- 16 hours ago
Nga Lufta ne Kosove
bombardimet e NATO ne serbi
lajmet e Shteteve Perendimore
bombardimet e NATO ne serbi
lajmet e Shteteve Perendimore
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Short filmTranscript
00:00... here in Italy, particularly, because one of the planes going into action tonight
00:04will be the so-called Prowler, which is an electronic surveillance aircraft.
00:10It takes out radars.
00:12Now, that was the plane that was flying low and cut the wires on a gondola
00:16and killed 20 people here in Italy.
00:18So, clearly, the Prime Minister here is reacting with sensitivity to those fears.
00:24David Chater, Vinay, thanks very much indeed.
00:26Our Middle East correspondent, David Chater, telling us that four stealth fighter bombers have left the Aviano Airbay.
00:35One of the journalists who was on board the B-52 mission yesterday, the first wave to strike at Serbia,
00:42Steve Comro, thanks for joining us.
00:44Can you relive for us briefly your impressions of what must have been an extraordinary day in your life?
00:51Well, it was. It was fascinating.
00:53These old B-52 bombers, which are almost as old as I am, and I won't reveal how old that is,
01:00have still had to fly a 10-hour mission.
01:02They did it with very few problems.
01:05And it was a study in contrast.
01:08You know, about the oldest airplanes around and launching these very sophisticated and very sleek cruise missiles.
01:14How much of you, how much of the mission were you allowed to reveal?
01:21Were you under very strict instructions of what you could and couldn't report?
01:26Well, it was fairly standard instructions, really.
01:29I was allowed to report anything about the mission so long as it didn't give away future missions.
01:34You know, I can't say, for example, how many targets they may want to hit in the future, that sort of thing.
01:40And, you know, just being in the middle of it all, you get exposed to a fair amount of that sort of information.
01:46Were you aware specifically of the moment they released those missiles?
01:52Oh, absolutely.
01:54There was quite a buildup to it.
01:55It took quite a long time to get to the launch box, as they call it.
02:01And all along the way, they are doing the missiles would wake up.
02:11I couldn't tell you how that all works, but it seemed to work.
02:15And then I was listening on the headphones as they made the countdown for each launch.
02:22And for each launch, the bomb bays would open.
02:24And when the missile dropped, the plane would shudder.
02:27And you can imagine what that's like on a plane as big as a B-52.
02:31Quite an event.
02:33Steve Conroe from USA Today.
02:35Many thanks for joining us from RAF Fairford.
02:41Around Pristina.
02:43Then six RAF Harriers followed up the attack.
02:46But they couldn't get a clear sight of their target.
02:49One bomb was dropped before the mission was aborted and they returned to base.
02:54Well, there's extensive coverage and reaction here on Sky News, of course.
02:58First with Alex Crawford, who's been following today's events.
03:01It's on the horizon here, towards the center of the city.
03:06There have been protests here.
03:08Another big explosion there.
03:09It's not quite rocking the ground, but I can tell you these are definitely very big explosions in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia.
03:17There are police going up and down the street with sirens blaring.
03:21There is a helicopter, at least one helicopter, possibly two, flying above me now.
03:27They've been circling for the past half an hour.
03:30Just about an hour ago, there was a big demonstration in the center of the Macedonian capital, Skopje,
03:37in the hotel where all the foreign journalists and the international aid workers who've recently been evacuated from Kosovo are staying.
03:44There's a great anti-Western sentiment, or not Western, but anti-Allied sentiment here.
03:50The crowd of about 2,000 surged forward, throwing stones at the vehicles, wrecking camera equipment,
03:58and everybody had to seek a retreat into the hotel.
04:01Let me tell you, there are more what appear to be large explosions coming from the horizon in the middle of Skopje.
04:09There are helicopters flying above, there are flashing lights, horns are blowing.
04:15I can tell you that there's a very dramatic situation here.
04:19We don't quite know what exactly it is going on.
04:21What we do know is that over the last hour there have been big protests in the middle of Skopje.
04:27Another big explosion there.
04:29And there was a protest outside the American embassy with thousands of people outside burning American flags.
04:36There was a car on fire outside of the back gate of the American embassy.
