One of the biggest problems with war is that it tends to push individuals into one-sided coverage of the subject in question. The conflict in Serbia has frequently been blamed only on the Serbians, despite the clear involvement of the Kosovo Liberation Army as an instigating force in the war. Unless remedied, this error may spell doom for the peace accords.
The accords call for nearly 50,000 peacekeeping troops to move into Kosovo, replacing the Serbian forces as they retreat. The plan then calls for the five biggest powers of NATO to control the five sectors into which the area has been divided, similar to the strategy used in Germany after World War II. The five countries are Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Even if Milosevic keeps his word and keeps troops out of Kosovo, the problem has only been partially solved. The KLA is still in existence, still strong and still heavily armed. The accords call for the KLA to disband as an organized entity and turn over their heavy weaponry. While President Clinton has stated that NATO officials have contacted KLA leaders about the agreement, the KLA only committed to not attempting to take over the territory the Serbs are retreating from and not attacking the retreating Serbian troops. There has been no official commitment by the KLA to disband or relinquish their weapons.
This leaves one of the primary components behind the hostilities strong and intact. This episode in the centuries-old conflict began because of a KLA-led fight by many Kosovars for independence from Serbia. Becoming an independent state still remains desirable for many of the returning refugees and is definitely still a goal of the KLA.
NATO had a number of issues to contend with while working for a peace agreement. However, the decision to not include the KLA in the peace talks was shortsighted. While Milosevic appears to be following the terms of the accord, there are centuries of emotions still tied up in Kosovo. If the KLA resumes its fight for independence, it is not unlikely that the struggle will simply resume.
NATO, perhaps led by the United States, needs to seriously deal with the problem of the KLA. The peace accords ultimately will leave Kosovo under the control of Serbia, which is exactly what the KLA does not want. NATO must either reconsider the terms of the agreement and allow Kosovo to become independent, an action that would seriously endanger the agreement, or it must make a serious effort to both disarm and disband the KLA.
The war in Serbia had two causal forces. If NATO only eliminates one of those forces, the conflict can easily begin again. With nearly 50,000 NATO troops soon to be scattered throughout Kosovo, now is the time to begin the work of eliminating the infrastructure of the KLA. NATO must use the tools it has available to remove the beginnings of another war all too similar to the one that just ended.