Duma Speaker-Yeltsin Orders Missiles Aimed At NATO

Reuters 4/9/99

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Interfax news agency quoted Russia's parliamentary speaker as saying Friday that President Boris Yeltsin had ordered the country's strategic missiles to be aimed at those states bombing Yugoslavia.

Gennady Seleznyov, a Communist who is speaker of the State Duma lower house, made his comments in an interview with Interfax. A spokesman for the Strategic Rocket Forces told Reuters he knew of no change to standing orders on the targeting of missiles. There was no immediate word from the Kremlin.

A Reuters correspondent listened to a tape recording of the Interfax interview. In it, Seleznyov was asked whether it was true Yeltsin had said at a meeting with the speaker he had ordered missiles targeted on those countries fighting Belgrade. Many of the 19 NATO member states have forces in action.

"Yes," Seleznyov replied. "In the direction of those countries which today are fighting Yugoslavia."

Asked whether that meant missiles were to be pointed against all NATO countries, he said: ``Those countries which are fighting. Not all (NATO states) are fighting."

The spokesman for the Strategic Rocket Forces noted that under a long-standing arrangement with the United States, Russia's missiles are not specifically targeted. Defense experts say it takes just seconds to target a missile, making any move of this kind largely symbolic.

-- tex (plot@thickens.com), April 09, 1999

Answers

Here's a link:

http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/01.html

-- sandi (sandihere@hotmail.com), April 09, 1999.

Oh, just wonderful, sounds like WWIII is on it's way... :(

-- Crono (Crono@timesend.com), April 09, 1999.

Yeah, I think we can all do without "largely symbolic" moves like retargeted nuclear warheads, eh?

Wasn't this the same "largely symbolic" move that was so important a few months ago when the CIA had to correct klintoon's announcement: "no American children have any nuclear missles aimed at them"....except for a few from China which the CIA reminded him of.

-- tex (hmmm@ranch.com), April 09, 1999.

"Yeltsin Talks Tough On Yugoslavia, Seeks Survival"

By Adam Tanner

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Boris Yeltsin came roaring back to political life Friday as an impeachment vote neared, saying he favored tough moves to oppose a NATO ground attack on Yugoslavia and possibly even a union with Yugoslavia.

In his most forceful and extensive public review of policy in more than half a year in which he has often been ill, Yeltsin also gave just lukewarm support to his Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and said a strengthening of the government was needed.

"In the present situation, at this time, Primakov is useful to us. We'll have to see what comes next," Yeltsin told a meeting of regional leaders. "It's another matter that we have to strengthen the government. That is still a question."

Yeltsin's wide-ranging remarks, televised at far more length than usual, came at a time Russia's opposition-dominated lower house of parliament was scheduled to debate impeaching the president on April 15.

The Communist speaker of the Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, who has just returned from Yugoslavia, said Yeltsin told him he supported Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's call to join the union of Russia and Belarus.

Seleznyov said Yeltsin telephoned the leader of Belarus in his presence and ordered the Foreign Ministry to prepare documents for a union with Yugoslavia. The Kremlin has not confirmed the remarks.

Seleznyov also said Yeltsin told him he had ordered a retargeting of Russia's nuclear missiles against NATO countries bombing Yugoslavia, but neither the Kremlin nor the Strategic Rocket Forces confirmed the order.

"They (NATO) want to bring in ground troops, they are preparing for that, they want simply to seize Yugoslavia to make it their protectorate...we cannot let that happen to Yugoslavia," Yeltsin told regional leaders later.

The Communist- and nationalist-dominated parliament has called for military support of Yugoslavia, a fellow Slav and Orthodox Christian nation. Friday they appeared to be moving in the direction of giving Yeltsin what he wanted and delaying the impeachment vote.

"It's a purely political decision," a Kremlin aide told Reuters, commenting on Yeltsin's declared support for a union with Yugoslavia. "As a political decision it is, of course, good because it delays the impeachment vote."

A vote for impeachment would likely have uncorked further potential instability for the fragile democracy. The Russian media and analysts are already speculating about what Yeltsin -- who has made unpredictability a trademark -- would do next if an impeachment vote goes forward.

Yeltsin met former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin Thursday, but denied Friday he was thinking about reinstating him. Yeltsin tried to reappoint Chernomyrdin in August but failed to win parliamentary backing and withdrew his candidacy in favor of Primakov as a compromise figure.

Some Russia media have also speculated Yeltsin may fire the two top Communist allies in government, First Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Maslyukov and Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Kulik.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), April 09, 1999.

