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| Operation Allied Force After much talking about the situation in Kosovo and seeing no improvement, the NATO forces decided to bomb the Serbians and try to stop the war as soon as possible. This wasn't the only war that President Milosevic had started in the Balkans but one of many such as that in Croatia, Bosnia, and Slovenia, and it was time to stop this violent man from doing more damage than he has already done. After about a year of war and thousands of Kosovars being killed and villages being demolished, in March 18, 1999 Kosovo Albanians signed a peace deal calling for autonomy, at which 2NATO troop would implement it. Serbs refused this and talks were suspended. Later on the U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke warned President Milosevic that they would air strike him unless he signs the peace agreement; but, as usual, it was all talk when Milosevic refused to signed it. After much trying to stop this war by talks and peace agreements and having no luck, there was no other way to go about this and in March 24 the air strike in Serbia began. Throughout all this NATO had a few goals to achieve from the air strike: they would bomb the Serbians until they were sure that all the military actions and all the violence and repression immediately ended, they also wanted all the Serbian troops, police and paramilitary forces to withdraw from Kosovo. In addition to that they wanted President Milosevic to agree to the stationing in Kosovo of an international military presence, an agreement to the unconditional and safe return of all refugees and displaced persons and unhindered access to them by humanitarian aid and organizations. Lastly the NATO said "air strikes will be pursued until Milosevic provides credible assurance of his willingness to work on the basis of the Rambouillet Accords in the establishment of a political framework agreement for Kosovo in conformity with international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Now that the war has ended the immediate task that the peacekeeping troops are faced with is the challenge of making sure all the Serb forces leave Kosovo and then immediately move themselves to help create conditions and convince all 860,000 ethnic Albanians that fled Kosovo during the war that it is safe for them to return home. It was uncertain when all the refugees would come back to their homes, but according to NATO the refugees were not likely to return until the 50,000-strong KFOR has established an order and security. Minefields must be marked and cleared, in which a small number of Serb forces would be taken back into the places to help with that. The capital of Kosovo, Pristine was heavily bombed, there were damages in the roads, bridges and power lines. All this had to be paid for in some way, and the European Union brought the 15 EU governments, including the U.S., Japan, and Canada. At that time they only said that to rebuilt Kosovo it would cost billions of dollars but there was no exact price tag on it. Talking to the people of Kosovo they all cry when someone asks them what would happen to them if the NATO hadn't helped in this situation and there are no ways that these people can express their appreciation and gratitude to all that helped, it is truly a miracle in the eyes of every Kosovar. |