American Jewish Committee Suppports NATO Action Against Yugolsav Military

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 24 March 1999

The American Jewish Committee today supported NATO action against Yugoslav military targets as a "necessary step to arrest the violence directed by Belgrade against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo."

Following is the statement issued by AJC President Bruce M. Ramer and Executive Director David A. Harris:

"The American Jewish Committee regrets that diplomacy failed to stop the continuing brutal violation of the human rights of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. The best solution to the tragedy of Kosovo lay in the international negotiations abandoned last week by Yugoslavia, and until yesterday it was still conceivable that U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke would convince President Milosevic to halt his army's campaign against the Kosovars and return to the bargaining table.

"But diplomacy without credible military backing has never been persuasive for Milosevic, who brutalized Bosnia before air strikes brought him to a settlement at Dayton, and who dithered in the talks on Kosovo for months, while civilians were massacred, villages destroyed, and hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes. The fruitless end of the latest Holbrooke mission could only have one result - the NATO decision to commence air strikes on Yugoslav military targets.

"The NATO action, led by American forces, is not without peril or cost. It may jeopardize civilians in Kosovo and throughout Serbia, and it places at risk the brave crewmen who will conduct the strikes. This is a grave undertaking. But given the high cost of inaction - in human misery and continued instability in Southeastern Europe - it is unavoidable. The military operation endorsed by President Clinton and ordered by NATO is a necessary step to arrest the violence directed by Belgrade against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, and it has our support."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org