04:40We've had no confirmation that the American embassy itself has been set on flames.
04:46We have no reports of that effect.
04:48It's very difficult to go and see for ourselves.
04:50The whole area has been cordoned off by riot police dressed in bulletproof armor.
04:56We're not allowed to go down there.
04:58Cars are being turned back.
05:00We're having to stay, the security forces tell us, in the compound of our hotel.
05:04Well, back to you.
05:06Matthew, how many NATO forces have been in that area up until this started just a few moments ago?
05:16Well, I can tell you there's been about, over the last couple of months, there's been a buildup of NATO forces in Macedonia.
05:22About 10,000 troops here from NATO countries, from countries like France, from Britain, from Germany, from Holland.
05:30And there are no American troops here right now with NATO.
05:34There is, they're here in anticipation, of course, of a NATO order to move into Kosovo if there is any kind of peace deal signed there.
05:42NATO has been very clear on this point.
05:44This is not an aggressive force, despite the NATO air attacks on neighboring Yugoslavia, just a few kilometers from here.
05:52NATO has been very clear that the NATO force in Macedonia is a peaceful one.
05:57It's not an aggressive one.
05:59It's there to go in as a peacekeeping force.
06:01And if there is no peace deal, NATO has said very clearly these troops won't go in.
06:06But having said that, let me tell you, there is a growing anti-NATO sentiment here in Macedonia.
06:12People here understand that the NATO troops, to some extent, were here as a peacekeeping force ready to go into Kosovo.
06:20But with the wave of airstrikes we saw last night and with looming airstrikes again this evening,
06:26I can tell you there is a very great sense of unease here in Macedonia tonight.
06:31Matthew Chance talking with us by telephone.
06:33Again, Matthew reporting that just seconds ago, a series of explosions he heard on the horizon and saw.
06:43He doesn't know where they came from or their targets, but there has been some unrest building there.
06:50Stars and Stripes flag being burned.
06:52Have you heard from your country?
06:55I mean, this is presumably a sense of outrage that's shared throughout the country, is it?
07:00Of course.
07:00People cannot believe that the countries that we have been allies with for at least last 80 years,
07:08we fought together, joined enemies during the First World War, during the Second World War.
07:14We have been a strategic ally of the West throughout the Cold War,
07:19and now all of a sudden we have become some kind of second-grade country and the citizens.
07:24But does the...
07:25We've had reports and film of aircraft leading bases forming up, basically, for the last hour and a half.
07:33If you then assume that from Aviano, say, down to Kosovo, is about an hour and a half, two hours' flight to Belgrade, perhaps an hour.
07:40Well, yesterday, the strikes went in at about ten past seven.
07:44London time, it's now ten to seven.
07:47Air raid sirens going off in Belgrade.
07:49We're in the same time frame.
07:50What's...
07:51Again, you were thinking about a coordinated attack with both cruise missiles from the sea,
07:57and let's be...
07:58Let's remember, the B-52s, which did cruise missile attacks yesterday,
08:01have not left RAF Fairford, as far as we know to date.
08:05But cruise missiles from ships and perhaps submarines, to back up and complement...
08:09We know the F-117s have taken off from Italy.
08:12We know F-16s.
08:13These are the stealth fighters.
08:15So you're seeing a formidable force package.
08:17We've had reports of the AWACS aircraft taking off.
08:20They will be used to coordinate the air picture.
08:23And if we bear in mind the reports of air-to-air combat between Yugoslav MiG-29s and American F-15s,
08:29that would have been controlled by the AWACS sentry aircraft.
08:33Again, just on pictures there, we were seeing some of the electronic warfare aircraft.
08:36So vital if you're going to heavily defended areas.
08:39Again, large mixed force package.
08:41All the signs are there.
08:43It might be reasonable to assume, in view of the British briefing today,
08:46that there would be strikes at some of those targets,
08:50repeat strikes around Pristina, those ammunition dunks,
08:54because, of course, the Harriers didn't make it, really.
08:56The Harriers had one of those problems of war.
08:59Because of some earlier air activity over their targets,
09:03there was so much smoke, laser guidance of the first Harriers bombs was lost.
09:07Luckily, the bombs went into, we are told, just a field.
