U.S.: Attack necessary to stop 'killing and carnage'

Clinton announces the airstrikes ( 192 K/12 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)  ALSO: Clinton calls Yeltsin, criticizes Milosevic NATO attack on Yugoslavia begins Yugoslavs ban CNN, two other networks from transmitting from Belgrade B-2 stealth bombers make combat debut RELATED VIDEO President Clinton announces Wednesday afternoon that NATO air attacks against Serbian military targets were under way Windows Media 28K 80K

March 24, 1999
Web posted at: 3:31 p.m. EST (2031 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen repeated the Clinton administration position Wednesday that NATO is not waging war against the people of Yugoslavia. Cohen said the attacks were aimed, instead, at the regime of Slobodan Milosevic, which he said was responsible for the "killing and carnage" in Kosovo.

Cohen and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Hugh Shelton briefed reporters at the Pentagon on the first wave of U.S.-led NATO airstrikes against Serbian military targets in Yugoslavia.

Both officials stressed that the mission was still in its very early stages, and said that no military operation was "risk free."

Earlier Wednesday, President Clinton said that the airstrikes were necessary to demonstrate the seriousness of NATO's commitment to end what he called aggression against ethnic Albanians in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

"Kosovo's crisis is now full-blown and if we do not act clearly it will get even worse," Clinton said in a brief afternoon announcement at the White House. He said he would deliver an address to the nation on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. EST to explain in more detail why "this action is necessary."

The president did not provide specific details of the NATO mission, such as what weapons were used in the attack, what areas were targeted or how long the airstrikes would continue.

Using a computer model to simulate combat conditions, the Pentagon has projected that NATO could lose as many as 12 warplanes in the bombing campaign, a senior U.S. Air Force official told CNN.

Clinton said the attack was undertaken only after "extensive and repeated efforts" at a peace settlement, and after Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic violated earlier cease-fire commitments "to stop the brutal repression in Kosovo."

"Instead, his forces have intensified their attacks, burning down Kosovo Albanian villages and murdering civilians. As I speak, more Serb forces are moving into Kosovo and more people are fleeing their homes, 60,000 in just the last five weeks, a quarter of a million altogether," he said.

Clinton said the United States and its NATO allies have three goals: