Please notice this OFFICIAL DEFENSE DEPARTMENT COMMENDATION of General Wesley Clark regarding Kosovo by then Defense Secretary William Cohen on May 1, 2000:
http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2000/t05022000_t501koso.html
DoD News Briefing
Monday, May 1, 2000
Presenter: Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
(Also participating in the Joint Press Conference was Gen. Henry H. Shelton, Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff in Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo)
Sec Def.: We are hoping that we will provide the basis for the people of Kosovo to establish institutions that will make them self-governing. That there will be local elections held this fall. We want to see institutions built that will allow the people in Kosovo to function. That is our hope and that is why KFOR is here. We are hoping that as things stabilize more and more, that the UN and its mission can take over the major responsibilities in Kosovo. We cannot put a time table on that.
Q: This is General Clark's last visit to Kosovo today. Any word on how he has performed his job?
Sec Def.: He has done an extraordinary job. General Clark is one of our most brilliant officers. He undertook a mission that is perhaps one the most complicated and complex and carried it out successfully. As I mentioned in my remarks, this air campaign was the most successful in the history of warfare. We had over 38,000 sorties that were flown. We had only two planes that were shot down and no pilots lost. That is a record that is unparalleled in the history of warfare. So, General Clark and his entire staff and subordinates and all who participated deserve great credit.
Q: Why is he leaving office, then?
Sec Def.: He is leaving because we have General Ralston who will become the new SACEUR. We are now replacing many of our CINCs throughout the world.
Q: It is not a reflection on his performance?
Sec Def: No reflection at all. He has done an outstanding job as the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Southern Command, and he did an outstanding job here as EUCOM Commander and also as SACEUR.