Kissinger warns of tragedy In Macedonia

On the April 5 CNBC show "Hardball," anchored by Chris Matthews, Dr. Henry
Kissinger, former Secretary of State, discussed the current crisis in Kosovo.
When asked about the latest developments in the current Balkan war, Dr.
Kissinger said:

"When the US engages itself in war, there is no substitute for victory, and we
have to do what is necessary to prevail. I frequently expressed doubts before we
went in there about whether the US should make the Balkans a central point of
its foreign policy. But now that we are in, I believe that we have to do what is
necessary, and if that requires ground troops, we have to send ground troops".

When asked what would winning look like in this context. Dr. Kissinger said:

"In this context, it means the removal of Serbian combat forces from Kosovo, the
return of refugees and the establishment of some international status for Kosovo
that is under some sort of international supervision. Nothing else can now
work.", and added "Serbia is a country of less than 10 million population with
poor resources and not very effective army except against unarmed civilians."

"After the ethnic cleansing and after the aerial bombardment, you cannot ask the
refugees to return to Serbian sovereignty. We all talk about self-government for
Kosovo. But the Balkans is a whole mixture of ethnic groups that have been
thrown together there by a succession of wars. Once the objective in Kosovo has
been reached, that will open the chapter of (FYROM)Macedonia, because in (FYORM)Macedonia,
there are 800,000 Albanians and it's going to be a problem to deny them what has
just been granted to the Albanians in Kosovo".

" And when that happens, the Slavs in (FYROM)Macedonia who are almost exclusively
Bulgarians, will raise their demands. And so we may face the disintigration of
another country. And therefore , the administration absolutly requires some
strategy for political settlement of all of the Balkan issues before we are
being dragged step by step into becoming the successor of the empires that used
to govern there and who had atleast one thing in common, that they were hated by
the populations over whom they ruled."

"Once we have achieved self-government for the people of Kosovo, which I now
support, this is not the end of the story. Then we have to consider what happens
, to the many ethnic clans that exist in the Balkans to avoid being triggered
into crisis after crisis by this sort of issue and especially by the issues that
will emerge in Macedonia and maybe even in northern Greece.", concluded Dr.
Kissinger.

This is from 5th of April 1999 on CNBC show "Hardball," anchored by Chris
Matthews