Jamie Shea Quotations

There is no need to change strategy. That strategy is working. There is no quicker or more feasible option at this time.

When we are sure what happened, we will tell you what happened.

This suggests that this is not random but is being done on an almost scientific and systematic basis.

We have no indication at all that our aircraft were involved in that incident.

We want them to have the benefit of summer months to help to rebuild their homes and lives. But obviously, we want them not to go back until there is a secure presence, to ensure that the refugee return can be done in an organized way.

(The) refugees have said time and time again that they will only go back if they see NATO in that peacekeeping force. They need to know that that force is built around that NATO core (and) that that force ... is not going to crumble like a pack of cards at the first sign of a challenge.

We heard seven speeches today but only one message: They share our determination to prevail and to see this through, and they are willing to put up with the short-term inconveniences resulting from the Kosovo crisis.

We have reports that soldiers were also involved in the casualties, not simply civilians.

We regret any loss of life that this may have caused because our policy remains to minimize collateral damage.

Let's see how we come out on this one. As far as NATO is concerned, we are talking about a single force with unity of command, robust rules of engagement and a common approach throughout Kosovo.

She is the person to know these things better than anybody.

Milosevic is in the corner, and that's where he's going to be kept by NATO until he throws in the towel.

No part of the Yugoslav army was spared.

NATO will always be hopeful, but we'll always be realistic.

NATO's resolve to continue this operation until our objectives are met remains absolute.

Nobody is talking about putting in ground troops into a combat situation. Everybody agrees that the air campaign has to run its course until such time as those Serb forces are degraded, diminished, demoralized and on their way out.

If the Serbs want to talk, they know what number to call.

I don't believe there are any differences in what people are saying. We all agree that ground troops should not be introduced until Yugoslav forces are retreating. We also all agree that ground troops will not be used for fighting.

I have always said that Milosevic's future is up to the Serbian people.

(Friday) night, a great deal of what was done was done accurately and professionally. Of course, everything is overshadowed, as we expect, by this one very, very bad mistake.

If it were to be true, it would be alarming indeed, because it is one thing to push refugees over borders where the international community is now increasingly ready to deal with them in a humane way, but it's quite another thing to push them back into a wasteland where there is no food, very little water, no medical supplies, where everything has been looted.

If the UCK are able to benefit by that, so be it.

He has no freedom of movement, but has to report to local police several times a day.

He has been examined by a doctor. He has been given shelter, food and has access to religious counseling. He has also access to the International Committee of the Red Cross and he will have all the protection and rights accorded by the third Geneva Convention.

He is getting caught up in the middle of a joint process that is forcing him into a corner.

We took maximum advantage of the opening caused by better weather.

God knows what we're going to find when Kosovo is open again and the international war crimes tribunal is allowed in.

It could be a mass grave but obviously it will be up to the International Tribunal in the Hague, once it's able to go into Kosovo to conduct a thorough investigation.

Last night, NATO had a night of relative restraint. We were mindful of the Orthodox Easter celebration. At the same time, the Yugoslav armed forces continued to demonstrate signs of wear and tear.

I think everyone would prefer, including NATO diplomats, that we could solve these problems through diplomacy. But I think on the other hand, they understand the situation and the need to put a stop to a humanitarian catastrophe in the heart of Europe.

Part of our strategy is to be able to effectively encircle Yugoslavia for 360 degrees.

NATO is obviously extremely concerned. That would be an understatement.

NATO is not a quitter and I hope that President Milosevic ... is finally beginning to realize that.

NATO has an obligation to be successful, quite frankly, and every head of state from the meeting I have come from has made that point.

NATO can now turn its attention away from winning the conflict in the air to winning the peace on the ground.

We note the Pentagon stresses this is normal rotation and in any case next summer would have been the normal time.

We do know from the reports that we receive that the Yugoslav army is hurting now because of a lack of oil, both of supplies and the ability to distribute it.

We know that some transporters have been heading from southern Serbia to northern Kosovo -- that's the primary equipment you would send if you were planning to withdraw.

We are not talking about negotiating with President Milosevic. Everybody understands that. There is no negotiation here. The five conditions are the five conditions.

We have not struck at targets in Belgrade by any means on every night of this operation. I would not read into that any particular significance.

We are acting in a just cause. We are convinced of that.

The point we made last night is that we will go for the head as much as the feet in this operation.

The pilot released the weapon, and only after he released the weapon did the bus come on the bridge. We will continue to do everything we can to try and avoid those kinds of incidents. We can't eliminate them altogether.

We did strike that border command post. It was until very recently in the hands of the Yugoslav army, but it appears that it was then subsequently taken over by the (KLA).

We still exclude that option for the simple reason that they would take many weeks, if not months, to assemble, to introduce into the area and to fight their way in. We simply don't have several weeks or months at our disposal.

We are starting to hit Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic very hard indeed in Kosovo, and it's going to get harder and harder in the days ahead.

There are about 30 killings a week in Kosovo, all of which I deeply regret.

We will have more or less 1,000 aircraft on stream very soon -- able to maintain a continuous operation to tighten the screw on Serb forces.

We will be drawing up specific assistance programs for both countries to help them to meet the criteria for NATO membership.

We have a direct and material concern for the security of these countries, and we don't only say that in rhetoric.

We find the KLA is far from vanquished.

What we are seeing is a safari operation ongoing by Serb security forces against Kosovo Albanians. First, there is a pattern of shelling into the hills, beating them out of the bush if you like. Then they are on the roads ... being moved hither and thither, particularly being mixed up with military vehicles of course on those roads. Then they are put into trains and sent to borders but sometimes when they arrive they are sent back again.

