Kosovo: One Year Later
The NATO bombing campaign of Serbia, which began one year ago, lasted 78 days.
By the time NATO's troops (KFOR) made their way into a Kosovo free of Serb military forces, hundreds of thousands of refugees needed food and shelter.
Kosovo, a province of Serbia, was a shambles.
One year later, "it's a lot better off than we had a right to expect," says U. S. Ambassador David Johnson in a telephone interview with CBS News.
Johnson is America's envoy to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has responsibility in Kosovo for training a local police force, conducting fair elections and regulating the media.
After a recent trip to Kosovo, Asst. Secretary of State James P. Rubin said the main objectives of the air campaign were accomplished: the Serb military was driven out, NATO forces came in and the refugees were able to return to their villages.
Taking stock of what's been accomplished over the winter, Rubin told an audience at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington that housing was provided for 400,000 refugees, 600,000 refugees were fed, one thousand schools were re-opened and, according to Rubin, 90 percent of Kosovo's kids are studying in their own language for the first time.
As for the KLA—the Kosovo Liberation Army—which fought the far better armed Serb army, Rubin said they kept their agreement to disband and disarm. The KLA handed over 8,000 weapons to KFOR and had another 4,000 confiscated.
"Never before," said Rubin, "had the victorious army given up its weapons."
Christopher Hill, a senior U. S. diplomat with the National Security Council who traveled with Rubin, said conditions in Kosovo today are still "difficult."
A lot of homes are without electricity, but they've "gotten through a tough winter."
But plenty of problems remain. Rubin and Hill were sent to Kosovo by Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to talk to Kosovo-Albanian leaders, some of whom were in favor of resorting to ethnic violence against the Serb minority in Kosovo.
"We delivered a stiff message," said Rubin of his talks with Kosovar leaders, letting them know the U.S. and its allies were not happy about renewed guerilla actions.
Problems are everywhere. There are crime problems, garbage problems. "We've got a lot of work to do," says Christopher Hill.
One focus of attention for the OSCE is to plan for elections for municipal assemblies, expected in the fall. This would allow Kosovo to be run from within Kosovo, not from Belgrade, where Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosovic—now an indicted war criminal—still is in power.
Another concern is training more local police. Amb. Johnson says about 500 locals have been trained o far. He expects another 2,000-3,000 trained by the end of this year.
"This is going to be a long and difficult path," according to Johnson. The U. S. will need "patience" to stay with it.
By CHARLES WOLFSON