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NATO forces ready in Mediterranean if Kosovo strike called
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| USS Eisenhower | |
Web posted at: 9:29 p.m. EDT (0129 GMT)
BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- If the decision is made to launch a military intervention in Yugoslavia over the Kosovo crisis, NATO naval forces currently on exercise in the Mediterranean could play a key role.
The U.S. Sixth Fleet, with the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower and its wing of 48 strike fighters plus a fearsome, missile-armed battle group, could throw the lead punch in any strike against Yugoslavia.
NATO Commander Rear Adm. Scott Fry, speaking to CNN aboard the USS Eisenhower, would not comment on possible involvement in a first strike. But he said that the firepower that could be provided by the battle group would be significant.
The Eisenhower is on a training exercise in the eastern Mediterranean with forces from 11 NATO members, an exercise that had been planned well before the current Kosovo crisis escalated.
The U.S. Navy vessel is accompanied by five ships, including guided-missile cruisers and destroyers, plus two attack submarines.
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The vessels are capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles, for which Yugoslavia's forces have no match.
If NATO allies decide on military intervention in the Kosovo crisis, an armada of F-18 fighter bombers, F-14s, F-16 fighters, Tornadoes, Mirages, Jaguars, Harriers, AWACs and airborne tankers would be ready to join the action or provide follow-up strikes.
They could fly from seaborne carriers and allied and U.S. bases in Italy, mainly Villafranca and the big base at Aviano, where the U.S. Air Force has some 40 F-16s.
NATO will not say how many planes it has earmarked for the campaign. "It's in the hundreds," said a senior NATO military official.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen said Tuesday he opposed using U.S. ground troops as part of any international force that might be used to implement an eventual peace settlement in Kosovo.
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| Two squadrons of F16s are ready at the Aviano Air Base | |
Asked at a congressional hearing whether such a force would include American troops, he said: "It's a possibility, but ... I have urged that we not get involved in the ground on Kosovo."
Cohen also said that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic must allow the nongovernmental organizations to provide humanitarian relief to those who have been displaced.
"He has to allow for the return of the displaced persons back to their homes and to their neighborhoods," Cohen added.
Also on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden said that he was drafting a resolution supporting military action against Milosevic's forces.
Although Biden stressed that the measure had not yet been introduced, he said he was confident that it would win approval.
Kosovo Prime Minister Bujar Bukoshi said he welcomed Biden's resolution, as an indication that the United States has decided it is "high time to finally stop Milosevic."
Bukoshi is in Washington lobbying for strong U.S. action to stop the massacre of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, attributed to troops controlled by Milosevic.
Correspondent Mike Hanna and Reuters contributed to this report.