Well,. . .Reuters isn't the National Inquirer. It will be interesting to see the follow ups to this story.

In the meantime--aside from Washington, D.C.--anyone know the primary target areas in the U.S.?

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), April 09, 1999.

Aiming the missles at NATO can, arguably be viewed as an idle threat. Re-aiming missles is easy, much like plugging video-tape into a VCR.

What surprises (and gives me doubts about survival) is the Russian military's mobilization (on NewsMax):

http://38.201 .154.103/articles/?a=1999/4/8/200449

I don't know how reliable NewsMax is, but if the above is true, I say we all just party-it-up now, and kiss our a$$es good-bye!

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), April 09, 1999.

At the moment, Russia is signalling Nato/U.S. publicly on where the limits lie on this operation (ie, no ground troops). If Klinton accedes, we can expect another 30 days of bombing until stocks run dangerously low and a "plan" is concocted to declare victory and "temporarily resettle" refugees in a score of countries.

IMO, it is in Russia's geopolitical interest to let Nato twist on this and watch our supplies diminish.

The other unknown is the real damage of the strikes to Serbia and whether Milosevic can actually wait them out and recover subsequently. Arms are not the problem, since Russia can resupply, but a ruined infrastructure is another question. But that plays both ways. You don't return 1.5M refugees or so into a country that can't support them anyway.

So, again, my final prediction:

.... another 30 days of bombing

.... severe compromise of Serbian infrastructure

.... resettlement of refugees indefinitely outside of Serbia

.... Klinton claims victory domestically but rest of world sees this as large U.S. defeat. Russia probably satisfied with this result, but we can also view this as the beginning of the second Cold War. If we're lucky.

Should Klinton introduce ground troops into Serbia, Russia will up the ante by moving nukes and placing its own troops in Serbia as a protective trip-wire.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), April 09, 1999.

On the other hand, perhaps the "Wag the Dog" scenario is an international tactic. Check out what's going on behind the scenes.

Yeltsin talks tough on Yugoslavia, seeks survival

By Adam Tanner

MOSCOW, April 9 (Reuters) - President Boris Yeltsin came roaring back to political life on Friday as an impeachment vote neared, saying he favoured tough moves to oppose a NATO ground attack on Yugoslavia and possibly even a union with Yugoslavia.

In his most forceful and extensive public review of policy in more than half a year in which he has often been ill, Yeltsin also gave just lukewarm support to his Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and said a strengthening of the government was needed. ``In the present situation, at this time, Primakov is useful to us. We'll have to see what comes next,'' Yeltsin told a meeting of regional leaders. ``It's another matter that we have to strengthen the government. That is still a question.''

Yeltsin's wide-ranging remarks, televised at far more length than usual, came at a time Russia's opposition-dominated lower house of parliament was scheduled to debate impeaching the president on April 15.

The Communist speaker of the Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, who has just returned from Yugoslavia, said Yeltsin told him he supported Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's call to join the union of Russia and Belarus.

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), April 09, 1999.

Hope you're right, BigDog, on the optimistic part of your forecast.

Its interesting that those of us interested/concerned about Y2K can't really help being interested in the Kosovo problem (rightly so). The point is : I wonder how many programmers/managers are really working on solving the problem diligently, or like me - a mere mortal, are they spending half their time thinking/listening to the latest developements - or at least distracted by it. "The war" is more important (in a way), but Y2K is so far on the back burner that the worst scenarios become more probable. Suppose the situation doesn't get better or worsens - less repairs done and more likelyhood of TEOTWAWKI (either by Russia or Y2K or both).

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), April 09, 1999.

Hey, FM, I once wrote an essay on cold war american targets. I live Syracuse, NY, which was # 163 or something. The missles also targeted NYC, Boston, LA, San Fransico, Dalas, Sacramento, ect... scary, isn't it!! :(

-- Crono (Crono@timesend.com), April 09, 1999.

Crono,

See my other link on this - appreciate your comments - BTW how does Denver fair???

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), April 09, 1999.

FM and Crono.

I'm in Buffalo and Syracuse is downwind of me. That's a relief. :-)

On the other hand, if they're not just pointed at major population centers, which would leave Buffalo out of it for sure, we still have major chemical plants, and what is probably the largest single source of electricity generation in the world, at Niagara Falls NY.

That's about 15 miles to the north. Hmmm...

Come to think about it... Aren't most of us in or within 15 miles of a target (and the fallout)? I'll stay with the y2k planning and preparations. It keeps my mind off the worrysome stuff.

