William F. Smith: “in Kosovo, the United States is bearing most of the burden in a region of the world where there are no American security…”

“in Kosovo, the United States is bearing most of the burden in a region of the world where there are no American security interests at stake. Our pilots and planes account for at least 80 percent of the air strikes against Yugoslavia. And our taxpayers are picking up the bill for most of the costs of the war. Yet our NATO allies in Europe have almost twice as many men and women in uniform as we do. The U.S. cannot always be the supercop patrolling the world. Our NATO allies should do more, and America less. Unlike Iraq, which attacked other countries and where our national security was at risk because of Iraq's control of our oil supply, Kosovo has no similar claims to American intervention. America may have a humanitarian responsibility to help bring stability to the region, but we have no obligation to carry the heaviest load. Our NATO allies have more reason to intervene and are capable of doing so. They should shoulder more of the burden. After five weeks of bombing, we now know that our stated goals in Kosovo have turned to ashes. Our hostile actions against Yugoslavia, we were told by the Administration, would stop the exodus of refugees and bring the surrender of Yugoslavia within days. The Administration has failed in its mission. Our actions likely have made the situation worse. A realistic solution is to seek a negotiated settlement that protects the rights of Kosovars to remain safely in their homeland.”