Hi Vladimir,

>>>Some concept... Military (of course) has alternative ways of getting
>>>electricity (UPSes ;-),so its not hurting them at all. I refuse to
>>>believe that someone at Pentagon thinks that bombing power plants will
>>>switch Yugoslav Army's radars off - that is just too stupid.


I don't think they believe that.  It certainly is being done to harrass the population (civilian and military.)  The problem is that targets that are both civilian and military should be off limits.  Did you hear about the plan (now stopped) to deny internet access to Serbia?  It was canned through weight of popular voice.  I'm wondering if the powerplant bombings are a way of denying internet access indirectly.

>>>
>>>My latest theory is that, leaving Serbialn population with no water and
>>>electricity, NATO is making a 'political' statement to that population,
>>>about what Milosevic's regime brings to them. The fact is - during last
>>>ten years quality of life in Serbia has dropped beyond comprihension (in
>>>late 80s Yugoslavia was close to, say, Italy or Greece, regarding public
>>>standard). But no one really ever suffered, which is more than you can
>>>say for other former Yugoslav republics. Yes, receiving an average
>>>salary you needed 40 years to buy a car (!!!), but basic things like
>>>food or electricity were cheap even in those conditions.
>>>


I also had understood that the quality of life in Serbia in the late 80's was similar to Greece or Italy.  When did things start going downhill (economically) and why?  It seemed like Yugoslavia would have done well after the fall of the Soviet Union.  What happened?

>>>
>>>Well, it seems they simply gave up on Apaches (under some faulty excuse
>>>of 'not needing them at the moment'). Unfortunately for us, they still
>>>have a lot of war machinery that DOES work.
>>>

It's still an example of air-force weaponry vs. army.  I'm suspicious of the readiness of the US Army.

>>>I really have no clear idea how all this will end - it seems the war can
>>>end tomorrow (Milosevic is ready for partial sellout, as always, if he
>>>can get some good out of it), or it could last for months. Bad...
>>>


I think NATO feels they are winning (politically as well as militarily) which will make them hard to negotiate with.

-Jay