George Voinovich: “the NATO KFOR troops are in Kosovo to provide a secure environment for all citizens while civic institutions develop.…”

“the NATO KFOR troops are in Kosovo to provide a secure environment for all citizens while civic institutions develop. The UNMIK structure, which I will address momentarily, has been charged with this civic development--this nation building. One of the key elements in this process is the establishment of a functional judicial system, including a functional police force. It is hoped that once properly trained, this police force will eventually take the responsibility for domestic law enforcement from the KFOR troops. The international community has promised to supply 4,433 police for this UN force in Kosovo. Our European friends have committed the bulk of this total. However, only 2,359 police are in place in Kosovo. This is appalling. As a rule, our European allies have national police systems rather than state or provincial police forces like we do in the U.S. This matters because it gives the national governments--governments that have promised to put their police in Kosovo to serve in the UN body-- the ability to simply direct redeployments to meet their commitments. This lack of will and action is truly appalling. To provide context, I think it is important to note that we have had to recruit the American men and women serving with the UN in Kosovo from our state and local police departments. The best information I have shows that we have put 481 people, out of our total commitment of 550, in place in Kosovo.”