DATE=5/3/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=NATO GENERAL (L)
NUMBER=2-261921
BYLINE=JIM RANDLE
DATELINE=STUTTGART, GERMANY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  NATO's new military commander says he will 
work hard to repair relations with Moscow that were 
badly strained by disagreements over Kosovo.  U-S Air 
Force General Joseph Ralston took command of the 
alliance's powerful forces in a ceremony Wednesday in 
Mons, Belgium.  V-O-A's Jim Randle reports.


TEXT:  Last year, forces from most of NATO's 19 
nations launched hundreds of planes and missiles to 
pound Serb targets all across Yugoslavia.

It took 78 days and nights of bombing, but they 
eventually forced Serb-led troops and police to stop a 
bloody campaign of repression, arson and killing in 
Kosovo and leave the province.

The NATO air campaign came over loud protests from 
Moscow, which has close cultural and religious links 
with the Serbs and is a traditional ally.

Angry Russian leaders froze relations with NATO, 
cutting off cooperation on many military issues.

Four-star General Joseph Ralston says new people in 
key places in both the alliance and Moscow might be 
able to repair the badly strained relations.

            /// RALSTON ACTUALITY ///

      I think we have an opportunity to see what we 
      can do with our relationship with the Russians, 
      and with the Russian military.  I think that's 
      going to be key to where NATO goes in the 
      future.  And perhaps we have a window of 
      opportunity with (Russian) President (Vladimir) 
      Putin taking over.  I look forward to meeting 
      with my Russian military counterparts, and 
      seeing what we can do to build a better 
      foundation for our relations.

            /// END ACTUALITY ///

Speaking to reporters on a flight to Europe, General 
Ralston said U-S critics of NATO's current 
peacekeeping operations in Kosovo need to be more 
patient.

Members of the U-S Congress complain about the costs 
and perceived futility of keeping thousands of U-S 
troops in Kosovo, trying to prevent violence sparked 
by ethnic tensions that have been festering for 
centuries.

But General Ralston says a four-year peacekeeping 
operation in neighboring Bosnia is beginning to show 
results -- even though two-thirds of the initial 60 
thousand-member force have gone home.

            /// RALSTON ACTUALITY ///

      That's progress on the military side and it's 
      progress when you look around Bosnia and you see 
      how people are having a much more normal life 
      than they had four years ago.  We sometimes miss 
      how much progress we have made in Bosnia, 
      somehow.  Kosovo is a different situation but we 
      are very early into the game because it hasn't 
      been a year yet.

            /// END ACTUALITY ///

General Ralston is a fighter pilot who flew 147 
missions during the Vietnam War.  He taught other 
pilots the difficult and dangerous task of hunting 
down and attacking North Vietnamese anti-aircraft 
defenses.

Since then, he has commanded larger and larger combat 
units and taken on Air Force-wide management jobs.  
Before taking over the NATO command, General Ralston 
was the second highest-ranking officer in the U-S 
military.

General Ralston took command of all U-S forces in 
Europe on Tuesday in a ceremony in Stuttgart, Germany.  
It is an additional job traditionally held by NATO's 
top officer.

He replaces U-S Army General Wesley Clark -- a Rhodes 
Scholar who was decorated for valor in Vietnam and who 
is credited with helping negotiate the Dayton Peace 
Accords that stopped the fighting in Bosnia.   
(SIGNED)

NEB/JR/JP/WD




03-May-2000 05:43 AM EDT (03-May-2000 0943 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.