US-Croatian Joint Military Exercise <h3>Muscle Flexing</h3>

Aim Zagreb, March 9, 2000

In the second week of March the Croats will have the honour of hosting a historic military performance. The announced protagonists of that event are the American Air Forces from the aircraft carrier "USS Dwight D. Eisenhower" and the Croatian Air Forces. During some three to four days the mentioned protagonists will present themselves to the Croatian public in a joint military exercise.

Allegedly, the joint exercise ground should be Dubrovnik-Split-Rijeka route. The American warships of the Sixth Fleet are getting ready to enter these ports.

At a joint Press Conference of March 3, Jozo Rados, Croatian Defence Minister and the American Consul to Croatia, William Montgomery, pointed out that the mentioned exercise has both a political as well as military significance. "It is a result of two years of excellent cooperation of the two armies, but also a sign of the further expansion of that cooperation under the new conditions that have been created after Croatian parliamentary and presidential elections" proudly emphasised Minister Rados. "In political terms, this exercise", according to Rados "represents the recognition of Croatia and the establishment of closer links with the European-Atlantic organisations, as well a its integration with the Partnership for Peace and NATO". On the other hand, the Minister added, that the military significance of this exercise relates to the "demonstration of capabilities of the Croatian Air Forces which will prove their skills in carrying out complex tasks and will acquire new experience and thus take their place in the establishment of international security".

It seems that the initial enthusiasm of Defence Minister Rados, in which he added some civilian "elements" to the Croatian Army, probably under the impression of, as he had put it, "the most powerful military force in the world" slowly, but unavoidably deflated. Therefore, at a recent meeting with the American diplomatic delegation, headed by Robert H.Frowick, in a manner of a badly disguised militarist, he rushed to invite himself for a visit to the command ship of the American Navy stationed in the Adriatic.

Thanks to the skilful estimable civilian Defence Minister, the American aircraft carrier "USS Dwight D. Eisenhower" - whom by the way, the Americans like to call "Ike" - propelled by two nuclear reactors, will be sailing the Adriatic.

Allegedly, "Ike" is capable of firing missiles with nuclear war heads, as well as various antisubmarine, antiaircraft and antiship weapons. Military fanatics consider its 330 meters long strips, from which as many as 75 planes can take off, impressive, as well as the fact that over 18.5 thousand meals are served daily on board "Ike" and that seawater desalination installations must supply water for some two thousand homes. "Ike" earned its military reputation during the Gulf War when it participated in the allied operation "Desert Storm". It seems that it was mostly appreciated for its capacity of launching nuclear war heads. Namely, health problems of the local population and American soldiers, known as the Gulf Syndrome, are the best indicator of the "successful" use of Ike's radioactive weapons.

According to rumours, as well as assessments of military analysts, the arrival of the American Air Forces to the Adriatic coast is directly linked with the still precarious situation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Although the American Consul Montgomery has distanced himself from such stories and claims in a rather roundabout way, it seems that this exercise can be interpreted as a message to the Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic not to dare take any military action in Montenegro and, inevitably, Kosovo. Speculations that the coming exercise is an attempt at intimidating Milosevic's regime is corroborated by a number of elements.

First, the mentioned exercise was scheduled for a later date. Reasons for such haste lie in the latest deterioration of the situation in Yugoslavia, i.e. the new escalation of conflicts in Kosovo, as well as the possibility of the spreading of aggression to Montenegro, rather than in the fact that it coincided with the symposium "The Army and the Media". The five-day symposium about the relationship between the Army and the media regarding defence and security, organised by the American Consulate in Zagreb, shall be held in the Dubrovnik hotel "Excelsior". There is a possibility that Croatian war planes will be for the first time flying over the territory of FR Yugoslavia within the exercise over the Dubrovnik waters. In other words, it should teach the citizens of Yugoslavia and the regime itself, how good and merciful are the Americans when the authorities are cooperative. And all this will be done in a style: take the political maturity of the Croats as an example and mother America will take you also under its wing. If not, you are in for a good spanking.

Second, NATO exercise in Kosovo has been announced for the period between March 19 to April 10. Some two thousand so called strategic protection NATO forces from six countries: Argentine, Italy, Holland, Poland, Romania and the unavoidable United States, should take part in this exercise named - A Dynamic Reply 2000. NATO stated that the basic aim of the announced exercise is "to show NATO's resoluteness to maintain secure atmosphere in Kosovo and for its inhabitants and, if required, to reinforce KFOR". In other words, NATO globally, and the USA individually, simply cannot alter the impression that both exercises, irrespective of how they are called and what good intentions are attributed to them, are nothing else but muscle flexing vis-à-vis disobedient Balkan leaders.

However, the pomp and honours with which the Croatian official politics are treating these exercises on its territory, are funny. There are already stories that the Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan, plans to watch the exercise in the Dubrovnik waters in the company of the American Commander of the Sixth Fleet.

Boastful announcements of the daily papers that "The Croatian MIGs will be landing on Eisenhower aircraft carrier" from the Morning Paper (Jutarnji list), and that "The Croatian pilots will fly the American combat planes and the American pilots in our MIGs" from the Evening Paper ( Vecernji list) probably wanted to or almost succeeded in winning the sympathies of Croatian citizens for this military ball. As, for God's sake, this was not just anybody paying a visit to Croatia, as Rados had deftly put it, "but the most powerful power in the world" to share its military knowledge and to demonstrate it military force.

Thus, an impression was created that in order to show its readiness to help Croatia in the proliferation of security in these insecure and hostile Balkan surroundings, the powerful American military machine will even honour the Croatian pilots and let them fly the latest war planes for the first time in their life. And not only that, the caring Americans would go a step further and - as it was pointed out with pride

• make it possible for the Croatian MIGs to land on the impressive "Eisenhower".

However, finally, or better said already the next issue the mentioned dailies showed that this was not completely true. The situation was quite different since the Croatian pilots will not, as it was announced with much fuss, fly the super modern American aircraft, but only sit in cockpits together with their American colleagues while they perform their set tasks.

The possibility that the Croatian MIGs might land on board "Eisenhower", a so called "monster" with two nuclear reactors, was also finally ruled out. Why? Because MIGs 21 are not equipped for landing on aircraft carriers.

That is why the Croatian pilots will most likely have to settle for watching their American colleagues while flying these modern planes, such as F-14 Tomcat, F-18 Hornet and S3. Their only comfort in all this can be the fact that it will be the Americans and not the Croatian aircraft which will alarm the sensitive Croatian public with their noise as they will be flying only some 300 meters above their heads.

Ivana Erceg