Overland Park — A former ambassador and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff kicked off a conference marking the 50th anniversary of NATO.
NATO "has too many features that serve us well" for the alliance to be abandoned, despite the end of the Cold War, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
But Adm. William Crowe said NATO expansion should be slowed and that the recent bombing campaign in Kosovo had weakened ties among member nations.
"Kosovo will be a test for NATO for a long time," he said. "Clearly Kosovo has weakened NATO unity.
"It's still a serious question whether air attacks reduced or accelerated the (ethnic) killings. What happened in Kosovo was a remarkable example of pressure politics. It was our (U.S.) pressure that forced that action, and I'm not sure there weren't more constructive ways to handle it."
Crowe made the comments Thursday morning at Johnson County Community College before about 200 people as part of a Kansas University-sponsored conference marking NATO's 50th anniversary.
Crowe, a graduate of the Naval Academy, served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs from 1985 to 1989. He was U.S. ambassador to Great Britain from 1994 to 1997.
He said one of the most important diplomatic priorities for the United States should be helping Russia develop economic and political pluralism.
"I'm not so much talking about money as I am American expertise," he said. "We've already helped a great deal in environmental, scientific, legal and economic areas. We can't dictate what happens in Russia, but we can help them."
Crowe said the current international landscape -- with one remaining superpower -- is unique.
"We have few precedents, if any, to the present situation," he said. "We are faced with a very daunting question: Do we as a nation want to be the world's policeman?
"Public opinion polls say we should not impose our values across the world. But at the same time, we don't like ethnic cleansing."
-- Michael Dekker's phone message number is 832-7187. His e-mail address is mdekker@ljworld.com.
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