September 9, 1999
Web posted at: 6:41 p.m. EDT (2241 GMT)

In this story: 'Not worth starting World War III' Red card conflict No risk to U.S. troops RELATED STORIES, SITES

From Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Hugh Shelton confirmed in congressional testimony Thursday that a British general refused a direct order from his superior, NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark.

In June, after Russian troops took over the airport in the Kosovo capital of Pristina, Clark ordered Lt. Gen. Mike Jackson to move British tanks in to block the runways to prevent Russia from flying in supplies or reinforcements. Jackson refused to do so, Shelton testified.

Publicly, both Clark and Jackson have played down the dispute, but under questioning by Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John Warner, Shelton agreed the refusal was "troublesome."

Shelton said Clark, a four-star U.S. Army general, called the Pentagon to complain that Jackson, commander of forces on the ground in Kosovo, was not carrying out his instructions.

'Not worth starting World War III'

Shelton testified, "Gen. Clark told Gen. Jackson that he would like to move some armored vehicles up onto ... the airfield to block it. ... General Jackson said, 'No, I'm not going to do that. It's not worth starting World War III.'"

Warner suggested the incident may result in the United States insisting in the future that all key positions in the NATO chain of command are filled with American officers.

"Now we hear of a subordinate commander failing to carry out the specific orders of the supreme allied commander, which to date and presumably in the future, is an American officer. I find that troubling," he said.

Shelton agreed, "The troubling piece is that unity of command and moving in a cohesive manner and with a chain of command that is effective is at the heart of this issue. And certainly we can't have second-guessing at every level of command in a military organization to be effective."

Red card conflict

Jackson invoked an informal procedure at NATO which allows any country, including the United States, to figuratively hold up a red card, if given orders that conflict with an individual country's national interest.

NATO is an alliance of 19 member nations and requires consensus of all members to embark on military action.

Last month, CNN reported that NATO and Pentagon sources said Clark also ordered Jackson, the day before, to dispatch helicopters to Pristina to take control of the airport before the Russians arrived.

But Pentagon sources said Jackson, who favored a less confrontational approach, was slow in relaying that order to the U.S. commanders, and subsequently U.S. Apache helicopters were unable to fly in because of weather.

Pentagon sources say Great Britain wanted to avoid a military confrontation about what was essentially a diplomatic dispute.

No risk to U.S. troops

At a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 1, Clark testified: "There was a military option to get to the airfield first. It was not exercised."

Clark said the decision to order the Pristina runways blocked was made "at levels above mine, in more than one government."

On Thursday, Shelton testified there was never a question in this case of risk to U.S. troops.

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