09:11And the other aircraft aborted the mission and returned with their ordnance.
09:14One got the impression from both Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson,
09:19and from the Chief of Defence Staff, General Charles Guthrie,
09:22they were going to go back.
09:24And you get the impression, because of the Harriers' specific roles and missions,
09:28it will probably stick around Kosovo.
09:31Whereas from Aviano down to Kosovo is a two-hour flight,
09:34two-and-a-bit-hour flight from the British base in the southern part of Italy
09:37into Kosovo is probably only 40 minutes.
09:40What are we seeing going up there?
09:41We're seeing their twin-engine, that's a twin-tailed twin-engine F-15.
09:45Most of those seem to be being used for air defence at the moment,
09:49though we've seen some equipped for air-to-ground missions.
09:51So when you say air defence, you mean they would go in a...
09:54Basically just to limit the collateral damage
09:56and to destroy the targets that they were meant to destroy.
09:59There's no sign of the planes moving here tonight,
10:02but if they're needed, they can get to the so-called launching box
10:05within cruise missile range of Serbia in just a few hours.
10:09Andrew Moore, Sky News, at RAF Fairford.
10:14...on the Clyde, families of the 116 men on board face an anxious wait.
10:20Splendid is the first Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine
10:23to carry land-attack missiles,
10:26and she played a crucial role in the initial strike against the Serbs.
10:30There's a feeling of pride amongst the wives here, but also...
10:34...American fighter-bomber aircraft around at the moment.
10:37We have seen them taking off from Aviano today.
10:41A couple of them looked as if they were on missions to protect
10:44as one of the AWACS aircraft, which is going to control the whole air battle.
10:48Others, I suspect, will be going on bombing missions.
10:51And the F-15 Eagle, the EF model, the most modern of them,
10:55they were used, not very successfully, one has to say,
10:58for scud-hunting missions during the Gulf.
11:00Actually, the...
11:00...into Yugoslavia face a serious threat,
11:04the Serbian surface-to-air missile system.
11:06This does remain a risky operation.
11:09The air defense system is a strong system.
11:11It's redundant.
11:13The air defenders are well-trained.
11:16And it is quite a heavy system in a small place.
11:21It includes 60 sites with Soviet-era SA-2, SA-3, and SA-6 surface-to-air missiles,
11:27some of which can reach altitudes of more than 30 miles.
11:30The Serbs also have hundreds of anti-aircraft rapid-fire guns
11:34and even shoulder-fired missiles,
11:36a particular threat to low-flying aircraft.
11:40Almost all of Yugoslavia's military hardware comes from Russia
11:43and is about 20 to 30 years old.
11:46But military experts still do not think Yugoslavia is an easy mark.
11:50The stuff is old, but the question is, how well-maintained is it?
11:53And how well-trained are they on the equipment?
11:56The answer is very well-trained and highly motivated,
11:59which could provide a challenge even against NATO's state-of-the-art weaponry.
12:04400 total planes for NATO, which include American F-15s, 16s, and 18s,
12:107 B-52 bombers, 12 F-117 stealth fighters,
12:15and 2 B-2 bombers that made their combat debut.
12:18The airplane performed magnificently by all indications that we can get.
12:23The bombs went exactly where they wanted, and we did our job.
12:28NATO is counting on another plane in its arsenal
12:31to combat Yugoslavia's surface-to-air missiles, the EA-6B Prowler.
12:36The edge for us against their missiles
12:38is that we have these tactical electronic jamming aircraft.
12:42They go right along with the fighter group.
12:44They put out tremendous amounts of power
12:47and blank out the screens of the missile guidance systems
12:52and also deceive them.
12:54All of this backed up by three destroyers,
12:57one cruiser, two submarines, and three amphibious-ready ships.
13:01This massive show of force is tied together by a common mission,
13:04reiterated by President Clinton,
13:06to limit Serbia's ability to make war.
13:09Kelly Arena, CNN.
13:10The bombing over Belgrade confirmed what everyone here knew,
13:13that the bombing wasn't over.
13:15For two nights running now,
13:17the sky around Belgrade has been lit
13:19with the flashes of explosions
13:20from incoming NATO bombs and missiles.
13:23The targeting appears to be surgical.
