NATO's First War: The Importance of Action

The North American Treaty Organization's first major military action was its intervention in Kosovo in support of the Bosnian Peace Agreement. Since this represented NATO's first independent military operation, the decisions and outcomes were significant in setting a precedent about NATO’s global image and ability to follow through with their intent.

Why did NATO get involved? This is the first question worthy of mention. Kosovo lies in southern Serbia and has always maintained an ethnically mixed population, the majority of which are Albanians. When Slobodan Milosevik rose to power in 1989, the previously held autonomy of Kosovo was lost due to a change in region status. Milosevik altered Kosovo’s independent rule by placing it under Serbian jurisdiction, making it under the control of Belgrade, Serbia’s capital. The new-found political leader might have been trying to unite his Serb people under one government, but this resulted in increased tensions between the Albanian people and the Serbian government. In 1998, these tensions mounted and open conflict between the Serbian police and the Kosovo Albanians resulted in the deaths of over 1,500 Albanians and the displacement of 400,000 people from their homes. At this point, NATO decided to step in to alleviate the tensions.

A political cartoon about the inherent tensions between the ethnic groups and political leaders in the Balkans.

NATO was established on April 4^th, 1949 after World War II in order to prevent subsequent global wars. Up until the Balkans Crisis in the 1990s, NATO primarily served as a political entity, engaging in Cold War politics (i.e. Warsaw Pact and nuclear policies) and other administrative disputes. Once NATO decided to take military action in 1998, its decisions, cohesiveness, and outcome would set the precedent for further NATO military action.

Member nations of NATO trying to contain the mounting Balkans Crisis.

How did NATO get involved? The short answer is that it decided to engage in aerial warfare to pressure Milosevik to seek peace negotiations. After the NATO airstrike threats were made, Milosevik bolstered his forces in Kosovo instead of retreating. The initial plan called for three days of strategic bombing. The bombing lasted from March 23^rd to June 10^th, 1999 for a total of 77 days. The airstrikes were called off when Milosevik decided to withdraw his forces from Kosovo.

NATO’s first major military operation wound up successful in the end, but not without trials and tribulations along the way. This was the first “war run by a committee,” according to General Charles Krulak of the US Marine Corps. These sentiments are supported by many other political figures involved in the crisis, such as William Cohen, who discussed the logistical difficulties in fighting a war with countries that stem from different cultural and historical ties to the region in question. For example, Cohen mentioned that even though it was primarily US technology used in the air strikes, each country had to agree on the bomb sites. If one vetoed a site, it wouldn’t be hit. Others criticize this process because it diminishes the political power of the countries that invest more resources in the operation (such as the US), but in the end, it worked out. When asked what “the most important thing we’ve done,” former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright boasts about this communication between NATO allies, saying, “I'm really proud of this new technique of talking to the allies, keeping us all together. I'm very pleased at our ability to work our way through five major democracies, to work our way through difficult problems by talking to each other very frequently.”

Even though mistakes were made and details faltered, the perseverance of NATO to see the Balkans Crisis all the way through to the end resulted in eventual peaceful negotiations in the region and an increased credibility of NATO and its ability for military action. If NATO had not seen its commitment in the Balkans all the way through to the end, ethnic cleansing and violent conflicts would likely have ensued in Kosovo and former Yugoslavia. Furthermore, NATO would have been laughed at internationally as an organization that is all talk and no bite. Thankfully, these unfortunate hypothetical situations are not the case and NATO achieved its goals in the end. This success laid the foundation for NATO to act militantly when necessary, such as in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. 

- Parker Buntin