U.S. considering hundreds more planes for Kosovo assault

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April 12, 1999
Web posted at: 10:16 p.m. EDT (1416 GMT)

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

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The United States could soon send several hundred additional warplanes to Europe to intensify the attacks against Yugoslav troops on the ground, Pentagon sources said Monday.

This armada will be in addition to the 82 new planes the Pentagon approved this past weekend.

A senior defense official said the Pentagon is now considering the latest request for extra planes from Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO Supreme Commander, Europe, and that the request will likely be approved soon.

Sources said the requested aircraft would be used for air-to-ground attacks, suppression of air defenses and refueling tankers.

The United States already has supplied about 500 of the roughly 700 NATO planes for Operation Allied Force.

The additional planes will bring the total number of NATO planes to close to 1,000.

Congress and Kosovo

A NATO missile struck a passenger train at Grdelica smashing and charring coaches and scattering body parts in the wreckage    MORE

"The message that we send in the next 48 to 72 hours out of this Congress on this issue -- I think it would have a huge effect on the outcome of this conflict," Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) said.

The Senate debated the issue of ground troops Monday.

Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) plans to seek a Senate resolution authorizing the president to use whatever means necessary to complete the mission, reflecting public sentiment that has moved in favor of ground troops.

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."

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 Bill Clinton prepared to meet with congressional leaders to discuss the situation.

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'

Refugees take shelter from the downblast of a helicopter taking off after delivering rations to a camp

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 call-ups."

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.

Attack helicopters due 'within two weeks'

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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