A KLA source in Albania says that NATO forces have begun to bomb the Serbian positions on the Kosovo-Albanian border, which have to date prevented the KLA from resupplying their forces inside Kosovo. While NATO insists it does not intend to serve as the KLA's air force, NATO and the KLA have found themselves with a common enemy in the battle to rid Serbian forces from Kosovo and permit Kosovo Albanian refugees to return to their homes.

But there are other signs of significant cooperation between NATO forces and the KLA. Last Tuesday, KLA forces in the western Kosovo town of Junik captured a Yugoslav Army soldier, and later turned him over to U.S. forces in Albania. He is now reportedly being interrogated by the Pentagon.

At their regular press briefing in Brussels, Belgium, NATO press officers frequently cite atrocities, refugee flows and other on-the-ground information from Kosovo that they acknowledge is from the KLA -- some of the only people left in Kosovo with the capacity to phone abroad.

And on Monday, KLA commander Sokol Bashota is reported to have called Western diplomats begging for NATO airstrikes to relieve shelling threatening tens of thousands of displaced Kosovo Albanian people in central Kosovo. It is not the first direct plea from the KLA to NATO and Western diplomats for airstrikes and air drops of food, medicines and weapons.

But several NATO soldiers say cooperation between the KLA and NATO is not just in the KLA's interest. They say the KLA could serve an invaluable role providing field intelligence for NATO ground troops who might eventually enter Kosovo, and for NATO pilots planning how to target dispersed Yugoslav military assets, some now hidden in garages and woods.

"The KLA is a great asset," says LaShelle, the platoon commander. "They know the area, they're knowledgeable about the terrain. They know where the Serb forces have their tanks and other assets. We'd need them in front of us as scouts and for intelligence. They could make NATO attacks more successful."

But, LaShelle adds, cooperation between the KLA and NATO is not without its problems.

"Our goal is not to put the KLA in power, but to put Milosevic out of power. Once you start to use the KLA, then you're taking sides. All we want now is for Milosevic to stop forcing out the ethnic Albanians. If we start to arm and use the KLA, then we're going down a whole new path."
salon.com | April 20, 1999

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