Cohen: NATO hasn't asked for ground troops

Cohen says Milosevic's forces are feeling the effects of NATO airstrikes  ALSO Clinton calls military 'America at its best' U.S.: For peace, 'key' Serb forces must leave Kosovo NATO vows to prevail in Yugoslavia CARE, Australia demand release of aid worker who confessed to spying on Yugoslavia  MESSAGE BOARD Crisis in Kosovo

Serb army desertions reported

April 12, 1999
Web posted at: 3:16 p.m. EDT (1916 GMT)

In this story: 'Eroding morale' Attack helicopters due 'within two weeks' RELATED STORIES, SITES

(CNN) -- The air war on Yugoslavia is showing results, including Serb desertions, so there is no current need for ground troops, U.S. military leaders said Monday as President Clinton prepared to meet with congressional leaders to discuss the situation.

Defense Secretary William Cohen said the administration welcomed congressional debate about the NATO military mission, which is in its 20th day. But, he added, a discussion about using ground troops in combat is premature because there is "no indication" the general commanding the operation would request them.

"There is no need, according to our commanding officers," Cohen said at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. "So until such time as that changes ... we would not even consider it."

Cohen and Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, accompanied Clinton on a trip to the base to thank some of the service personnel involved in the NATO campaign.

Clinton used a speech at Barksdale, where B-52 bombers are stationed, to warn Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic "we are determined to continue on with this mission, and we will prevail."

'Eroding morale'

Speaking separately to reporters, Cohen said NATO's bombing campaign is "systematically choking off the Yugoslav army and security forces in Kosovo by cutting their supply lines."

"As we isolate and weaken the Serb forces in Kosovo, we are launching aggressive attacks against troops on the ground by hitting staging areas, headquarters and forces in the field," the secretary said.

"NATO's campaign is showing results," Cohen continued. "We're seeing decreasing military mobility and eroding morale" among the Serbs, who are seeking to drive ethnic Albanians out of Kosovo, he said.

"There are two important reports of sinking morale," he said, "in the reports of desertions from combat units in Kosovo and a growing effort by young Yugoslavs to evade the reserve callups."

As NATO adds still more warplanes to the campaign and attacks continue, "we expect we will see even greater levels of desertion," Cohen said.

The secretary also said that "Milosevic's murder machine" has not eliminated the Kosovo Liberation Army.

"Although it is weakened, the KLA continues to fight, and its ranks are increasing," he said.

Cohen's assessments came the same day Congress returned from two weeks off and immediately began debating whether to sanction the use of ground troops to drive Serbian forces out of Kosovo.

The secretary insisted there was "no indication" that NATO military planners, including the 19-nation alliance's top commander, U.S. Army Gen. Wesley Clark, were considering a request for ground troops.

But, he added, if such a request came, Clinton would take it seriously.

Attack helicopters due 'within two weeks'

Wald says Army attack helicopters will arrive in Albania soon

At an afternoon Pentagon briefing Monday, officials said the ongoing airstrikes had left Yugoslav surface-to-air defenses "degraded but functional."

Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Wald, a Pentagon strategist, also announced that the first Army attack helicopters could arrive in Albania "within the next two weeks" from their bases in Germany.

The low-flying, all-weather helicopters, called Apaches, are one of the weapons best suited for close-in combat on tanks and troops.

The Pentagon had said earlier it planned to send at least 24 Apaches to a base in Albania, but Monday's announcement did not indicate how soon they would be put into action.

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