We've prevented Milosevic from using refugees as a weapon to destabilize neighboring countries.

We expect the Yugoslav military representatives to accept the terms that will be put to them by Gen. Jackson, and we expect them to have the authority not only to agree but also to order the immediate implementation of what is agreed.

We are still at some distance from full compliance. There is clear evidence that many army and special units that are normally based outside Kosovo are still deployed in Kosovo.

We are going to demonstrate ... the determination of the allies to see this through to the end no matter how long it takes. Our values and security will suffer if Milosevic is allowed to continue.

Even though it took 72 days to get to this point, we -- within 72 hours -- are determined to seize the momentum of peace.

Based on our experience in Bosnia, where a number of mass graves were uncovered, the form looks quite similar.

The women and children are then expelled from their homes and then sent toward the border. After they have left the villages, the homes are looted and then systematically torched.

The Russian incident, while colorful, is really a minor one.

It would be very pleasant to be there, but we're not there yet.

Operation Allied Force will continue until those conditions have been fulfilled and fulfilled in full.

Despite the bad weather, we were still able to successfully hit a number of ground targets in Kosovo.

Details are very important here. Anything that means that Belgrade moves towards those five (NATO) conditions is something that we will welcome, but at the same time we will remain cautious, because details in this business are everything.

As far as the air campaign is concerned, there is no reason to suspend it. Conditions for that have not been met. We're going to keep it up so that (Milosevic) has a chance to rethink again the strategy of not following through on what he has agreed.

As a result NATO is taking certain precautionary measures.

That village was found to be completely deserted. Inside the houses, the bedding the household material were strewn all over the floors, signs of looting and hasty departures.

This is something we have noted coming from the tribunal today, but it does not change the intensity and momentum of Operation Allied Force.

This force ... will speak softly, by which I mean that it will be friendly to everybody ... but it will have very sharp teeth as well as very big teeth if anybody should try to oppose it carrying out its mandate or to threaten its personnel.

This alliance is rock-solid, and I haven't heard anything from anybody to suggest the opposite.

They share our determination to prevail and to see this through. NATO equally recognizes an obligation to them.

The Yugoslav forces, so we are learning, are destroying the archives of the Kosovar people: property deeds, marriage licenses, birth certificates, financial and other records.

The Yugoslav army and special police seem to be trying harder than ever to capture the remaining Kosovo Liberation Army strongholds and secure their lines of communication.

They do suggest that some people are beginning to look for an exit strategy, that they need a way out, and that, therefore, they have had time to recognize the reality and cooperate with the international community.

There will be no sanctuary for these aspects of the regime that are spreading hatred and creating this political environment for repression.

There will be a clear message from this meeting, without a doubt -- a message of resolve and determination by all 19 allies to see this through, no matter how difficult and how long it takes.

There must be no soft underbelly where he can get in through the back door what he cannot get through the front door.

All of us at NATO believe Gen. Clark has been outstanding ... winning very decisively the air operation in Kosovo.

It's a very useful and necessary effort to begin reflection on how we are going to handle the diplomacy of the endgame.

It's not simply NATO which is isolating President Milosevic. Rarely in history has one state been so isolated, politically, militarily, economically and geographically. This cannot be something the Yugoslav people need or want at this time.

It's nothing that goes to the heart of NATO or U.S. policy in Kosovo at the moment, so I believe that in our relations with the Kosovar Albanians we will be able to overcome this and move on.

It's like an alcoholic blaming a whiskey company for his problem.

It's probably the most systematic analysis of what has been happening to the people inside Kosovo.

It's not a place for haggling or equivocation. This is a place for decision and action. We expect the Yugoslav military representatives to accept the terms that will be put to them ... and we expect them to have the authority not only to agree but also to order the immediate implementation of what is agreed.

I want to make this crystal clear: I have no evidence of this, but there are a number of Kosovar Albanian sources that have spoken about people being taken down from the hills and being concentrated in that particular location.

At this stage we are not ready to settle for anything less than our objectives.

At this rate, the Serb security forces would have more or less emptied Kosovo (of ethnic Albanians) in 10 to 20 days from now.

The military commanders will continue to take every precaution to hit the targets accurately. No government has asked NATO to change its current strategy, including its targeting policy.

I'm quite sure that if President Ahtisaari does go to Belgrade, he will carry a firm message that he's not there to negotiate, that he's there to obtain from Milosevic an unambiguous, clear and verifiable pledge that Belgrade is willing not simply to accept the principles of the G-8 but to put them into practice.

If Milosevic is pulling them out, there will be plenty of dust on the track. We'll know it when we see it.

If you have already destroyed or severely damaged the Ministry of Defense or (special police) headquarters in Belgrade, you don't have to hit it again.

If you do a mathematical computation, you're talking about a fraction of one percent. So we continue to be accurate.

In fact, some refugees have even reported that Kosovar Albanians have been forced to dig these mass graves and put the bodies in.

Clearly there have been atrocities going on. Once we have achieved a situation where Yugoslav forces have withdrawn we cannot leave a humanitarian vacuum in Kosovo.

Clearly, we want the refugees to be able to go back quickly. Those NATO governments who have agreed to receive those refugees have made it clear that this is on a temporary basis.

I don't think many Kosovar Albanians will shed a tear if that prison is not being used because many of them have suffered very badly from their detention there.

By any standards, yesterday was a bad day for President Milosevic.

I don't see anything ... which suggests this was a catastrophe. It was not. It was a mistake. And no more than that.

Air operations continue. Nobody has taken any decision to halt them or suspend them yet, because we haven't yet seen any withdrawal of the Serb forces.