(18 Feb 1999) English/Nat
With less than 48 hours to go before a deadline on peace talks on Kosovo, the United States is gearing up for possible NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia.
The U-S Defence Secretary, William Cohen on Thursday announced he would be sending an additional 51 warplanes to an already powerful attack force in Europe.
The deployment is aimed at pressuring Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic into approving a self-rule plan for Kosovo and to accept NATO soldiers as a peacekeeping force.
More American warplanes are on their way to Europe.
The Pentagon announced on Thursday that Defence Secretary William Cohen had signed a deployment order, adding 51 aircraft to those already stationed in Europe.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"They will join other aircraft, land-based and also aircraft that are embarked in the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise that are already over there. This action is a readiness action, readiness for U.S. forces to support any NATO decision that would be triggered by a failure of the talks in France."
SUPER CAPTION: Mike Doubleday, Pentagon Spokesman
NATO has threatened airstrikes against the Serbs if they don't agree to autonomy for Kosovo.
The Pentagon says it's focusing on an alternative path - determining which U-S troops would be part of a NATO peacekeeping force.
That's if peace talks currently taking place in France prove successful.
But it knows that this deployment will put added pressure on Yugoslav President to adopt a peace plan for Kosovo.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I think everyone is certainly hoping that the participants in those talks will choose the path of peace, and that there will not be a requirement to use military force. But we here in the United States believe that the deployment was necessary as a cautionary and prudent measure so that we would have the capabilities in the European theatre in the event NATO determines that it is necessary to take some action in the aftermath of failure."
SUPER CAPTION: Mike Doubleday, Pentagon Spokesman
Mike Doubleday said the latest addition to the strike force wouldn't be fully in place until sometime next week. But he warned that it didn't mean NATO won't act before then.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The movement of these aircraft certainly adds to the capability and brings additional forces closer to the theatre, but that is not to say that action could not be taken in their absence."
SUPER CAPTION: Mike Doubleday, Pentagon Spokesman
As a precautionary measure, the State Department is making plans for the possible evacuation of U-S embassies in the region.
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