<< The "innocent*-American-servicemen-taken-prisoner" ploy is working much better, and getting faster results, than the four conflicting "human angle" stories spun by George Bush for mass-media delivery that "justified" the US invasion of Panama.. Was "Saving Private Ryan" (from Spielberg?) another media project to "prime" us? __________ * The Pentagon is "investigating" exactly WHERE they were when captured -- leading us to believe they may have "innocently" strayed into KOSOVO, Serb territory -- while silent about the fact that their position was SATELLITE-MONITORED, hence KNOWN. Oh well, maybe the truth will come out at trial in "state-controlled-media" Serbia .. >> ``It is incomprehensible to me that the U.S. military would send a three-man patrol near the borders of Serbia,'' Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., ``It was a virtual INVITATION.'' John Warner, R-Va of the Armed Services Committee., told reporters ``we [knew] Serbia would like to seize a NATO serviceman. And that's precisely what happened.'' How conveeeeeenient ... Clinton Kosovo Policy Criticized By LAURIE KELLMAN .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Clinton administration's Kosovo policy is under attack from Capitol Hill with one key Senate ally accusing the White House of issuing Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic a ``virtual invitation'' to capture American soldiers. The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and other Republicans joined in, while other lawmakers cautioned that critics should give the U.S.-led NATO mission more time. Some of the harshest political fire directed at the administration came from a member of President Clinton's own party. ``It is incomprehensible to me that the U.S. military would send a three-man patrol near the borders of Serbia,'' Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., said in a telephone interview. ``It was a virtual invitation.'' ``There's a very worthwhile humanitarian objective, but it was always a triumph of hope over reality that a limited bombing campaign would ever break the will of the Serbian military,'' he added. ``It was never a very realistic plan.'' Meanwhile, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., told reporters that the downing last week of a now-rescued American pilot shows ``we were on full notice that Serbia would like to seize a ... NATO service person. And that's precisely what happened.'' But at a briefing earlier Thursday, Warner said he also learned of ``positive signs that this air campaign is causing problems for Milosevic's deployed troops conducting ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.'' They include reports that military vehicles were running short on fuel and that Yugoslav troops were running out of food and ammunition. Rep. Lane Evans, D-Ill., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, cautioned critics to ``stand tough.'' ``When we're engaged in hostilities, it's no time to question the president,'' Evans said. Some Republicans issued more tempered statements. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., for example, virtually repeated words Clinton used earlier in the day in Norfolk, Va. ``Mr. Milosevic should make no mistake: He will be held accountable for any harm done to these American servicemen and must guarantee their safe return,'' Lott said. Meanwhile, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., who traveled with Clinton Thursday to Norfolk, said in a telephone interview that Americans should understand that airstrikes were planned to last ``many, many weeks. We're at the beginning of the campaign, not at the middle and not near the end. We can't judge the success of that campaign ... until the campaign is completed.'' And House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., urged the administration to ``keep up its efforts to stop the violence against the Kosovar people.'' But the criticism kept coming. ``The policy is not working, it's counterproductive. It's like putting gasoline on a fire,'' said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., another member of the Armed Service Committee. ``We don't have anything to negotiate with. We are in a pickle.'' Torricelli, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, is a frequent Clinton ally. But he said doubts about the mission have festered among Senate Democrats for weeks and that the Senate's 58-41 vote last week in support of the airstrikes did not accurately reflect members' sentiments. ``I'm concerned about the quality of the diplomatic and military advice that President Clinton is receiving. I don't believe this mission was properly defined or executed,'' Torricelli said, adding that he voiced those sentiments to national security adviser Sandy Berger the day of the vote.