Personally, I'd like to see the next year or so just disappear. I'm looking forward to happier days (daze?) on the other side. Can't be as crazy as now where we need wars to (re-)define the presidency instead of a well defined president leading *honest* wars.

The last good president was LBJ.

Me.

p.s. Carter may have been but never had a chance to prove himself. Even negotiating the relase of the embassy hostages was taken from him on his last days in office. (Is this a little OT?? IMHO, not at all.)

-- Floyd Baker (fbaker@wzrd.com), April 09, 1999.

Paul Davis: "What does this have to do with Y2K?"

Maria: "I don't see the connection to Y2K."

Flint: "There will be absolutely NO problem with the embeds in their missl....er, ah, uh-oh..."

Y2K Pro: "What does this have to do with Gary North being a Big Fat Idiot?"

Norm: "I think I have a pen up my nose."

Hoff: "ZZzzzzzzz. ZZzzzzzzzz..."

-- a (a@a.a), April 09, 1999.

FM -

figure that the missiles have mostly had minimal maintenance for the last several years...expect their accuracy to be compromised/irratic and their range decreased. Translation: best guess is that they will fall somewhat short of their intended targets, and some will simply miss their targets.

What that means is that in North America, the further you are from the coasts (sub launched missiles) and the further you are from the arctic circle (landbased missiles following transpolar trajectories), the better off you will be.

Does that help any?

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 09, 1999.

a (a@a.a)-

ROTFLOL

Arlin,

Yes, thanks, that helps

-- tex (rotflol@ranch.com), April 09, 1999.

Just saw a news bulletin from Yeltsin and the Russian government stating that this was absolutely false and no part of the story was true.

There are forces in Russia working in opposition to each other right now as shown in the TASS split personality of reporting one position in the light of day and another over night.

Something is up in Russia and it isn't a stable country. My fear is that they will suffer a civil war which would be far worse than anything seen in Yugoslavia.

Mike =============================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), April 09, 1999.

Re something Jon Johnson said: war IS a distraction to all, including geeks. Add to that the lessened sense of Y2K urgency inevitably generated by the lack of national gov/biz leadership. Do we really think Y2K wouldn't move faster re remediation/testing if there were a national urgency to it?

Duh ......

One more reason to prepare.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), April 09, 1999.

Arlin,

Yes that helps. It helps to confirm that my area is probably "dead meat" when it comes to nuclear tic-tac-toe. Let's hope it doesn't, and that George Will is correct when he implies that the "something up in Russia"--at least when it comes to Boris Yeltsin allegedly approving missiles being aimed at us--is the bottom of a bottle, and that during a sober decision making process, he and the rest of them will decide such actions are not in their best interest. One can only hope. . .

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), April 09, 1999.

There...they aren't aimed at us. I feel so much better now.

R.

U.S.: Russian missiles not retargeted at NATO

April 9, 1999 Web posted at: 10:58 a.m. EDT (1058 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- There is no evidence that Russia has retargeted its nuclear arsenal as part of its anger at NATO for airstrikes on Yugoslavia, sources in Washington and Moscow told CNN on Friday. The Russian government also officially denied the report.

The speaker of the Russian Duma (parliament), Gennady Seleznyov, raised concern when he said President Boris Yeltsin had ordered that Russian strategic missiles be aimed at NATO nations.

Russian Foreign Minister Ivan Ivanov said he was not aware of any such presidential directive.

"As far as the Foreign Ministry is aware, no orders regarding missiles have been issued," he told a Moscow news conference. "Russia will stand by all international commitments, including those regarding arms."

In Washington, a spokesman for the National Security Council said the U.S. Embassy in Moscow had relayed word that Russia's strategic missile forces had not received orders to change missile targeting.

"We hope and expect President Yeltsin will abide by his prior statements that Russia will not get militarily involved in this situation," said NSC spokesman Mike Hammer.

In Moscow, a spokesman for the Russian Strategic Nuclear Services Command also told CNN that such reports were false.

Yeltsin has said repeatedly that Russia will not be drawn into the Yugoslav conflict militarily.

In remarks on Friday, he made no mention of missiles but warned NATO not to send ground troops into Yugoslavia and "make it their protectorate," saying such a development could prompt a stronger response from Russia.

The 19-nation alliance demands that Milosevic accept terms of a U.S.-brokered peace accord, withdraw his military police and paramilitary forces and allow hundreds of thousands of ethnic Albanians to return to their homes in Kosovo province, accompanied by a NATO-led security force.

