Negotiating the tightrope in Kosovo

Along with the Vatican's chief diplomat, we have some serious questions for the United States and the other nations that spent more than two months bombing Kosovo. The questions concern what went on -- and what is going to happen in the future.

Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, the Vatican's foreign minister, summed up the questions in a recent magazine interview in Rome:

* Why was the United Nations put off to the side while NATO led the bombing campaign? "At stake is the credibility of the U.N., the only so-called `super-national' institution that remains a point of reference for everyone in preventing and resolving conflicts," Archbishop Tauran said. He added that the final Kosovo peace plans must permit the U.N. to exercise leadership in pacifying the region rather than allowing the U.S. to dictate the terms of the process.

* Why was the campaign undertaken without more protection for innocent civilians? "The Holy See was perplexed over the methods chosen" in the Kosovo campaign, the archbishop said. The Vatican wondered how much protection was being offered to threatened civilians and if protecting the minority in Kosovo really required destroying Serbia.

* Will the U.S. and NATO forces be able to walk the wire-thin tightrope between competing forces as they attempt to rebuild what they just destroyed? The victors must protect "not only the Albanian population, but also the Serbs in Kosovo," Archbishop Tauran said. "After the atrocities which have been committed, one cannot undervalue the desire for vengeance, nor the dream of many refugees for a `greater Albania.'"

* How closely can NATO ally itself with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) now that that group has been accused of atrocities and assassinations of its own? The peacekeepers not only must prevent violence, the archbishop said, but also must help Serbs and Albanians learn to trust one another. Can that be done if NATO is seen as being tied to the KLA?

The mess in Kosovo that predated the bombing was made worse by the campaign. Whether it is now cleaned up or exacerbated will depend on how these questions are answered.

(07-01-99)

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