13:25Damaged and destroyed military and industrial installations
13:28have been shown repeatedly on Serbian TV.
13:31Very little ordinance appears to have fallen into residential areas,
13:35although the Serbs have shown
13:37in what appeared to be a civilian house that had been damaged.
13:40The Yugoslav authorities are claiming
13:42that there have been ten civilian deaths.
13:44Other estimates are higher,
13:46but none of the numbers can be independently confirmed.
13:49Civilian casualties may have been kept low
13:51by the precision of the NATO targeting
13:53and by the fact that many civilians
13:55have been taking cover in shelters.
13:58Yugoslav resistance to the bombing has been slight.
14:01Only the occasional spray of anti-aircraft fire has been seen.
14:04The Serbs apparently not wanting
14:07to fire up their anti-aircraft missile sites at this stage
14:10for fear of having them taken out.
14:12And the targeting at least on structures
14:14is having some evident success.
14:17It doesn't though seem to be damaging Serb morale
14:19or resistance from the government or from the people.
14:23In their frustration at not being able to hit back
14:25at their attackers,
14:26the Serbs have lashed out
14:27at the nearest vulnerable target,
14:29Western journalists.
14:30I'm speaking to you tonight from Zagreb in Croatia,
14:33because all Western journalists
14:34have now been ordered out of Yugoslavia.
14:37In fact, I had the dubious distinction
14:38of receiving a rap on my hotel door
14:41at 3.30 this morning,
14:42followed by ten hours of isolation
14:44and inquisition on behalf of Serb security authorities
14:48before being driven to the border
14:49and dumped on the Croatian frontier.
14:52Dan?
14:53Mark, tell me more about what happened to you.
14:55As I said, about 3.30 this morning,
14:57a rap at the door,
14:58someone identifying themselves as room service,
15:00which I had in order turned out to be
15:02two leather-jacketed, clad, pistol-carrying members
15:06of the Serb secret police.
15:08They took me and one other reporter
15:10from the Washington Post down to police headquarters.
15:13They isolated us for the next ten hours,
15:16quizzing us individually,
15:18trying to find out who our contacts were,
15:19trying to find out who we were working with.
15:21A severe, and not physical,
15:23but a severe bit of at least psychological intimidation.
15:27What was the worst of those ten hours?
15:28The worst of it was in the course
15:30of the most severe interrogation that I received.
15:33The air raid sirens went off in Belgrade again.
15:37The temperature had been rising psychologically
15:40in the inquiry room that I was in,
15:43facing a panel of three secret security officers.
15:48At that point, you could see the anger rise on their faces.
15:52They pointed out the window and said,
15:53see what you're doing to us.
15:54They called it an aggression against civilization,
15:58as if somehow we as journalists
15:59were the instrument of American foreign policy.
16:02We did our best to explain
16:04that we were just trying to report what was going on.
16:06Mark Phillips, thanks.
16:07Take care of yourself.
16:09The U.S. Air Force is carrying out most of the air attacks,
16:13but once again tonight,
16:14the first wave of missiles came from a fleet
16:16of U.S. Navy warships in the Adriatic Sea.
16:19CBS News correspondent Richard Roth
16:21is aboard the USS Philippine Sea
16:23on the firing line in the Adriatic.
16:26From battle stations in the Adriatic,
16:28the U.S. Navy once again was lighting up the night,
16:31unleashing a volley of 17 cruise missiles
16:34from the USS Gonzales,
16:36firing three more from the USS Philippine Sea
16:39a few miles away.
16:41Two cruise missiles clearly didn't make it.
16:43Shipboard observers watching them fall
16:45seconds after launch.
16:47For the sailors on these ships,
16:49this high-tech naval warfare
16:51is long-distance combat.
16:53It's impersonal, said a sailor here.
16:55The adrenaline's not pumping,
16:57but your mind's working full speed.
16:59Thinking about what?
17:01Thinking, he said,
17:02about the people on the receiving end.
17:05Richard Roth, CBS News,
17:06aboard the USS Philippine Sea.
17:09The biggest part of the air campaign so far
17:11consists of bombers flying out of the U.S. air base
17:14at Aviano, Italy,
17:15across the Adriatic Sea from the Balkans.
