-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! ARTICLE 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EU To Start Building Defense Force ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Rather than seeing this European Force as a threat to our military predominance, we should see it as a step in the right direction. After all, we have pressured our allies for years to do more. The move will also offer us an opportunity to return our forces into a strategic quarterback role, ready to do "heavy lifting," if required. From the Associated Press. ********************************************************** By JEFFREY ULBRICH BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - The European Union begins building its own defense force, a 60,000-man rapid reaction corps some say, strengthens European security and others believe could be the first step in wrecking NATO. Just a year after the 15 EU leaders decided at their summit in Helsinki, Finland, to launch the process, EU nations will begin pledging troops and equipment for the new force, which is essentially to be used for humanitarian, peacekeeping and peacemaking duties. The Europeans say they need this force to act in crises where NATO as a whole - and the United States in particular - does not want to get involved. Some in the United States and Europe, however, view the push for a European force as part of a French-led effort to dilute Washington's influence on the continent. Javier Solana, the EU's chief of foreign and security policy, says the Americans have no reason to worry. ``By pulling its full weight, the European Union will contribute to trans-Atlantic relations by better sharing the burden of security,'' Solana said. ``We are doing what they have urged us to do for decades.'' The United States says it supports the EU's foray into military affairs, known as the European Security and Defense Policy, as long as it's done right. ``Done properly, ESDP can increase the capabilities available to NATO and the EU to deter or respond to crises,'' Alexander Vershbow, the American ambassador to NATO, said in a speech last month. ``Done poorly, this process can divide the trans-Atlantic alliance, lead to decreased U.S. engagement in European security matters and diminish European capacity to manage crises.'' That is precisely what has more than a few Americans and Europeans worried. No new military units are being created. When the EU defense ministers gather here Monday, they will be pledging existing troops and equipment to the EU. Many of those troops are also pledged to NATO. No surprises are expected at Monday's pledging conference. A senior EU official said member countries have already indicated they will be pledging more than 100,000 soldiers, 400 combat aircraft and more than 400 ships. The EU needs a pool of 100,000-120,000 troops from which to draw the 60,000 because it is not possible to know in advance what kind of forces will be necessary for any given mission. If six-monthly rotation of forces is considered, that figure must be doubled to more than 200,000. While the EU is eager to have its own military force - even one as small as 60,000 - it still wants to be able to fall back on NATO's assets. The EU and NATO are deep into discussions about how the new relationship will work. NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson insists the talks are making ``good progress'' in all areas. Other diplomats say the discussions are very difficult, not to say deadlocked. More than anything else, the United States wants it to be clear that NATO is the first option for dealing with security crises and is not circumvented by the EU striking off on its own. Washington is also concerned about unnecessary duplication, particularly in the area of planning. The Americans prefer that the new EU military entity use existing NATO planning structures rather than siphoning off energy and resources to create a separate facility for the EU, as the French would prefer. In addition, European NATO members who are not also members of the EU, Turkey and Iceland in particular, worry about promising the EU automatic access to alliance assets when they are not a part of the EU decision-making process. The United States has been pushing for these countries to be allowed full participation in EU decisions concerning the force. On the EU side, some neutral countries, which are not members of NATO, see the move into military matters as more than they bargained for when the joined the Union. The reality is NATO has few assets of its own. Most of the assets in question - such as satellite intelligence, communications and transport - are American. Washington also wants a permanent regular relationship with the EU rather than the French idea for occasional meetings when crises arise. Many see Monday's pledging conference as key to European resolve, both to upgrade the quality of their forces and to increase defense spending. =================================================================== ARTICLE 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NATO Criticized by Yugoslav Leader ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Is NATO enforcing a one-sided peace deal and will the 35,000 peacekeepers be able to accomplish their mission into the extended future? Important questions for our new President! I am interested in additional perspectives from our troops on the ground. An Associated Press Report. ************************************************************ By ALEKSANDAR VASOVIC VRANJE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Yugoslavia's new president is demanding that NATO prevent incursions by ethnic Albanian militants into a Serb buffer zone just outside NATO-controlled Kosovo. In a letter released Thursday, President Vojislav Kostunica asserted that outgunned Serbian policemen were besieged the day before by Kosovo Albanian rebels just outside the province of Kosovo. Other Yugoslav leaders warned Wednesday that the violence could escalate unless the international community acts fast. Kostunica planned on Thursday to tour the zone of where clashes took place between Serbian police and ethnic Albanians. ``Despite the victory of democratic forces in Yugoslavia and its opening up to the world, the international community is not fulfilling its obligation to Yugoslavia,'' said Kostunica in a letter to NATO Secretary-General Lord George Robertson. Kostunica said that the security situation in Kosovo and in the province's buffer zone with Serbia proper ``is drastically worsening each day.'' He expressed hope that the NATO-led troops in Kosovo will prevent any further incidents. Over the past two days, at least four Serb policemen have been killed and 10 others wounded in a demilitarized zone in the unofficial border region between Kosovo and central Serbia, said Zoran Djindjic, a key aide to Kostunica. ``This is very dangerous, not only for the situation in Serbia, but also the whole region,'' he warned. Peacekeepers detained 10 men who are allegedly members of an ethnic Albanian militant group after they attempted to evade a U.S. checkpoint and enter Kosovo on Wednesday, a U.S. Army statement said. Peacekeepers stopped the men at the same time that militant forces were ``carrying out unprovoked offensive actions against Serb security personnel,'' the statement said. Later Wednesday, peacekeepers at the same checkpoint searched a truck driven by an ethnic Albanian and uncovered a cache of weapons. They detained the driver. In Kosovo, one Serb was killed and another injured Wednesday when a large explosion rocked a building used as a residence and offices of the Yugoslav representative. Though separate, the violence in and outside Kosovo appeared to be linked to ethnic Albanian aspirations for independence from Serbia, the larger of the two Yugoslav republics. Kostunica's Cabinet met Wednesday to review what the government called the ``latest escalation of terrorist acts by Kosovo Albanian extremists.'' The cabinet dispatched a note to the U.N. Security Council, demanding an urgent session to condemn the attacks and take measures to halt them. ``After expelling 300,000 Serbs and others from Kosovo ... Albanian extremists are now ... blocking international and Yugoslav efforts to find a democratic and civilized solution to the Kosovo crisis,'' said the government statement, warning of the threat of a new regional conflict. The Security Council adopted a consensus statement strongly condemning the ``criminal attacks'' and calling for an immediate investigation. In an unusually rapid response, the 15 ambassadors demanded that all sides refrain from further attacks, particularly against minorities, and called on NATO and the United Nations to take steps to prevent further violence. Kosovo formally remains part of Serbia, but is run by the United Nations and NATO under terms of a peace agreement that led to a pullout of forces loyal to former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic in exchange for an end to NATO bombing last year. In the predominantly ethnic Albanian Presevo Valley of southern Serbia, dozens have been killed in ethnic Albanian attacks on Serb police. The group, which calls itself the Liberation Army of Presevo, Bujanovac and Medvedja, is fighting for union with Kosovo, which also wants independence. The new Yugoslav authorities, who unseated Milosevic in October, claim that most of the group's attacks are launched from Kosovo and demand better security along the boundary by the more than 35,000 international troops based in Kosovo. The peace deal, which ended last year's NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, established a 3-mile demilitarized zone along the Kosovo border with central Serbia. 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