Two letters published in the May issue of Air Force Magazine. The original of Col Jatras' letter follows the letter written by Maj. Robert D. Klimek.
http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/May%202009/0509letters.aspx The Balkan Air War In the article "The Balkan Air War" [March, p. 42], Air Force Magazine does a disservice to the men and women of the US Air Force and nation they serve by continuing to publish distorted accounts of the Balkan war of the ’90s. The purpose of this letter is not to question the performance of the aircrews in that war. As a Vietnam combat veteran, I fully appreciate the difficulty of operating under unrealistic rules of engagement and confusing mission objectives. However, to claim that this was a war won "with airpower alone" is factually wrong. Slobodan Milosevic’s only objective was to remain in power. That goal was threatened by the terms of the proposed Rambouillet Treaty, presented by then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as a non-negotiable ultimatum that would have surrendered Serbian sovereignty to NATO occupation. It was only after 78 days of bombing, growing concern over civilian deaths, embarrassing mistakes, and weakening resolve by some NATO members that the objectionable clause was removed. Milosevic had saved his skin by making a show of trying to save Kosovo. Col. George Jatras, USAF (Ret.) Camp Hill, Pa. Regardless of how well our airmen performed their mission, I take no pride in my Air Force’s participating in the establishment of a new Islamic terror state in southern Europe. Even as I write this, the non-Muslim population of Kosovo is being purged, their history and their culture expunged, their churches and property confiscated, looted, and destroyed, and any lingering resistors to this cultural genocide are being killed, converted by force, or driven out in a relentless wave of Islamic purification. Even as I write this, Islamic agitators and "immigrants" are infiltrating from Kosovo into Serbia proper and all the surrounding countries of Europe, for the express purpose of spreading sedition and terror, and then repeating this successful Kosovo landgrab on behalf of a newly resurgent Islamic global totalitarian empire. Maj. Robert D. Klimek, USAF (Ret.) Fort Smith, Ark. ********************************************************************************************************************************************************************************* Following is the original letter submitted by Colonel George Jatras - as you can see, there were quite a few omissions. Stella In the article, "The Balkan Air War," Air Force Magazine does a disservice to the men and women of the U.S. Air Force and nation they serve by continuing to publish distorted accounts of the Balkan war of the 90s. The breakup of Yugoslavia degenerated into a nasty civil war in which all three sides, Croat, Muslim and Serbian, did terrible things to each other. Instead of staying out of a situation in which the United States had no national interests, the Clinton Administration intervened not as an honest broker to help resolve the situation, but took the side of the Bosnian Muslims who, ironically, were also supported my the mullahs of Iran and Osama bin Laden's mujahideen. The long-term consequences of that faulty foreign policy decision are clearly exposed in "Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa'ida and the Rise of Global Jihad," by John R. Schindler, Professor of Strategy, U.S. Naval War College. The purpose of this letter is not to question the performance of the aircrews in that war. As a Vietnam combat veteran, I fully appreciate the difficulty of operating under unrealistic ROEs and confusing mission objectives. However, to claim that this was a war won "with airpower alone" is factually wrong. The fact is that NATO's war on the Serbian people, clearly stated as such in the congressional testimony of Lt. Gen. Michael Short, strengthened the Serbian peoples' support of Slobodon Milosevic, the two-bit dictator whom they tried to drive from office just a few years earlier; but whom they rallied to support when their country was attacked. For his part, Milosevic's only objective was to remain in power. That goal was threatened by the terms of the proposed Rambouillet Treaty, presented by then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as a non-negotiable ultimatum which would have surrendered Serbian sovereignty to NATO occupation. It was only after 78 days of bombing, growing concern over civilian deaths, embarrassing mistakes and weakening resolve by some NATO members that the objectional clause was removed. Milosevic had saved his skin by making a show of trying to save Kosovo. Finally, the glory-hungry NATO Commander at the time, unwilling to accept the statistics of his own Munitions Effectiveness Assessment Team (MEAT), sent them back to come up with data more to his liking. (NEWSWEEK: " <http://newsweek.com/nw-srv/printed/us/na/a19546-2000may7.htm> The Kosovo Cover-up" by John Barry And Evan Thomas, May 15, 2000. http://www.newsweek.com/id/84044). Col. George Jatras, USAF (Ret.) The Kosovo Cover-up: http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2009/March%202009/0309balkan.aspx