A draft of Clinton's statement, according to sources, says the United States and the allies will not be swayed by "half measures" or steps by Belgrade the allies say are designed to create "the illusion" of compliance.

Correspondents John King and Steve Harrigan contributed to this report.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), April 09, 1999.

This just gets more and more interesting...

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ts/story.html?s=v/nm/19990409/ts/ yugoslavia_151.html

Friday April 9 12:51 PM ET

Yeltsin Warns Of World War Danger On Kosovo

BELGRADE (Reuters) - President Boris Yeltsin got tough with the West Friday, warning NATO not to drag Russia into Kosovo because it could spark a European or even world war.

A flurry of high-level contacts were made between Washington and Moscow after Russia's Interfax news agency reported that Yeltsin had ordered strategic missiles to be aimed at NATO states bombing Yugoslavia.

The United States said it had been assured by Moscow that Russia would stay out of the Yugoslavia conflict and had not targeted NATO countries with nuclear weapons.

``We've been officially reassured at a high level that Russia will not be drawn into the conflict in the Balkans,'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said.

Although the Kremlin denied the missile reports, Yeltsin changed tack dramatically from the hitherto unconditional line that Russia would not be sucked into the Kosovo conflict.

``I told NATO, the Americans, the Germans, don't push us toward military action,'' he said in televised comments during a meeting with parliamentary speaker Gennady Seleznyov. ''Otherwise there will be a European war for sure and possibly world war.''

Seleznyov had also quoted the president, who is under pressure from a hostile parliament weighing his possible impeachment, as saying he supported Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's request to join the union of Russia and Belarus.

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was the first to break hours of strange silence on parliamentary speaker Gennady Seleznyov's announcement that President Boris Yeltsin had ordered the retargeting of nuclear missiles at NATO.

He denied that any new orders had been given to target NATO countries but fired a barrage of verbal missiles at the military alliance.

``If we assess the situation objectively, we clearly see that with every passing day the NATO operation is increasingly demonstrating its senselessness, both political and military,'' he said, adding that the West had forgotten its aim to resolve the Kosovo conflict.

Seleznyov, who visited Belgrade this week, told reporters in the State Duma that a three-way union between Yugoslavia, Belarus and Russia would mean more than just military assistance for Yugoslavia in its fight with NATO.

He said: ``I think that our army would be there too, that our navy would be in the appropriate seas.''

As NATO air strikes entered their 17th day, the U.N. refugee agency appeared to have solved the mystery of the 10,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees who went missing Wednesday. The UNHCR said they had been located in Macedonia and neighboring Albania.

Britain said more grim reports of atrocities by Yugoslav forces were emerging from Kosovo, including accounts of dead refugees' bodies being burned and buried by the truckload.

The defense chief of staff, General Sir Charles Guthrie, said that in one incident there was a mass killing of 35 people in one village. Another report spoke of four truckloads of bodies being buried and one truckload burned, he said.

On the ground in Yugoslavia, there was an admission from NATO that one of three bombs aimed at the main telephone exchange (PTT) in the center of the Kosovo capital Pristina struck a residential area. There was no word of any casualties.

NATO military spokesman David Wilby said the telephone exchange was a ``critical target'' because it was being used for communications between Serbian forces in the field in Kosovo and the Yugoslav capital Belgrade. He said NATO regretted any loss of civilian life.

NATO said its warplanes had destroyed several armored vehicles, a surface-to-air missile site and other Serb forces Thursday morning. But Wilby added that ``the weather has turned against us,'' affecting operations Thursday and Friday.

There had been a buildup of Serb forces in northern Kosovo and ``no evidence of withdrawal,'' he said. He did not elaborate.

After a 16th straight night of NATO bombing raids, the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug reported that 100 workers had been badly injured when six missiles hit a car and smalls arms factory in the central town of Kragujevac.

Workers at the plant, Serbia's biggest employer, had earlier organized a human shield to deter NATO bombing.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook declared that Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic was feeling the heat and ``looking for a way out'' and signaled that NATO expected a new cease-fire offer from Belgrade this weekend.

Cook said the only offer NATO would consider would be a complete capitulation by Milosevic to the alliance's demands for an end to ``ethnic cleansing'' in the rebel Yugoslav province of Kosovo and a return of refugees in safety to their homes.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Yugoslavia to stop all action by military and paramilitary forces in Kosovo and withdraw them from the Serbian province.

