Minner meg om denne saken fra Bosnia-krigen der Wesley Clark gjorde en militært sett muligens riktig vurdering, men poltisk helt på jordet.
One of Clark's most debated decisions during his SACEUR command was his
attempted operation to attack Russian troops at
Pristina International Airport immediately after the end of the Kosovo War in June 1999. A joint NATO–Russia peacekeeping operation was supposed to police Kosovo. Russia wanted their peacekeeping force to operate independent of NATO, but NATO refused. British forces were supposed to occupy Pristina International Airport, but a contingent of Russian troops arrived before they did and took control of the airport. Clark called then-Secretary General of NATO
Javier Solana, who told him "you have transfer of authority" in the area. General Clark then issued an order for the NATO troops to attack and "overpower" the armed Russian troops, but Captain
James Blount (later a singer known by the stage name James Blunt) leading the British troops questioned this order
[81] and was supported in this decision by General
Mike Jackson, the British commander of the Kosovo Force. Jackson refused to sanction the attack, reportedly saying "I'm not going to start the
Third World War for you".
[82][83] Jackson has said he refused to take action because he did not believe it was worth the risk of a military confrontation with the Russians, instead insisting that troops encircle the airfield. After two days of stand-off and negotiations, NATO agreed to an independent Russian peacekeeping force, and Russia relinquished control of the airport. The refusal was criticized by some senior U.S. military personnel, with General
Hugh Shelton calling Jackson's refusal "troubling". During hearings in the
United States Senate, Senator
John Warner suggested that the refusal might have been illegal, and that if it was legal rules potentially should be changed.
[84] British
Chief of the Defence Staff Charles Guthrie agreed with Jackson.
[85]