Struck: NATO Needs to Stay in Kosovo Beyond 2006

DW World.DE ^ | 3/21/03 | DW staff

[Nasty McPhilthy]

German Defense Minister Peter Struck has said peacekeeper will have to remain in Kosovo much longer than previously expected after recent clashes between Serbs and Albanians in the region.

In an interview with German tabloid Bild am Sonntag, Struck described the situation as extremely unstable and warned both sides to attack Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops. "They should know that NATO and the German military will defend themselves with all possible means," Struck said. "NATO will win this conflict with its military might."

Struck (photo) said he didn't expect NATO troops to leave the province by the original departure date of 2006. "We'll have to stay much longer," he said. "We'd planned to withdraw bit by bit, but that's not going to happen now."

Germany's military, the Bundeswehr, began sending additional soldiers to Kosovo on Saturday. Altogether, 600 troops will be added, bringing the German presence to 3,800 soldiers.

While tensions in the province had eased on Saturday after several days of fighting, there were fears that violence would return in connection with the burial of three Albanian children on Sunday.

Serbs had allegedly thrown the three boys in the river Ibar in the town of Mitrovica on Tuesday, causing them to drown. The boy's deaths sparked the recent clashes between Serbs and Albanians during which at least 28 people were killed, 600 were wounded and thousands were displaced from their homes, according to UN officials. Two of the boys will be buried on Sunday, the third has not been found so far.

Officials in Montenegro, which forms a union with Serbia, meanwhile said they were willing to serve as mediators between Serbs and Albanians in the conflict. Ranko Krivokapic, the president of Montenegro's parliament, said on Sunday he planned to make the offer at a Kosovo conference in Switzerland. He added that he believed Montenegro could better help along negotiations as the conflict in Kosovo was a "conflict of two nationalisms."

Commenting on the situation in Kosovo on German public radio Deutschlandfunk, The former head of KFOR said he believed increasing the military presence in Kosovo would not solve the problem. "You can't solve social conflict with the military, you have to do away with the causes," Klaus Reinhardt said. "Something happens and what do they do? They send in more soldiers."

Reinhardt added that little had been done to improve the situation in Kosovo since the war in 1999. Without a political solution to the problem, the province's economy could not be privatized, keeping away outside investors that could create jobs. This lack of a political solution would lead to frustration, which would turn into violence, Reinhardt said.

DW staff (win)

[dirtboy]

NATO Needs to Stay in Kosovo Beyond 2006

Now THAT'S a quagmire. But you don't see the Q-word bandied about by the media when discussing NATO's involvement in Kosovo.

[BenLurkin]

Ah yes, Clintooon's QUAGMIRE.

[johniegrad]

With all the "mass protests" yesterday I didn't hear of anyone protesting Clinton's war. Odd.

[Semper Paratus]

Why don't we turn over that mess to the UN?

[Chapita]

But, look at all the clinton foreign policy successes - Kosovo, Somalia, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, North Korea,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

What am I forgetting?

[HarryCaul]

I see that the multilateral community nation builds about as well as we thought it did.

I hope the Iraqis appreciate what we've saved them from.

[Nasty McPhilthy]

I feel sure they appriciate it. You just won't hear Peter Jennings say so!

[Dutch Boy]

No oil for the UN to get kick backs from. When the Clinton administration removed the KLA from the terrorist list even the dems at work thought it was huge mistake. The entire Kosovo war premise was a fraud. There were no mass graves or ethnic cleaning. It seems that it was a harse leader trying to squash a terrorist(KLA) uprising. Then came the infamous ultimatum that forced Slobo to lose his soveriegnty or face war.

The last time I watched CNN was before the Kosovo war when they showed a field of "mass graves" complete with little white crosses. It was heart wrenching until it dawned on me that the Albainians were muslum.

[lt.america]

You beat me to it. I was thinking the exact same thing. The difference is, although it will be difficult, we have a chance to make some real changes it Iraq, whereas in Kosovo, everyone knew that as soon as the military started to pull out it would turn to this.

[Lion in Winter]

"Allegedly"?????? Serbians threw some kids in the river.... PURE BS.... UNMIK's spokesman says the boys drowned with no involvement of the Serbians AT ALL.

I tell you albanian nationalists are feral beasts.

[Lion in Winter]

STUCK IN A QUAGMIRE.

[1903A3]

Hey Zipper
YOUR LEGACY

[vooch]

The orginal source of the "serbian dogs chasing boys into river' is none other than Halid Berani

Berani is a long time KLA hate monger whose been telling lurid tales since the Summer of 1998.

He has been discredited more times than Al Sharpton

[LjubivojeRadosavljevic]

["UNMIK's spokesman says the boys drowned with no involvement of the Serbians AT ALL"

And, I would add, that the (stupid) BBC reported yesterday that the [Albanian] boys were being chased by "blood thirsty Serbians."

The BBC ought to get rid of more than just its head.