A L S O+T O D A Y Limp Willy? By Frank Smyth Clinton's critics blast Kosovo "genocide," but disagree about deploying ground troops "Pec is burning! Where are the ground troops?" By David Brauchli An AP photographer who fled Yugoslavia at the 11th hour reports on the horror in Kosovo Humanitarian enclave? By Daryl Lindsey Experts debate NATO's options for protecting Kosovar Albanians without a massive commitment of ground troops Soldiers missing in action NATO and the Pentagon report that three U.S. troops may have been captured during a reconnaissance mission   T A B L E+T A L K Kevorkian's conviction: Was it a boon or a bomb to the assisted suicide movement? Join in the fray in the Social Issues area of Table Talk   Find deep discounts and great selection on the books you need to read at barnesandnoble.com Search by:  Keyword Title Author       R E C E N T L Y Beginner's guide to the Balkans By Laura Rozen A week ago, few Americans could find Kosovo on a map. What's behind the crisis Clinton's committed to solve Kosovo update By Laura Rozen Macedonian officials leave hundreds of Kosovo Albanian refugees stranded Bombing the baby with the bath water By Veran Matic Each missile worsens the humanitarian disaster that NATO is supposed to be preventing Milosevic's proposal The Yugoslav president says he's ready to stop his campaign against Kosovar Albanians and take his place at the negotiating table, but only if NATO halts its airstrikes Endgame? By Jeff Stein As the crisis spirals out of control, everybody scrambles for a quick solution. Everybody but Milosevic (03/30/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		Arm the KLA? WATCHING WHAT LOOKS LIKE GENOCIDE, A GROWING CHORUS BEGINS TO ASK WHETHER IT'S TIME TO ARM KOSOVAR REBELS. BY LAURA ROZEN | SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Thousands more ethnic Albanians trickled out of Kosovo Wednesday, on foot, in cars and in trains, telling tales of killing, looting and pogroms. While NATO is attempting to avoid civilian targets in Serbia, the Serbs don't seem to be taking such care in their campaign to "cleanse" Kosovo of ethnic Albanians. Well over 150,000 people have fled over the past four days. Even more worrisome is the plight of those who are not being allowed to leave. The talk of the killing that is going on in cities like the capital, Pristina, is chilling. With no plans in Western capitals to send NATO ground troops into Kosovo, increasingly people inside and outside the province are talking about arming the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). "We need anti-tank weapons and ammunition, nothing else," a contact close to the KLA told me Wednesday night from Albania. He'd just spoken with his cousin, a woman currently in a prosperous neighborhood of fine blond stucco homes called Dragodan in the Kosovo capital. She told him the situation in Pristina was "Rwanda-like," that Serbian forces were killing many people, and going door-to-door in her neighborhood rounding up people. "The international community must arm the KLA because of the carnage that is going on in Kosovo," the KLA source told me. "The Serbs do not respect the rule of law. If the KLA is armed quickly, it can protect civilians." But arm-the-KLA rhetoric isn't coming just from KLA supporters in the Balkans. "People in Congress are starting to talk about arming the KLA," said one U.S. official in Washington who is familiar with U.S.-Kosovo policy. "But as a long-term policy -- not next week." He mentioned Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., as one lawmaker increasingly vocal in his support for the idea of at least a train-and-equip program for the KLA. There are questions, of course, about supporting the KLA. Would it help alleviate the humanitarian crisis and slow down the killing of ethnic Albanian civilians? Or would it create a Taliban-like force in Kosovo that the international community would be unable to control in the future? At this moment, the KLA might be the best hope for protecting civilians threatened with killings by Serbian forces. Over time, a major degradation of Serbian military assets by NATO air forces, plus the ability of KLA fighters to defend themselves with anti-tank weapons, might allow them to defend territory. In the short term, they could save lives, although even supporting the rebels sufficiently to accomplish that goal would take time. Some argue that if NATO doesn't arm the KLA, someone else will. As in Bosnia, some worry that Islamic fundamentalists will step in where the West is afraid to tread, and the KLA could wind up beholden to Iran, Afghanistan or Osama bin Laden, the Saudi Arabian millionaire blamed for the African embassy bombings and other terrorist attacks. But at the moment, NATO controls the skies over Yugoslavia, and it seems impossible that a non-NATO government would be able to enter airspace over Yugoslavia. The debate probably won't be settled soon enough for KLA commanders, who are trying to hold ground against better-equipped Serbian troops and hoping for airdropped supplies much more quickly than Washington is likely to provide them. An international aid official here, who asked not to be identified, said his office had gotten a call from a satellite phone in Kosovo a few days ago. "We need airdrops of food, medical supplies and blankets," pleaded the Kosovar Albanian on the other end of the line. Who was it? Reportedly, "Remi," the 27-year-old commander of the KLA for the Llap region, in northeastern Kosovo. The Kosovo Crisis Center reports that "Ceni," the KLA information officer in Llap, said Wednesday, "The KLA is resisting with all means the offensive by Serbian forces and trying to evacuate civilians. This latter task is becoming more difficult because virtually all settlements of the region are under attack; many have fled into mountainous areas." Some 60,000 internally displaced people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Llap alone. Thousands of people are reported to be stranded in the town of Podujevo, which is under siege by Serbian forces. N E X T+P A G E+| "End the genocide" with ground troops - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Become a Salon member. Click here.