important than the truth.

What Newsweak fails to point out is that the entire war was criminal, that it was fought on the wrong side, that it was won mainly be subjecting the civilian population to the prospect of freezing and starving to death in the dark in mid winter, and that the responsibility for all that rests squarely on bill clinton and hillary.

Hillary is said to have told bill that she wouldn't come back after the Monica affair unless he agreed to bomb Belgrade. If so, then she certainly shares responsibility for that disastrous adventure.

[Political Junkie Too]

They'll probably complain that the Fox News Channel intimidated them into reporting this in the first place.

They'll take it back, now.

-PJ

[yoswif]

Kosovo = Blood for debt relief. Debt relief $ go from Socialist Security Slush Fund through foreign central banks and into the vaults of Wall St. investment banks which pumped millions into Clinton, McCain, and , now it would appear, Clark's campaigns.

I wonder where Clark was in August '95' when the Croatian Army, with co-ordinated NATO/US close air support and fighter cover, ethnically cleansed 100,000 Serbs from enclaves throughout Croatia.