The call formed part of a five-point program of commitments to be presented to Belgrade to bring an end to what Annan, in a statement read to reporters in Geneva, called the ``tragedy taking place in and around Kosovo.''

Earlier, Cook said NATO was sending 8,000 ground troops to Albania to deal with the worsening refugee crisis in the Balkans but added that an invasion of Kosovo is ``not going to happen.''

UNHCR spokeswoman Paula Ghedini told reporters at a refugee camp near the Macedonian capital Skopje that the refugees bussed away from a makeshift camp near the Blace border crossing with Yugoslavia had been located.

Ghedini said the UNHCR was still looking for their exact location but believed they were in refugee camps in Macedonia and Albania. ``It's just a matter of finding them. There are 320,000 refugees in Albania; it's just a needle in a haystack.''

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said she feared for the fate of ethnic Albanians prevented by Yugoslav forces from fleeing the southern Serbian province and admitted her body could do nothing to help them.

Ogata said U.N. workers could not return to Kosovo for security reasons. ``I am helpless there,'' she said.

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 09, 1999.

Interesting, indeed. Notable quote:

'Earlier, Cook said NATO was sending 8,000 ground troops to Albania to deal with the worsening refugee crisis in the Balkans but added that an invasion of Kosovo is ``not going to happen.'' '

Hmmm. . .if you give a mouse a cookie. . .

It will be most interesting to see what TASS reports tonight, and the Kremlin discounts tomorrow.

AND, with former President Ford and former Senator Robert Dole both saying ground troops are necessary. . .

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), April 09, 1999.

Which brings up another interesting question: has anyone seen any strategic wargaming studies of a Russian civil war? I'd be interested to see any pointers in that direction.

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 09, 1999.

Arlin,

'Don't know about civil wargames, but am posting this to refresh everyone's memory as this "plot thickens."

(And I've been wondering why I've had difficulty sleeping lately? Sheesh. . .)

Chronology of key events since NATO campaign began

LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - Key events since NATO began military action against Yugoslavia:

March 24

NATO begins hitting Yugoslav military targets with cruise missiles and bombs.

Russia suspends cooperation with NATO.

March 25

Belgrade says 40 targets hit in first night's raids. Serbia orders journalists from NATO countries to leave. Yugoslavia breaks off diplomatic relations with United States, France, Germany and Britain.

March 26

NATO bombs Yugoslavia by day for the first time. OSCE office in Tirana reports burning of Kosovo villages. NATO shoots down two MiG fighter jets in northeast Bosnia.

March 27

About 20,000 ethnic Albanian refugees pour into Albania. U.S. rejects pleas to send in ground troops. A U.S. F-117 stealth bomber crashes near Belgrade. The pilot is rescued.

March 28

U.S. President Bill Clinton says Serbs are committing ``inhumane violence.'' Britain says Serbs are ``intent on genocide'' Gun battle between police and gunmen in front of the U.S. embassy in Moscow.

March 29

NATO says its air power is racing to cripple Yugoslav forces before they clear Kosovo of ethnic Albanians.

March 30

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic holds talks with Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, offers to withdraw some forces from Kosovo if NATO halts air strikes. The United States, Britain and Germany reject the offer. NATO widens the list of bombing targets to include sites in downtown Belgrade and more points in Kosovo.

March 31

Three U.S. soldiers disappear after calling for help near Macedonia's border with Kosovo. U.N. refugee agency UNHCR says 125,000 have fled Kosovo since bombing began. NATO says Belgrade destroyed records and archives on ethnic Albanians' rights and property in Kosovo.

April 1

Missing U.S. soldiers shown on TV as battered prisoners. Serbian television shows Kosovo Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova meeting Milosevic and, according to Yugoslav media, calling for a peaceful solution.

April 2

Albania and Macedonia say they are overwhelmed by influx of Kosovo refugees.

April 3

NATO missiles destroy two interior ministry buildings in central Belgrade.

April 4

Macedonia agrees to setting up on its territory of an internationally run sanctuary for up to 100,000 refugees. EU and some other countries agree to take Kosovo refugees temporarily. Serbia says three captured U.S. soldiers will not be put on trial and will be freed when the NATO bombing ends.

April 5

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan accuses Serb forces of ``shocking violations of human rights.'' Hundreds of Kosovo refugees land in western Turkey, the first of a planned airlift across Europe and United States.

