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American Morning

U.S. Troops in Kosovo Bring Peace of Mind, Protection to Serbs

Aired July 24, 2001 - 09:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Some 5,000 U.S. troops are stationed in or near Kosovo. CNN's Christiane Amanpour now takes a look at their mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An American Army medical unit travels around eastern Kosovo, dispensing drugs and comfort.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Controlled, sometimes, you know, when I...

AMANPOUR: Serb civilians especially rely entirely on KFOR, the multinational peacekeeping force, to keep them safe. Everyone's blood pressure is high, say these medics, whose most valuable prescription may simply be moral support.

LT. DARRYL METCALF, U.S. BATTALION MEDICAL OFFICER: A lot of the towns, we see like 200 people and we'll probably have 30 or 40 who are legitimately ill, and the rest of them, they like to come, see the Americans, talk to us.

AMANPOUR: What Serbs like best is the drop in revenge attacks by Albanians, the sandbags and 24-hour guards at their churches.

(on camera): There are about 80 to 100,000 Serbs left in Kosovo, roughly half the pre-war population, and mostly they live in three enclaves heavily guarded by NATO troops.

(voice-over): Most Serbs tell us they feel safer these days, though some can still summon up that old nationalistic passion.

"If the Americans hadn't come to Kosovo," says a Serb farmer, "this would still be our land."

Indeed, most disputes these days are about who owns what field. Down the road, U.S. foot patrols keep the peace between Serbs on one side of town and Albanians on the other. KFOR commanders say they are slowly stabilizing Kosovo, but they say the mission has a long way to go.

A measure of how long they think they'll be here, Camp Bondsteel. When U.S. troops first deployed two years ago, this was all mud and makeshift tents. Now, the sprawling headquarters, equipped with all the comforts of home base, is the envy of the multinational force. There is Burger King and a cappuccino bar, flower pots and free movies, a gym, a hospital under correction, an artificial lake and paved roads.

KFOR is meant to help Kosovo eventually set up its own security and political institutions, but commanders say that day is at least four years off.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, with U.S. forces in Kosovo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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