17:18CBS News senior European correspondent
17:19Tom Fenton is there.
17:21Tom?
17:23Dan, well, NATO officials are saying
17:25this is going to be another night
17:27of maximum effort,
17:29and judging from what we've seen
17:30so far here this evening,
17:32that certainly seems to be the case.
17:36Again tonight,
17:37a high-tech AWACS plane
17:39led the deadly procession into battle.
17:41its mission to track any threat
17:43to Allied aircraft.
17:45And after the brains,
17:46the brawn,
17:47sleek, stealth fighters,
17:48and F-15s in a big hurry
17:50to be where the action is.
17:52After a busy night,
17:53ground crews today
17:54calmly went about their business
17:55of getting the aircraft
17:57ready to go out and do it again.
17:59Serbian defiance is doing little
18:01to dampen enthusiasm
18:02for the task at hand.
18:04It's a good rush.
18:05It's a nice rush.
18:07Great feeling.
18:08Due to security concerns,
18:09the pilots are off-limits,
18:11but among crew members
18:12allowed to speak with the press,
18:14everyone was very on-message
18:15about the mission
18:16and the Kosovars.
18:18If I can bring someone
18:19some joy in their life
18:20and some relief,
18:21then I'm here to do it
18:22as long as I can,
18:2324 hours a day if I have to.
18:27NATO might have to take
18:28that airman up on his offer.
18:29The way things are going,
18:31it may have to continue
18:32this operation for some time, Dan.
18:34Tom Fenton in Naviano, Italy.
18:36One of the few Western reporters
18:38still on the ground in Kosovo
18:39and communicating
18:40is Leanne Martindale
18:42of CBS News Radio and Television.
18:44I talked to her late today
18:45by telephone
18:46from her hiding place in Kosovo.
18:49Now in the last few hours
18:51since the NATO attacks have begun,
18:55I've heard about four or five explosions.
18:57The last one shook the apartment
18:59where I am.
19:00The people here are just in,
19:02I think, in a real state of fear.
19:05You can hear some AK-47 fire in the air
19:09after this last explosion
19:12and the streets are just completely dead.
19:16Leanne Martindale reporting from Kosovo.
19:18Journalists from NATO countries
19:19were expelled from Kosovo today.
19:21Among them was CBS News
19:22veteran war correspondent Alan Pizzi
19:24who witnessed the start of the air war
19:26from the Kosovo capital of Prisnya.
19:28A distant boom and a huge flash on the horizon
19:34were the first indications
19:35that the attack had begun in Kosovo last night.
19:38It was three minutes before 2 p.m. Eastern time,
19:418 p.m. local.
19:42The explosions were well spaced out at the beginning.
19:45Then, after a long and eerily quiet pause,
19:49a sustained assault on a target
19:50to the southwest of Prisna.
19:54All power was cut within minutes of the attack.
19:57The city plunged into blackness.
19:59The hits were miles from the city center,
20:01but a military airstrip and bases
20:03are known to be in that direction.
20:05In the city, sporadic gunfire was heard.
20:08A huge ball of fire fell from the sky,
20:10drawing rounds of anti-aircraft fire.
20:12Sirens wailed,
20:15and police and army vehicles
20:17raced through the deserted streets.
20:19The official Serb Information Center
20:21reported that Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas
20:23took advantage of the airstrikes
20:25to launch attacks on police and army positions.
20:28There were also reports of urban areas being hit
20:30and of civilian casualties.
20:33Confirming any of the claims
20:34or figuring out exactly what the cruise missile struck
20:37is impossible.
20:38Journalists were confined to darkened hotel rooms
20:40throughout the night,
20:41and in the morning,
20:42all movement was curtailed.
20:44That furtive report
20:46was our last picture from Kosovo.
20:48The Serb government ordered all journalists
20:50from NATO member countries to leave.
20:53Nearly 100 of us were taken
20:54under police escort
20:55in a convoy to neighboring Macedonia.
20:58Alan Pizzi, CBS News, Skopje.
21:00Macedonia is hardly a safe haven
21:02in the Balkan conflict.
21:03Just across the border from Kosovo,
21:05it is home to Serbs and Albanian refugees,
21:09along with some 10,000 NATO troops.
