April 19, 1999
Web posted at: 7:26 p.m. EDT (2326 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Uphill U.S. efforts to persuade its NATO allies to block oil shipments to Yugoslavia are just one example of "war by committee," a process that has proved to be a double-edged sword for the alliance during its bombing campaign.

Targets are not chosen, but voted on by NATO diplomats. NATO's first war in its 50-year existence is implemented through a democratic process.

"They can vote on everything. That's the strength and probably the weakness of what we have going on ... this is a coalition, we are not one nation against Serbia. As 19 nations, we all have an equal vote," said U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Wald.

U.S. officials have conceded that getting a unanimous vote on strategic and tactical decisions has been cumbersome and may explain why NATO's air campaign has had limited success thus far.

NATO supreme commander Gen. Wesley Clark reportedly had to lobby hard for NATO attacks on sensitive sites in downtown Belgrade and elsewhere in Yugoslavia.

In public, the U.S. general has said that NATO members have given him the authority and latitude needed to carry out his job.

"I do have the strategic flexibility that I need in targeting. I think that we've got procedures that have become increasingly well-defined and accepted, so I don't feel constrained in any significant way in that regard," said Clark.

Regardless, some NATO members -- especially the newest members, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary -- have only given their reluctant approval for the airstrikes.

Ethnic Hungarians living in Serbia have been called up to fight by Yugoslav authorities, a move that has caused some opposition to the NATO campaign in neighboring Hungary.

Domestic opposition to the airstrikes has been strong in Italy and Greece, which is providing humanitarian aid but not fighters to the NATO effort.

One clear outcome from "war by committee" has been the decision so far not to use ground troops. Senior civilian and military leaders acknowledge that the air campaign was the only option all 19 NATO members could agree on.

Correspondent Carl Rochelle contributed to this report.

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