BALKANS WAR: DIPLOMATIC FRONT
Albania ready for frontline role, writes Michael Evans in Tirana Invasion force assembles near the border
THE sense of unreality about the war between Nato and President Milosevic is no more dramatically in evidence than at Tirana airport, which used to be a small-town airfield capable of taking eight flights a day but which in a few weeks will become an international base for America's biggest military transport aircraft.
Despite the determination of the alliance not to mention "ground troops", preparations in Albania alone give the impression that something is up.
Underlining the efforts now under way to convert Albania into a launching pad for a substantial military operation, the Government in Tirana is being visited almost daily by representatives from the alliance, seeking support for the plans being laid to take Nato's campaign towards a more dangerous phase.
Last Friday it was the turn of George Robertson, the Defence Secretary, who went to see the Albanian President, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister. Mr Robertson made it clear that Nato was not planning a land invasion of Kosovo from Albania or any other country neighbouring Yugoslavia, although Albania could be used as a launch pad for a helicopter-borne assault force. It is clear, despite statements to the contrary from Nato governments, that this is precisely what is being considered.
This extensive build-up was given a further boost with confirmation yesterday from the Ministry of Defence that the Royal Navy's latest warship, the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, with nearly 1,000 Royal Marine commandos on board, has also been diverted from a training exercise in the Western Atlantic as "a prudent contingency measure".
The Ocean, which is also carrying a detachment from the Special Boat Service and 12 helicopters, is part of a Commando task group that includes the amphibious assault ship HMS Fearless, the destroyer HMS Edinburgh and three Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.The MoD was anxious to avoid the impression that the decision to divert this marine force was connected to the Kosovo crisis. But that only helped to increase the sense of unreality about what Nato is currently doing.
The decision to move the Ocean, with its commando assault group, nearer to the region was unquestionably Kosovo-related, providing General Wesley Clark, Nato's Supreme Allied Commander, with another potent ingredient for his ground troop contingency planning.