Pentagon pulled in many directions

As the Kosovo crisis lingers, Pentagon planners juggle military inventory and personnel

April 6, 1999
Web posted at: 10:33 p.m. EST (2023 GMT)

In this story: Assets stretched too thin? Details and dollars problematic RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon insisted Tuesday that U.S. military readiness has not been weakened by the juggling of assets around the world to handle the conflict in Yugoslavia.

U.S. and allied fighter jets have patrolled the no-fly zone over northern Iraq for years.

But those patrols stopped March 17, because many of those planes have been reassigned to Yugoslavia duty, according to military spokesmen.

For the first time since Operation Allied Force began, fighter jets from the USS Theodore Roosevelt joined air raids Tuesday over Yugoslavia. The carrier arrived in the region Monday with more than 80 aircraft and a crew of more than 5,500.

Waves of planes -- including F-14s, F-18s and special electronic warplanes designed to interfere with or strike radar or anti-aircraft installations -- took off from the Roosevelt at a rate of one every 30 seconds.

To fill the gap the Roosevelt left in the Persian Gulf, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was ordered to sail there from its usual patrol of the northern Pacific.

As a result, Air Force planes in the Korean theater are on alert against any possible move by North Korea.

Munitions are also being monitored closely. After using scores of cruise missiles in Iraq and Yugoslavia, the Air Force finds itself down to about 100 in its inventories.

Assets stretched too thin?

As the conflict over Kosovo continues, Pentagon planners are balancing people, equipment and inventories, and the juggling act has some lawmakers worried.

"If in fact regional conflicts broke out in two or three of these areas, it could be catastrophic," Sen. Robert Smith (R-New Hampshire) said. "I mean, suppose we get bogged down in a war, in a land war, in Kosovo or in Yugoslavia?

"Supposing then Saddam decides to do something, fire some missiles somewhere, and we get a good force there? Or the North invades the South in Korea? We could not possibly conduct three operations simultaneously," Smith said.

But Pentagon officials say they could indeed conduct three operations at once and say they do not believe resources are stretched too thin.

"Over time, it will take a little bit of a toll," Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles F. Wald, vice director for strategic plans and policy for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"But the way we're handling the forces and moving the forces around, we have the capability to cover all the regions as we speak today," Wald said at a Pentagon briefing.

Details and dollars problematic

Some analysts say there is a problem, but it is in the details, not the big picture.

"We need to spend a little less money on getting ready to build futuristic weapons when we're already so far ahead of most of the world in our weapons technology," said Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution.

"Spend a little more money not only on people, but also on the spare parts and other things to keep current equipment operational," O'Hanlon said.

Pentagon officials said they are too busy with airstrikes and humanitarian relief to estimate what the crisis in Kosovo is costing -- but it's expected to be in the billions of dollars.

To meet that bill, the Clinton administration will have to ask Congress for more money when lawmakers return to Washington next week.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.