April 6

NATO says its aircraft carry out the most intensive night of strikes yet. It says a missile may have missed its target in Aleksinac, where Serbian media say five civilians were killed. Yugoslavia declares a unilateral Kosovo ceasefire and says refugees will be welcomed back. The West dismisses the move. UNHCR says 430,000 ethnic Albanians have fled Kosovo and only 500,000 to 600,000 might be left of an original ethnic Albanian population of some 1.7 million. The Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas' news agency, Kosovapress, publishes the names of 178 Kosovo Albanians it says have been executed by Yugoslav firing squads.

April 7

French Jaguar and Super-Etendard aircraft carry out new low-level strikes and NATO says it made its first major breakthrough against Serb armoured concentrations. Russian President Yeltsin sends messages with proposals to several foreign leaders to try to end the conflict. Yugoslavia closes the Morina border crossing between Kosovo and Albania and says it is safe for refugees to return home.

April 8

Speaker of the Russian Duma Gennady Seleznev says Milosevic and ethnic Albanian leader Ibrahim Rugova have agreed to draw up a plan for an interim government in Kosovo. Pentagon says intensified NATO raids are ``seriously disrupting'' Belgrade's ability to supply its troops in Kosovo. NATO political and military officials clash over whether the alliance plans to knock out Serbian television as part of air strikes against Yugoslavia.

April 9

NATO warplanes hit targets in eastern Belgrade. Milosevic says he wants Yugoslavia to join the political union that links Russia and Belarus; Russia's parliamentary speaker says Russian troops would be stationed in Yugoslavia if the political union went ahead. Yugoslav media says NATO missiles hit fuel depots of the state-owned Jugopetrol oil firm in the Serbian town Smederevo. The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR says that 10,000 ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo not accounted for earlier have been located in Macedonia and neighbouring Albania. OSCE officials say Serbian forces and Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas exchange machinegun fire on the Yugoslav- Albanian border. NATO formally denies a British newspaper report that France had been excluded from some of the alliance's military planning on Yugoslavia. Russia's parliamentary speaker says the country's strategic missiles have been retargeted at those states bombing Yugoslavia; Kremlin later denies it. More than 100 workers are badly injured at a factory in Kragujevac that makes cars and small arms when NATO bombs hit the plant in the early hours. U.S. Army confirms it has started to deploy a task force in Albania of Apache attack helicopters and more than 2,000 troops that will join NATO air attacks on Yugoslavia. Boris Yeltsin tells NATO not to push Russia into the Yugoslav conflict because it could spark a European or even world war. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan puts forward a five-point programme of commitments he wants Belgrade to undertake in order to end the Kosovo crisis. NATO admits that a stray bomb missed its target earlier in the week and hit a residential area of Pristina. Talks between Slobodan Milosevic and Cypriot envoy Spyros Kyprianou end without any deal on the release of three captured U.S. soldiers, Kyprianou says.

13:49 04-09-99

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), April 09, 1999.

I hear the Kremlin has been ordering a lot of late night pizza...

-- a (a@a.a), April 09, 1999.

Diane, "Another interesting piece of the puzzle."

a, I see you've added some info on this thread. Your quote for Paul's question and my comment are still valid. Wag the dog has more relevance than Y2K to this topic.

-- Maria (anon@ymous.com), April 09, 1999.

Almost no one believed me when I said last fall that Clinton would destroy this nation single-handedly.

They called me nuts, crazy, doombrooder, Clinton-hater, Right-wing nazi and so forth.

They said that notion was ridiculous.

Doesn't look that way now...does it?

I told you so.

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), April 09, 1999.

Back to the "If you give a mouse a cookie, he'll want a piece of cheese" analogy, I watched a portion of the Pentagon briefing this afternoon and took a mental note of the fact that alleged atrocities against women in a Serbian training camp were mentioned at the top of the briefing.

The camp is located RIGHT INSIDE THE WESTERN KOSOVO BORDER.

We'll see. . .

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), April 09, 1999.

"AND, with former President Ford and former Senator Robert Dole both saying ground troops are necessary. . ."

Don't forget the ever ghostly Kissinger also sticking his oar in too - funny he has a book just published - the game is afoot.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), April 09, 1999.

INVAR - billy jeff has not yet 'single-handedly destroyed the country', nor will he. He may, however start another major regional war in europe...

FM - not only is it a great book, but IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE is also a very apt analogy for the present situation.

Interestingly I have so far been able to find no one who has actually wargamed through the possibilities of a civil war in Russia...

Arlin

-- Arlin H. Adams (ahadams@ix.netcom.com), April 09, 1999.