“I’m not disputing the seriousness of either attack, sir,” Greer said to Simorov. “But why bombard a town with sustained artillery and rocket attacks for almost four hours over some hothead artillery officer lobbing a few across the border?”
“You seem so eager to minimize the danger in this, Colonel,” Simorov said. “Macedonia committed an act of war — a preemptive strike against an observation post along a critical communications and transportation route. It certainly could have been interpreted as a prelude to an invasion.”
“Invasion?” Greer retorted. “Macedonia invading Albania? With what? The Albanian army outnumbers Macedonia’s by two to one; Macedonia has virtually no armor or artillery. That’s a ridiculous notion.”
“Absurd or not, Colonel, an artillery assault—”
“Suspected artillery assault,” General Messier said. “There is no hard evidence yet that Macedonia had any artillery of any kind near Struga.”
“—An artillery assault in that area could easily be construed as the prelude to an invasion,” Simorov went on, despite the interruption. “That highway where the fighting broke out is the main transportation route between the Aegean and Adriatic seas, between Greece and Albania. If Macedonia takes control of it, tanks can be roaring into Tirane within hours. They can encircle Tirane with ease.”
“Encircle Tirane?” Greer again asked incredulously. “Colonel Simorov, this is nonsense. Albania is not being threatened by anyone, especially Macedonia.”
“Then whom, Colonel?” Simorov asked angrily. “Who else would want to slap Albania down?”
“No one is trying to—”
“Macedonia is supported and is being armed by NATO,” Simorov said. “Only NATO benefits by destabilizing Albania and strengthening Macedonia. Perhaps I should inquire to the NATO secretary-general what he has in store for Albania?”
“Colonel Simorov, as the KFOR commander and a deputy chief of staff of the NATO High Command, I assure you NATO has no designs on Albania,” Willoughby said. “Quite the contrary, NATO and all of Europe would benefit greatly by forging closer ties with Albania. Macedonia is a friend and prospective member of the Alliance, but they are not being armed by NATO, nor are they acting as a NATO military surrogate.”
“Sir, only NATO and Macedonia stand to gain if an invasion of Albania is successful,” Simorov said. “Macedonia wants to cut off all arms and drug smuggling across its borders, and it wants to be able to eject ethnic Albanians from its territory at will. What better way to topple the Albanian government and create a safe, secure outlet to the Adriatic Sea than by committing mysterious hit-and-run attacks in Albania, along the main corridor linking two seas, and then letting NATO make excuses and apologies for its actions?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Colonel,” General Sir Willoughby said seriously, “but if you please, let us hear some constructive suggestions rather than wild speculation. What should we do now? Both the United Nations and the European Union are waiting for recommendations.”
“Obviously it is in all of our best interests to keep the fighting from escalating, ja?” Colonel Messier said. He turned to Ambassador Joelson and went on, “With all due respect, sir, UNPREDEP has been a dismal failure. I almost wish we had kept the Protection Force in place. Even Swedish peacekeepers are ineffective in this situation. We need an armed military force in place in both Albania and Macedonia to prevent this conflict from reigniting a general Balkan and possibly even a European war.”
“I agree: The United Nations Protection Force was, with all due respect, a failure,” Colonel Simorov said, nodding toward the Italian force commander. Italy had supplied most of the peacekeeping force in UNPROFOR-Albania about eight years earlier. “Besides, Italy has all but withdrawn from NATO peacekeeping efforts in the Balkans anyway.”
“Italy finds it is safer and better for ourselves to patrol and police our own borders,” the Italian colonel said. “Perhaps it might be better if Macedonia did the same.” He turned to look at Lieutenant-Colonel Greer and said with a sneer, “Of course, the Americans would certainly provide a credible force — if the American president would ever agree to provide more than a token air base and logistics force to assist. Just when Europe seems to be on the brink of all-out war, the Americans decide to become conscientious objectors.”
“The United States is willing to do its part to provide protection forces for NATO member nations,” Colonel Greer said. “The United States is not divorcing itself from any potential crisis situations—”
“Certainly not divorce — it is more like frigidity! “ the Italian commander shouted. That got a chuckle from most of the KFOR commanders — all except Greer, of course.
“Very funny, sir,” Greer said, with a smile that he hoped would disarm the growing tension in the room. “I disagree with Colonel Simorov — the Italian peacekeepers were most effective in Albania, as has been UNPREDEP in Macedonia. I can’t explain this sudden outbreak of hostilities. Macedonia and KFOR have been relatively successful in reducing arms smuggling into Kosovo through Macedonia. Weapons are still getting through Albania. But we trace much of the instability in the region to the Kosovo Liberation Army’s activities. KFOR needs time to work to be effective until we find a political solution.”
“Easy for you to say, Colonel — your commander was not skinned and burned alive in the streets of Prizren,” Simorov said acidly. “The Russians have suffered half of all KFOR casualties in Kosovo at the hands of Muslim rebels. The incidents of violence increase every day. Obviously, our presence in Kosovo is not enough — we must cut off and flush out the source of weapons and guerrillas. That means. stationing peacekeepers in Albania. And since Macedonia appears unwilling or unable to stop this flow of Muslim freedom-fighters and weapons into Kosovo, someone must set up border security forces in Macedonia.”
“And the United States disagrees,” Greer said. “I don’t understand this sudden need to expand the peacekeeping operation’s scope of involvement. Two small-scale border skirmishes don’t signal a complete deterioration in the political situation. Let’s not act too hastily.”
“Pardon me, Colonel,” Simorov said, “but I think the United States has forfeited its right to comment on how KFOR deploys its forces or accomplishes its mission. Contributing a few cargo planes and reconnaissance satellites doesn’t add up to a peacekeeping force with equal responsibility.”
“Let us stop wasting time with squabbling,” Colonel Messier said. “If the Americans and Italians refuse to participate, others must step in to help quickly stabilize the situation. Pending approval from my government, I can deploy my forces south from Pec, Kosovo, into Albania. We’ve received a certain amount of relative goodwill from the Albanian government in the past — I think the United Nations and NATO can convince the Albanian government to allow German peacekeeping forces into the region. We can limit our movements, say, from the Bigorski Monastery southward to the Lake Ohrid area, restricted to north of the Elbasan-Thessaloniki Highway. Naturally, if the Albanian government allows us to do so, we can cover and patrol more extensively throughout Albania.” He stood up and pointed to a large map against a wall. “With permission, we can even perhaps cover both sides of the border.”
“German troops moving into both Albania and Macedonia?” Colonel Simorov retorted. “Pardon me, Oberst, but I would very much like to see a more balanced force in place. The Russian contingent is by far the largest force still remaining in the region, except for Germany and perhaps Britain. I will propose to my government that Russia move a portion of its peacekeeping forces south from Prizren to the Lake Ohrid area, perhaps headquartering in Bitola. That way we’re close enough to assist if there’s an outbreak of hostilities, but we’re not breathing down anyone’s neck either.” He nodded to Messier and added, “Next to the Germans perhaps, the Russians enjoy the worst reputation in this part of the world.”