[House Document 106-179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





106th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 106-179
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         SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON PEACEKEEPING EFFORTS IN KOSOVO         

                               __________

                             COMMUNICATION

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

   THE SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON CONTINUED CONTRIBUTIONS IN SUPPORT OF 
                     PEACEKEEPING EFFORTS IN KOSOVO




January 27, 2000.--Referred to the Committee on International Relations 
                       and ordered to be printed

                                -------                                

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
79-011                     WASHINGTON : 2000       





                                           The White House,
                                     Washington, December 15, 1999.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: In my report to the Congress of June 12, 
1999, I provided information on the deployment of combat-
equipped U.S. military personnel as the U.S. contribution to 
the NATO-led security force in Kosovo (KFOR) and to countries 
in the region to serve as a national support element for them. 
I am providing this supplemental report, consistent with the 
War Powers Resolution, to help ensure that the Congress is kept 
fully informed on continued U.S. contributions in support of 
peacekeeping efforts in Kosovo.
    The U.N. Security Council authorized member states to 
establish the international security presence in Kosovo in U.N. 
Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, for an 
initial period of 12 months. The mission of KFOR is to provide 
a continued military presence in order to deter renewed 
hostilities; verify and, if necessary, enforce the terms of the 
Military Technical Agreement (MTA) between NATO and the Federal 
Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY); enforce the terms of the 
agreement of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to demilitarize 
and reintegrate itself into civil society; provide operational 
direction to the newly established Kosovo Protection Corps; and 
contribute to a secure environment to facilitate the work of 
the U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) by 
providing, until UNMIK assumes these functions, for public 
security and appropriate control of the borders.
    Currently, the U.S. contribution to KFOR in Kosovo is 
approximately 8,500 U.S. military personnel. This number is 
higher than previously reported due to normal personnel 
rotations and will return to approximately 7,000 U.S. military 
personnel when those rotations are completed. In the last 6 
months, all 19 NATO nations and 15 others, including Russia and 
Ukraine, have provided military personnel or other support to 
KFOR.
    In Kosovo, the U.S. forces are assigned to a sector 
principally centered around Urosevac in the eastern portion of 
Kosovo. For U.S. KFOR forces, as for KFOR generally, 
maintaining public security is a key task, and U.S. forces 
conduct security patrols in urban areas and in the countryside 
throughout their sector. Approximately one-half of KFOR's total 
available personnel is directly committed to protection tasks, 
including protection of ethnic minorities. The KFOR forces are 
under NATO command and control and rules of engagement.
    In addition, other U.S. military personnel are deployed to 
other countries in the region to serve in administrative and 
logistics support roles for the U.S. forces in KFOR. 
Specifically, approximately 1,500 U.S. military personnel are 
operating in support of KFOR in Macedonia and Greece and, on 
occasion, in Albania.
    Since my report to the Congress of June 12, the FRY, in 
accordance with Resolution 1244 and the MTA, withdrew its 
military, paramilitary, and police forces from Kosovo. The KLA 
agreed on June 21, 1999, to a ceasefire, to withdraw from the 
zones of conflict in Kosovo, and to demilitarize itself. On 
September 20, 1999, KFOR Commander Lieutenant General Sir Mike 
Jackson accepted the KLA's certification that the KLA had 
completed its demilitarization in accordance with the June 21 
agreement. The UNMIK thereafter established a civil emergency 
services entity known as the Kosovo Protection Corps that is 
intended to provide civic assistance in emergencies and other 
forms of humanitarian assistance. The UNMIK is in the process 
of considering applications from former KLA personnel for 
service in this Corps.
    The UNMIK has made progress in establishing the 
international civil presence to provide an interim 
administration for the people of Kosovo. The KFOR, within its 
means and capabilities, is providing broad support to UNMIK. As 
UNMIK is still developing its structures in Kosovo, KFOR 
continues to support UNMIK at all levels, including public 
administration, and is represented at the Kosovo Transitional 
Council and the Joint Civil Commissions. The KFOR personnel 
provide a security presence in towns and villages. Checkpoints 
and patrols are organized in key areas in Kosovo to provide 
security, resolve disputes, and instill in the community a 
feeling of confidence. In addition, KFOR is providing 
assistance in the areas of demining, humanitarian relief, 
international civil police training, and the maintenance of 
civic works resources. Ethnic tensions in Kosovo, however, 
remain a concern, particularly in areas where Kosovar Serbs and 
Kosovar Albanians live in close proximity. Until UNMIK is able 
to field a full complement of civil police, public security 
remains principally a KFOR responsibility.
    NATO has planned for the KFOR mission to be formally 
reviewed at 6-month intervals with a view to progressively 
reducing the force's presence and eventually, withdrawing. Over 
time, KFOR will incrementally transfer its security and 
policing responsibilities as appropriate to the international 
civil administration, local institutions, and other 
organizations.
    I have taken these actions pursuant to my constitutional 
authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in 
Chief and Chief Executive. I appreciate the continued support 
of the Congress in these actions.
            Sincerely,
                                                William J. Clinton.

                                

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