Clinton ordering up 90k troops?

[Chris Burford]

At 01:03 27/05/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Times (London) - May 27 1999
> 
>Clinton to order 90,000 troops to Kosovo
>BY MICHAEL EVANS, DEFENCE EDITOR
>
>PRESIDENT CLINTON is now ready to consider a full-scale land war against
>Serb forces in Kosovo, sending up to 90,000 combat troops from America, if
>no peace settlement emerges within the next three weeks.
>
>Although Nato is only officially planning for a peace implementation force
>of 50,000-60,000 troops, there is a growing feeling in Washington and
>London that the alliance must prepare itself for a much bigger operation,
>involving 150,000-160,000 troops.
>
>Mr Clinton's dramatic conversion, after weeks of apparent reluctance to
>send in ground troops, has emerged in the light of detailed briefings from
>General Wesley Clark, the Supreme Allied Commander, last week.

I do not welcome this, because I want a European solution as much as
possible separate from the USA.

The Times report looks pretty authoritative but perhaps it may only show
that sections of the British government have been briefing the press more
successfully than the Clinton administration, and are one step ahead of the
game of softening up public opinion.

The Blair government has been consciously constrained thoughout by the need
to manage public opinion with almost candid cynicism. 

Blair's belief that he can charm everyone also means that although he is
genuinely more of a European than Hague, he will be unable to detach
Britain from the Atlantic alliance.

Chris Burford

London