America's relationship with Russia has become increasingly important as Washington has engaged Moscow as a critical, but often prickly, ally in the war on terror. A crisis point in this relationship was NATO's war with Yugoslavia over Kosovo. From smoky late-night sessions at dachas outside Moscow to meetings in the White House Situation Room, Norris captures the feel of a war that repeatedly threatened to spin out of control. He offers a vivid portrait of some of the key characters involved in the conflict, including U.S. president Bill Clinton, General Wesley Clark, Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, and Russian president Boris Yeltsin. New information includes backstage efforts to open a direct negotiating channel between Milosevic and Washington at the height of the conflict. The book reaches a dramatic crescendo against the backdrop of the war's final days, when Russia unleashed a secret plan to push its forces into Kosovo, ahead of NATO peacekeepers. If the international community is to play a more prominent role in Iraq's immediate future, all parties would do well to revisit the lessons learned from the war in Kosovo.
As a confrontation over Kosovo's final push for independence looms, this book offers a seminal insight into the last Kosovo conflict. This study in brinkmanship and deception is essential background reading for anyone trying to understand Russia's uneasy relations with the West.