MACEDONIA SKOPJE NATO EXTRACTION FORCE MILITARY EXERCISES

>> YOUR LINK HERE: ___ http://youtube.com/watch?v=HCSiv7sQGV4

(11 Feb 1999) Natural Sound • • The Rambouillet talks aimed at bringing peace to the war-ravaged province of Kosovo continue under the auspices of international mediation and under the shadow of a NATO threat to launch airstrikes if they fail. • • If an agreement between Serbs and Kosovars is reached before the deadline, NATO troops will be called upon to police the peace. • • NATO's extraction force, based in the Macedonian capital Skopje, could be deployed within days, drawing on the 1,500-man multi-national force under French command. • • The alliance' s generals are currently working on plans to dispatch up to thirty thousand European and U-S troops to Kosovo to enforce any brokered deal. • • While the Clinton administration argues with the Senate over the necessity and cost of U-S involvement in Kosovo, European troops are already in place in nearby Macedonia. • • These German troops are stationed near the Kosovo border under the umbrella of NATO's extraction force, and are expected to be part of a peacekeeping force should the talks in Rambouillet succeed. • • NATO generals are currently meeting to discuss the extent of the deployment - which may number up to 30-thousand troops, around 25-thousand of which will be European. • • Currently, German, Dutch and Italian troops are conducting military exercises near Skopje, ready for the call to action. • • A projected peacekeeping force in Kosovo, much like the one operating in Bosnia will be required to enforce strict ceasefire agreements and protect local populations where they may be under threat. • • More than 2-thousand people have died in Kosovo in a year of fighting between Kosovo Albanian separatists and Serbian security forces with more than 200, 000 displaced by the fighting. • • Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork • Twitter: / ap_archive • Facebook: / aparchives • Instagram: / apnews • • • You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

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