Why Did NATO Attack Yugoslavia, As It's Main Means Of Force
Why did NATO attack Yugoslavia in 1999 and use air power, as it’s main means of Force?
On the 24th March 1999 NATO initiated offensive military action against Yugoslavia.1 Air power was NATO’s only means of attack, meaning that no ground troops were to enter Yugoslavia and that all offensive missions were to occur with aircraft. The name given for this campaign was OPERATION ALLIED FORCE and has been quoted as “the most precise application of air power in history”2 This was a first of it’s kind, there had not been another war where there was no other means of attack other than offensive air operations. The use of air power prevailed and forced the enemy (which in this case was Slobodan Milosevic) to surrender and sign a peace treaty. …show more content…
Even though the reason for using air power was to reduce casualties, NATO had just agreed to more civilian targeting. So what was initially a scare tactic, progressed into a full out war of destruction? The Russian support that Milosevic had helped him believe that he would be able to sit this out and that NATO would not do exactly what it began to do. By increased civilian bombing NATO sent a clear message (and this was their plan) to Milosevic and it told him that he would not be able to sit this out.
In the April NATO summit “a new strategic concept”13 that combined all instruments of power was created which included intensification of military presence, to include possible ground combat, economic pressure and diplomatic initiatives to gain Russian support.
The NATO plan worked, there was an increase of aircraft up to another 176, this meant that the mount of sorties a day could be increased from 30 to 100 and then in the coming months increase in the end up to 300 sorties a day attacking military and civilian targets and tactical targets such as bridges to prepare NATO for the possibility of ground
On the 24th March 1999 NATO initiated offensive military action against Yugoslavia.1 Air power was NATO’s only means of attack, meaning that no ground troops were to enter Yugoslavia and that all offensive missions were to occur with aircraft. The name given for this campaign was OPERATION ALLIED FORCE and has been quoted as “the most precise application of air power in history”2 This was a first of it’s kind, there had not been another war where there was no other means of attack other than offensive air operations. The use of air power prevailed and forced the enemy (which in this case was Slobodan Milosevic) to surrender and sign a peace treaty. …show more content…
Even though the reason for using air power was to reduce casualties, NATO had just agreed to more civilian targeting. So what was initially a scare tactic, progressed into a full out war of destruction? The Russian support that Milosevic had helped him believe that he would be able to sit this out and that NATO would not do exactly what it began to do. By increased civilian bombing NATO sent a clear message (and this was their plan) to Milosevic and it told him that he would not be able to sit this out.
In the April NATO summit “a new strategic concept”13 that combined all instruments of power was created which included intensification of military presence, to include possible ground combat, economic pressure and diplomatic initiatives to gain Russian support.
The NATO plan worked, there was an increase of aircraft up to another 176, this meant that the mount of sorties a day could be increased from 30 to 100 and then in the coming months increase in the end up to 300 sorties a day attacking military and civilian targets and tactical targets such as bridges to prepare NATO for the possibility of ground