White House discusses airstrikes

AP PHOTO United Nations Security Council President reads a statement on Kosovo last night condemning the massacre of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

The Washington Post

President Clinton's chief foreign policy advisers went to Capitol Hill yesterday to lay out the administration's case for airstrikes against Yugoslavia for its military campaign in Kosovo province and came away with strong although not unanimous support from the Senate, according to lawmakers.

After a two-hour, closed-door briefing, Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told reporters that NATO was ready to act to stop Serb attacks on the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo if a diplomatic solution was not reached soon.

"The combined threat of the use of force and diplomacy is the best way of proceeding," Albright said. The United States has been "working to get NATO ready and NATO is prepared to act," she added.

Cohen outlined a number of steps that the Serbs must take to avoid a military strike, including pulling back their armed forces and police, allowing delivery of humanitarian aid, permitting return of displaced persons and negotiating a settlement of the hostilities.

He said Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic should understand he faces a "credible military threat" if he fails to meet these terms.

Asked about the deadline for compliance, Cohen said, "Soon."

The session, which was also attended by Clinton's national security adviser, Samuel "Sandy" Berger, attracting most of the Senate in what participants described as a reflection of the high level of concern over Kosovo and the U.S. response to its plight. House members will be briefed on the subject today.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) said after the session that he was surprised by the high degree of support from both parties for tough NATO action. While support was not unanimous, he said, most of the criticism came from senators who "thought we were losing our credibility by six months of wavering" over what to do. Some others wanted to give diplomacy more of a chance or worried over the financial cost, he said.

"A clear majority of those who spoke were supportive ... I was quite encouraged," said Lieberman, an Armed Services Committee member who describes himself as a "hawk" when it comes to military action against Yugoslavia.

Lieberman said Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee, suggested that Congress might pass a resolution of support for airstrikes before it adjourns in a week or so. The administration entourage, in line with its view that congressional approval is not required for such military action, said it would welcome such a vote but was not officially requesting it, Lieberman said.

The officials emphasized that no U.S. ground troops would be required at this stage, although some American ground forces might serve as part of a subsequent NATO peace-keeping mission, according to Lieberman.

Some senators said they believed Congress should be consulted before ground troops are committed.

Sen. Joseph Biden Jr. (D-Del.) the senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said after the briefing that what he heard convinced him that the administration shares his view, that "we should go after targets near Belgrade with a serious and sustained air campaign" to compel compliance, within the next week to 10 days. Biden also encouraged the administration to seek a resolution of approval from Congress. "I think we can get it," he said.

At the United Nations yesterday, the Security Council met in emergency session to address "the appalling reports of the atrocities" by Serb forces against civilians and issued a statement demanding that Belgrade halt its campaign against ethnic Albanians. Unlike a resolution, a statement is not binding on member states, but it reflects the collective thinking of the 15 countries on the council.

Meanwhile, the State Department issued a warning to Americans to leave Yugoslavia because of the increasing likelihood of NATO military action.

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