The UN never authorized our invasion and bombing of Serbia. It was a NATO operation not a UN invasion
“The UN never authorized our invasion and bombing of Serbia. It was a NATO operation not a UN invasion.”
Read my post #53 again: I never said the NATO attack on Serbia was under UN authorization. However, the UN Security Council voted NOT to condemn the attack (only Russia, China, and Namibia voted for condemnation).
Moreover, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1244 on June 10, 1999 to address the conflict in Kosovo. If you read that, you will see that it outlines the format for resolution, including placing Kosovo under international control.
1244, in pertinent part: “Authorizes the Secretary-General, with the assistance of relevant international organizations, to establish an international civil presence in Kosovo in order to provide an interim administration for Kosovo under which the people of Kosovo can enjoy substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and which will provide transitional administration while establishing and overseeing the development of provisional democratic self-governing institutions to ensure conditions for a peaceful and normal life for all inhabitants of Kosovo.”
So, you see, the UN was very much involved in distinguishing Kosovo from Serbia as a whole, and creating Kosovar autonomy. And that was how things were until Kosovo declared independence in 2008, though international security forces still remained.
I have said many times on FR, that I was OPPOSED to NATO involvement in the Balkans in the 1990s. I thought NATO’s action was — at best — arguably acceptable politically, but came up short on the legality of it.