Plan for U.S. peacekeepers meets with skepticism

Cohen foresees a 3- to 5-year commitment

February 3, 1999

Web posted at: 10:47 p.m. EST (0347 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Clinton administration encountered congressional skepticism Wednesday as it outlined a peace plan for Kosovo that could commit American troops to the volatile region for three to five years.

In testimony at a Senate hearing, and in private briefings with lawmakers, President Clinton's national security team sought to prepare Congress for the possibility of another U.S. ground commitment in the Balkans, of as many as 4,000 troops. U.S. troops have been in Bosnia for the past three years.

Some U.S. ground presence could be crucial to any peace accord because Kosovo's Albanians "would not feel confident of having a NATO force that doesn't have some representation by the United States," Defense Secretary William Cohen told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Cohen foresees a 3- to 5-year commitment

"They feel that we, in fact, by participating in some measure on the ground, would give them the confidence they would not be attacked by Serb forces," said Cohen, who predicted a three- to five-year stay if troops are introduced.

Key elements of the draft U.S. peace plan for Kosovo Overall NATO presence : 20,000 to 30,000 troops U.S. contingent : 2,000 to 4,000 troops Length of peacekeeping mission : 3 to 5 years Serb security personnel : 4,000, down from the current 25,000 Serb authority : limited eventually to that of a border patrol Kosovo authority : would be given significant autonomy The next step : Kosovo's status would be reviewed after 3 years The Associated Press

Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Henry Shelton told the committee he envisioned an overall presence of 20,000 to 30,000 NATO-led troops to enforce the U.S.-sponsored peace plan that the opposing sides in Kosovo are expected to consider this weekend.

"Our numbers could be very low, down maybe possibly as low as 2,000 to 4,000," Shelton said. "And I would see that being the maximum number that we would be asked to contribute, even if they decided to go in with 30,000."

Cohen emphasized that any agreement leading to U.S. troops in Kosovo would have to be accepted by all the rival factions, including a commitment on the part of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and the Serbs. "There must be a real agreement," Cohen said.

The administration also pledged to provide a series of "benchmarks" to be used as a basis for extricating U.S. troops once they are introduced, congressional and administration sources said.

Concerns about cost, length of mission

However, the administration had its work cut out for it in lobbying a Congress weary of the long entanglement in Bosnia and concerned about a decline in military readiness.

"As we have seen in Bosnia, we have been there for more than three years, and it wasn't just one deadline lapse -- it was three," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. "We are now running up to $20 billion and going. And I don't think anybody really knows exactly when the end point will come."

Sen. John Warner, R-Virginia, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said the administration had wide support in Congress for airstrikes, if necessary, to force both sides to the bargaining table. But Warner, who has advocated a U.S. ground presence for some time, said the administration would have to make a persuasive case for U.S. peacekeepers if a peace plan is put in place.

Draft plan would sharply reduce Serb presence

A draft of the peace plan shown to lawmakers would reduce the number of Serbian troops in the province from the current 25,000 to about 4,000, according to administration and congressional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The plan would grant the province significant powers of self- government while limiting the future Serbian presence mainly to a border patrol.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who heads the Senate subcommittee on foreign operations, said he and other senators oppose sending U.S. troops without a complete withdrawal of all Serb police, security, army and paramilitary forces from Kosovo.

At the State Department, spokesman James Rubin defended some continued Serb military presence in the province. "The fact of the matter is that Kosovo is part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia," he said. "The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is a country, Kosovo is not.

"People might want to wish away the existence of Serbs," Rubin added. "But there are Serbs there. And there have been provocations on both sides in Kosovo."

Kosovo's ethnic Albanian rebels have agreed to participate in weekend peace talks demanded by the United States and NATO allies as pressure increases on Serbia's hard-line government to join the talks. NATO has threatened airstrikes if Serbia and the rebels aren't talking by Saturday and closing a peace deal by February 19 under talks organized by the United States and five European powers.

Albright speech to stress U.S. national interest

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger joined Cohen and Shelton to give a private briefing to senators on the situation.

Later, Albright made a hastily arranged decision to deliver a major policy address on Kosovo to a foreign policy group on Thursday.

A senior official, asking not to be identified, said Albright planned to explain why Kosovo was important to the national interest. The official declined to say whether Albright planned any major disclosures in the speech.

Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre, CNN National Security Producer Chris Plante and Reuters contributed to this report.