-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.aci.net/kalliste/ <A HREF="http://www.aci.net/kalliste/">The Home Page of J. Orlin Grabbe</A> ----- <<"In some ways this is a tabloid government and it tried to fight a tabloid war," said a senior naval officer. "They were swayed by their own rhetoric, believed in surgical strikes and an easy capitulation, and did not sufficiently consider the practicalities.">> Om K ----- Der Fuhrer Invades Yugoslavia Oil Blockade Could Lead to War with Russia Montenegro is also alarmed TENSION mounted between Russia and the West last night after Moscow's special envoy to Yugoslavia condemned Nato plans for an oil embargo on Serbia. Viktor Chernomyrdin said that the naval blockade proposed by Nato on Friday was "bad" and could drag Russia into the conflict. As one of the main oil-exporting countries to Yugoslavia, he made clear Russia intended to carry on trading and was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying: "The problem in Kosovo can neither be solved by bombing nor by a blockade. Russia should not be dragged into the conflict in the Balkans. If we do not find common ground at the negotiating table, we could be dragged into a third world war." Before the air war in Kosovo, Russia supplied about 12,000 barrels of oil a day to Yugoslavia, and commentators fear that the Kremlin could use its navy to support its merchant ships. Nato plans for a sea blockade follow earlier moves by the European Union to step up the oil embargo, but fall short of the all-out blockade wanted by senior generals because of French objections to the move. As a result, it remains unclear what will happen if a ship presses on with its cargo in defiance of Nato vessels. Nato leaders are unhappy that pilots are being put in danger by flying missions to destroy oil refineries and storage facilities while supplies are being replenished by sea. Jamie Shea, the Nato spokesman, said last night that it was now believed that the Serbs were siphoning petrol from abandoned refugee cars and that it was important to "switch off the oil tap completely" to Yugoslavia. Nato is already preparing for a blockade and British Marines will join the operation today. The elite Fleet Standby Rifle Troop will be deployed to Royal Navy ships and the heavily-armed Marines will board ships to reduce the chances of confrontation with embargo-breaking crews. Britain has four ships in the area: the aircraft carrier Invincible, taking part in the air war; the Swiftsure class submarine Splendid, carrying cruise missiles; and two Type 23 frigates - Somerset and Iron Duke. Other Navy ships are on stand-by in Portsmouth. The European Union earlier approved its own embargo on oil and petroleum products delivery to Yugoslavia and asked other European countries who want to become EU members to join. Romania has said it will respect a Nato oil embargo, but it is unclear if Bulgaria, which is also not an EU member, will stop petroleum shipments by truck across its western borders with Yugoslavia. Although American companies are not affected by the embargo, Texaco - which recently shipped 65,000 barrels of fuel to the port of Bar in Montenegro under an existing contract - said it will now halt all such shipments. Serbia's crude oil production averaged 18,000 barrels a day last year, and it imported another 54,000 barrels each day, mainly from Russia and Greece, to meet daily consumption needs of 72,000 barrels. Nato bombing has put its two oil refineries out of action and Serbia's oil company, NIS Jugopetrol, now takes delivery of refined fuels through Bar and on overland routes from Romania and Bulgaria. Serbian oil supplies were already down before the current crisis because Belgrade was short of money to pay its suppliers of crude oil. However, crude is of little use now as the need is for petrol and diesel. Belgrade has been stepping up such imports by sea to compensate for the effects of Nato attacks. But many of the ships arriving at Bar are registered in countries such as Panama and Belize, making it difficult to trace the shipments. The prospect of an oil embargo and naval blockade has alarmed Montenegro, the pro-Western republic which is neutral in the conflict, but it has indicated that it will accept international monitors to ensure its oil imports are only for civilian use and do not reach the Serbs. The London Telegraph, April 25, 1999 Information Warfare NATO Starts to Believe Its Own Propaganda Maybe NATO should take a few lessons from the MasterLiar MasturBator himself THEY were "Task Force Hawk", the "devastating tank-killers", and within days they would be getting "up close and personal to the Milosevic armour units in Kosovo". That, at least, was the promise on April 4 as the Pentagon announced the deployment of 24 Apache attack helicopters to Albania. By April 7, the same officials were admitting "it would take a little bit longer . . . there's a lot of complication, we're not sure where they're going to go." At the beginning of last week, the spokesmen were positively abashed: "Within 30 days they'll be up and running, at the latest." So Task Force Hawk is still weeks away from performing any sort of combat mission, devastating or otherwise. Yet, according to one British defence intelligence official: "The Apaches are almost the air war's last hope." "High-level strikes have failed to make any impact on the Serbs on the ground. They are the only option we have left, short of ground war. Given their importance, it seems extraordinary their deployment has taken so long." The Pentagon blamed "logistical reasons" for the delay. One of the greatest problems, was getting political approval for the 2,000 ground troops necessary to protect and support the helicopters in Albania. The operation to accommodate the Apaches has also been lacking in verve. By the time the first batch finally arrived, two days ago, heavy rain had turned the planned base into a swamp and the Apaches have been getting up close and personal to little more than a sea of mud. The saga of the Apaches shows a now-familiar feature of the Kosovo campaign - the confident, gung-ho pronouncement from Nato or the Pentagon, quickly overtaken by the inevitable muddles and longueurs of war. After the first day of the war, RAF Harrier pilots told a press conference that their missions had "run on rails". It later transpired that none of the pilots had dropped a single bomb on target. On Day Four, the first Saturday, Nato announced that it was to move from "Phase 1", attacks on Serb air defences, to "Phase 2", attacking army and police units directly on the ground. The story dominated the news for two days. It now seems clear that at that stage Nato had barely touched Serb air defences and was therefore in no position to mount sustained Phase 2 attacks. Indeed, at the time, Nato aircraft had all but halted even Phase 1 because of atrocious weather. Even now, after more than a month of bombing, the alliance admits that very little damage has been caused to Serb tanks and troop formations. Wars have always bred untruthfulness, of course, but they never used to be quite so rhetorical. The Defence Secretary, George Robertson, warns "Milosevic's evil murder machine" that "the world is watching you". Even the coolly professional Chief of Defence Staff, General Sir Charles Guthrie, has caught the bug, referring to the "butchers who are in Belgrade" whose claims "should be treated with the utmost contempt". It is easy to see why governments have ratcheted up the rhetoric. "At the beginning, this was a war of gesture and threat," says John Hall, of the Washington-based Centre for Defence Information. "The Allies hoped that a relatively small show of force, accompanied by verbal threats of more, would be enough to get Milosevic backing down." Britain's media strategy - holding the first press conference each day with an assortment of senior figures - has raised world perceptions of the UK's role in Kosovo. Britain's military contribution is tiny but the briefings are seen across the globe and are the source of much of the world's information about the conflict. Some in the Services are unhappy at the media management techniques. "They said: 'We don't need your advice, we fought an election campaign'," said one senior officer. "But there is a fundamental difference between an election campaign and a war. Spin is simple, upbeat, forward-moving, putting things in the best light. War is messy, spasmodic, goes backwards and forwards, and people get killed. And, of course, the public can tell the difference." If, as with Nato's premature "Phase 2" announcement, rhetoric gets too far ahead of reality, it can become a weakness: the public may start to disbelieve what it is told and the enemy may take you less seriously. Worst, you may start to believe your own publicity. "In some ways this is a tabloid government and it tried to fight a tabloid war," said a senior naval officer. "They were swayed by their own rhetoric, believed in surgical strikes and an easy capitulation, and did not sufficiently consider the practicalities." The London Telegraph, April 25, 1999 ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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