Unpublished
From Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061122.wmackenzie22/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
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"The bombing of an ally of two world wars by NATO was a disgraceful abuse of power."
Globe and Mail
Letter to the editor(s)
24 November 2006
In his 22 November 2006 article, "Go big, go bold, and get it done," retired Major General Lewis MacKenzie made a convincing case for increased support by NATO nations for the mission in Afghanistan. He contrasted the lack of significant support by some NATO members to the unity shown in the NATO operation in Bosnia/Kosovo. However, because his focus was clearly on the Afghanistan mission, he did not elaborated on why, in 1999, he "was an outspoken critic of NATO's ill-conceived bombing campaign against Serbia/Kosovo." Basically, NATO military operations in Afghanistan met the requirement of Article 5 of the NATO Charter; Bosnia/Kosovo did not.
The 19-member nations which comprise 900 million members, bombed tiny Yugoslavia, with a population of 10 million in violation of the NATO Charter. In the event that anyone doesn't remember, NATO was the agreement between member nations that should one nation be threatened or attacked by the Soviet Union, the other nations would go to their defense. I know of no NATO nation, nor any nation that Yugoslavia attacked, or even threatened.
With the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO needed a new mission, and what better mission than the Serbs of Yugoslavia? Instead of NATO's mission for defense, it assumed the mantra of an offensive force by unjustly bombing a sovereign nation back to the stone age.
The bombing of an ally of two world wars by NATO was a disgraceful abuse of power.
Colonel George Jatras, USAF (Ret)
USA
