The New York Times

Friday, July 2, 1999

THE MILITARY

NATO Says Milosevic Is Moving Forces Into Pro-Western Montenegro

By ERIC SCHMITT

WASHINGTON -- Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav president, still firmly in control of his army, is sending reinforcements into the pro-Western Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, NATO's military commander, Gen. Wesley Clark, said Thursday.

In his first appearance before Congress since the Kosovo air war began on March 24, Clark said the Yugoslav leader was "simultaneously preparing forces, gathering intelligence and is capable of moving against" President Milo Djukanovic of Montenegro, whose government is considered more democratic than that of Milosevic.

At a news conference later at the Pentagon, Clark said NATO intelligence had detected recent reinforcements into Montenegro, as well as efforts by Milosevic to put ethnic Serbs and political allies of Djukanovic's opponent into positions of authority there.

"Montenegro remains a very sensitive area," the general told reporters. "President Milosevic is calculating what is to his best advantage in terms of making moves in that area."

Clark and Defense Secretary William Cohen declined to say what NATO would do if Milosevic tried to oust Djukanovic. But during the air war the alliance threatened to intervene if there was an outright coup in Montenegro by forces loyal to Milosevic.

Djukanovic has been very wary of Serbian encroachment, walking a difficult political line as he tried to distance the republic from Milosevic yet avoid provoking him while continuing to court the West for aid and support.

Despite growing outrage among ordinary Serbs after the 78-day air war and a CIA operation aimed at destabilizing the Belgrade government, Clark said Milosevic was trying to rebuild his political power base while keeping his political foes off-balance.

"Milosevic retains a formidable power in Yugoslavia and he's an expert at dividing the opposition," the general told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "The opposition is fragmented and weak."

He said Milosevic was now trying to "relegitimate himself" with a Yugoslav public angry over widespread destruction throughout the country that many residents say they are realizing is the fault of their president. He is "portraying himself as the victor in the conflict by promoting reconstruction," Clark said.

With Yugoslav troops now out of Kosovo, the general said Milosevic's military was conducting a low-level campaign of expelling ethnic Albanians from the Sanjak region between Serbia and Montenegro.

Nearly three weeks after the first NATO troops entered Kosovo, Clark said, there were now 23,000 allied troops in Kosovo, 4,500 of them Americans. Eventually, there will be 7,000 American troops in Kosovo, the last arriving by Aug. 8.

The general was less precise when it came to saying when American forces could leave. "The future is very unpredictable in the Balkans at this point because it very much depends on the continuity in power of one individual," he said.

Still, he added, "I don't see a decadelong commitment in Kosovo, although the U.N. may be there for a long time."

During the three-hour hearing, senators generally heaped praise and gentle questions on the four-star general.

Pressed by several lawmakers to assess the cooperation by Kosovo Albanian rebels, Clark said he had a "80 to 90 percent level of confidence" that most of the rebel fighters would comply with their agreement to disband in the next 90 days.

"We don't know what the ultimate degree of compliance will be, but this is the Balkans, and we know that people on both sides will be hedging their bets because people in this region have seen all of these international promises before," he said.

As NATO peacekeepers move into Kosovo, the military is beginning to examine the strengths and weaknesses of an air war that Sen. John Warner, R-Va., who heads the Armed Services Committee, said Thursday cost about $5 billion.

Clark praised the Navy's and Air Force's precision-guided bombs and missiles, as well as long-range bombers including the B-2 and B-1. He also cited the Apache helicopters in Albania, maligned for taking so long to deploy and then never flying in combat, noting that they had intimidated Serbian troops.

But across Capitol Hill, the Army commander of the Apache gunships, Brig. Gen. Richard Cody, told a House hearing that many pilots sent to fly the tank-killing helicopters were undertrained and underequipped to fight in conditions that he said were the toughest he had seen in his 27-year military career.

Cody, one of the Army's most respected helicopter officers, outlined his criticisms in an internal memo sent last month to the incoming Army chief of staff, Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, and explained them Thursday.

In testimony to a House Armed Services subcommittee, Cody defended his memo, which also criticized a shortage of night-vision goggles for pilots and poor radios, and urged lawmakers to finance updated equipment and more pilots.

The 24 Apaches sent to Albania from bases in Germany were so short of qualified air crews that 22 experienced crew members from Fort Bragg, N.C., were sent to the Balkans.

Cody, in an interview during a break, said one reason the Apaches were delayed was that NATO initially planned to send them to Skopje, Macedonia, in early April. When the Macedonian government balked, the helicopters were sent instead to Tirana, Albania.

But the Albanian air base required extensive improvements before the Apaches could land, and the mountainous terrain into Kosovo posed much more difficult missions and required more training, especially at night, than would have been the case in Macedonia, Cody said.