USA: ALBRIGHT KOSOVO PRESS CONFERENCE
(24 Feb 2000) English/Nat The U-S government is considering whether it should follow France's lead in sending reinforcements to Kosovo to help keep the peace in the divided city of Mitrovica. The move would raise the risk for a force that has largely escaped casualties. In Washington and other Western capitals outside France, there is no appetite for a major additional buildup of troops in Kosovo. But NATO feels it cannot let the flare-up of ethnic violence in the city of Mitrovica go unanswered. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers expressed concern at the prospect of deepening U-S involvement. The approximately 5-thousand-300 American troops now on peacekeeping duty in Kosovo are in a U-S-controlled sector in the southeastern part of the Serb province, where the ethnic tension is less intense. While eight Americans have died there since peacekeeping began in June, none of the deaths resulted from hostile action. At a news conference Thursday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright left open the possibility of more American troops. But noting that the U-S already has the biggest contingent, she said she'd first like to see the Europeans strengthening their contingents. SOUNDBITE (English) "Well, first of all let me say that we are obviously very pleased that the French have decided to augment their forces. Their Minister of defence was here, and we had that discussion, and I think that clearly the situation in Mitrovica poses a challenge for us and it is very important for K-FOR to make clear that it is in charge, because it deters violence and it sends a very strong message, and I think clearly that additional French forces are very important. We at this stage, the United States has the largest number of troops in the area, or in Kosovo as a whole...so we do believe that we are definitely doing our part, but I do not exclude the fact that they may have to be some Americans, but I think in the first instance we are looking to others to plus-up their forces." SUPER CAPTION: Madeleine Albright, U-S Secretary of State At the presser, Albright was also asked to comment the latest allegations that a U-S-led spy network snoops on billions of private phone calls, faxes and e-mails world wide. Albright denied any involvement in commercial espionage by the National Security Agency. SOUNDBITE (English): "First of all let me say, as you know we don't comment on actual or alleged intelligences activities, but we've obviously taken note of this, and as our spokesman said the NSA (The National Security Agency) is not authorized to provide intelligence information to private firms and that agency acts in a strict accordance with U-S law." SUPER CAPTION: Madeleine Albright, U-S Secretary of State The intelligence group, called Echelon, is led by the United States and includes Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It was set up at the beginning of the Cold War in 1947 and gradually grew to include a network of surveillance-interception stations spread around the globe. Allegations that Echelon carries out commercial espionage against European allies met with deep concern, especially from the French, who themselves are members of a wider intelligence ring connected to Echelon. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
