Nato Bombing of Kosovo: Humanitarian Intervention or Crime against Humanity?

Abstract

For 78 days in 1999, NATO forces led by theUnited States bombed Yugoslavia, killinghundreds of its civilians and devastating itsinfrastructure. NATO spokesmen justified thebombardment as ``humanitarian intervention''aimed at halting President Slobodan Milosevic's``ethnic cleansing'' of non-Serbs in Yugoslavia. This essay deconstructs NATO's rationalizationsand analyzes other more sinister motives forthe bombing. By containing Yugoslavia, andmaintaining a permanent presence in Kosovo, theUnited States seeks to ensure its access toCaspian Sea oil, and to maintain economichegemony over Europe. U.S. activities inother countries, such as Turkey, corroboratethe non-``humanitarian'' motives for the bombingof Yugoslavia. Finally, the essay analyzes whyNATO's so-called ``humanitarian'' bombardment ofYugoslavia was rather a ``crime againsthumanity'' undertaken in violation ofinternational law.