21:11Today, Serb demonstrators attack the U.S. embassies.
21:14...are hitting their targets,
21:15but there are no silver bullets
21:17in what the commander of the operation says
21:19is just the beginning of a methodical campaign
21:22against the Serb military.
21:24We're going to systematically and progressively
21:27attack, disrupt, degrade, devastate,
21:35and we're going to destroy these forces.
21:39Officials said they were satisfied
21:41with the first night's results,
21:42although the British chief of staff admitted
21:44not every mission was successful.
21:46Bombs from our first aircraft
21:48lost lock once they were in flight
21:51and fell short of a target on open ground.
21:55Most of the targets have been air defense sites,
21:57but General Clark says nothing is off limits.
21:59President Milosevic and his military leaders
22:01should understand that there is no sanctuary for them.
22:08The bombing will continue until the Serbs
22:10call off their offensive in Kosovo.
22:12So far, there is no sign of that.
22:14There is no indication that there is any change at all
22:18in Milosevic's position.
22:20In fact, the CIA has begun receiving
22:22unconfirmed reports that the Serbs
22:24are rounding up prominent civilians in Kosovo.
22:27So far tonight, all NATO planes have returned safely,
22:30and just like last night,
22:32the Serbs did not try to shoot any of them down
22:35with surface-to-air missiles.
22:37The fact that the Serbs are holding on
22:39to their best weapon would seem to indicate
22:41they have no intention of giving up anytime soon.
22:44Dan?
22:45David Martin at the Pentagon.
22:46President Clinton has been active
22:48in helping decide what targets to hit
22:50in this second round of airstrikes.
22:52For details on that,
22:53we go to CBS's Scott Pelley at the White House.
22:55Scott?
22:56Dan, today the President personally reviewed the targets,
22:59told his generals, quote,
23:01that looks good,
23:02and three hours later the bombs were falling again.
23:05Still, his national security advisor says
23:08that so far the Serbs have only intensified
23:11their war on Kosovo.
23:12There have been some further burning of villages,
23:18further sweep operations,
23:22some shelling into Albania,
23:24and it's obviously very disturbing to us.
23:31Would you say that Milosevic's assault on Kosovo
23:34has accelerated because of the NATO airstrikes?
23:36I think it has increased somewhat
23:38over the past day.
23:41Tonight, a senior official says
23:43it may take days of bombing
23:44to stop the Serbian sweep of Kosovo.
23:47After the President's address last night,
23:50polls show public support for the bombing is thin.
23:53The challenge of educating and selling the public
23:55was evident on Mr. Clinton's face
23:57after he was off the air.
24:00Mr. Clinton made baptism under fire
24:02for the U.S. Batwing B-2 bomber.
24:05This two-man, two-billion-dollar aircraft
24:07flew nonstop and round-trip from Missouri
24:10to drop their bombs.
24:12CBS's Jim Axelrod got a taste of what it was like
24:14with an unprecedented look
24:16inside the B-2's ultra-realistic cockpit simulator.
24:21This is history.
24:23This morning's homecoming
24:24of the first B-2 stealth bombers
24:26ever to see combat.
24:27The airplane performed magnificently
24:29by all indications that we can get.
24:32The bombs went exactly where they wanted.
24:36Hey, go ahead and pull back on the stick now.
24:38Before those pilots ever dropped bombs
24:40over Yugoslavia,
24:41they spent hundreds of hours here,
24:43the cramped, dark cockpit
24:45of the B-2 simulator in central Missouri.
24:48The graphics are good.
24:49The detail is very, very good.
24:51The button pushes, the avionics,
24:53the radar, the weapons, the systems.
24:55Every button in here
24:56does exactly what the airplane does.
24:58In this trainer,
24:59they can simulate night, rain, high altitude.
25:01They can simulate taking off in formation,
25:04being chased by an enemy fighter.
25:06They can even simulate
25:07the turbulence felt in the cockpit
25:08when the bombs they're dropping
25:10detonate on the ground.
25:12The realism is fantastic for us.
25:14The B-2 pilots just back
25:16were airborne for more than 30 hours,
25:18taking off from Whiteman Air Force Base,
25:21dropping their bombs.
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