CBS Evening News open - 1999-05-28

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] In the Balkans, a critical time now for

[0:05] the Allied War and the drive for peace.

[0:08] A high-tech attack on the FBI. Computer

[0:10] hackers target the FBI website and down

[0:14] it goes. Plus, what could be the final

[0:17] chapter of a strange child abduction

[0:19] case that began 20 years ago.

[0:26] This is the CBS Evening News with Dan

[0:30] Rather.

[0:32] >> Good evening. Dan is off tonight. I'm

[0:34] Bob Schaefer. As America prepares to

[0:36] honor its war dead this weekend, the

[0:38] United States and the Allies are

[0:40] preparing to go all out in the air war

[0:43] against Yugoslavia. NATO is hoping a

[0:45] relentless bombing will somehow force

[0:47] Slobon Mallovich to accept its terms for

[0:50] peace in Kosovo, something he has shown

[0:53] no sign of doing up to now. CBS News

[0:56] correspondent David Martin begins our

[0:58] coverage from the Pentagon. With clear

[1:01] skies and more than 1,000 aircraft,

[1:03] NATO's bombing campaign is at last

[1:05] nearing full throttle. One senior Air

[1:07] Force officer says the next five days

[1:09] will be critical in determining whether

[1:11] air strikes can bring Ser President

[1:13] Mallosvich to terms. As if to underscore

[1:16] that point, CBS News has learned Defense

[1:19] Secretary Cohen made a secret trip

[1:20] yesterday to Germany for a meeting of

[1:23] European defense ministers at which they

[1:25] agreed to expand the targets NATO can

[1:27] hit and to increase yet again the number

[1:30] of airplanes. Clear weather and more

[1:32] planes means Serb gunners will get a

[1:34] better shot at their targets. Today, an

[1:36] A-10 aborted its mission after nearly

[1:38] being hit by a missile. Between five and

[1:41] 10 planes have been hit since the war

[1:43] began, including two that were shot

[1:45] down. NATO planes are punishing Serb

[1:48] forces, but are doing nothing to help

[1:50] the hundreds of thousands of refugees

[1:52] still trapped inside Kosovo. Their

[1:54] campfires clearly visible to

[1:56] reconnaissance aircraft. Today, a

[1:58] private relief organization said it will

[2:01] try.

[2:01] >> The International Rescue Committee

[2:02] expects to begin air drops in Kosovo.

[2:06] of food and other critically needed

[2:08] supplies next week.

[2:09] >> NATO aircraft have promised not to

[2:11] interfere, but there is no guarantee

[2:13] from the Serves.

[2:15] >> I think it's it's not a good idea,

[2:17] frankly, as a as an airman. Uh, and the

[2:19] one reason I say that is because they

[2:20] have zero trust in what Mallicher or his

[2:23] army might try to do.

[2:24] >> Sending in ground troops is the only

[2:26] operation that can really save those

[2:28] refugees. And defense secretary Cohen

[2:30] came away from that secret meeting in

[2:32] Germany convinced there is still no

[2:34] stomach for an invasion of Kosovo. David

[2:37] Martin, CBS News, the Pentagon.

[2:40] Following talks with a US diplomat in

[2:42] Moscow, Russia's top Balkan envoy flew

[2:44] to Yugoslavia and talked for 9 hours

[2:47] today with Slobodon Mallovich. That as

[2:49] the pressure building on Mallosvich from

[2:52] NATO's bombing campaign. Alan Pizzy in

[2:55] Belgrade begins our coverage.

[2:58] Even Victor Cheramiran said the war

[3:00] crimes indictment of Slobadan Mallovich

[3:03] complicated the chances for a diplomatic

[3:05] solution, but he vowed to continue

[3:07] anyway. The latest peace plan Cheramiran

[3:10] brought reportedly proposes that some

[3:12] Serb forces remain in Kosovo. A NATO

[3:15] force in Kosovo would be under a neutral

[3:17] commander. It would ensure the safe

[3:19] return of refugees and disarm the Kosovo

[3:22] Liberation Army. Given his record,

[3:24] analysts here believe Mallosvich may

[3:26] well decide to tough it out. As for the

[3:29] army's attitude, this general told Serb

[3:31] TV that Yugoslavia had never been in a

[3:33] worse position, but had the chance to

[3:35] win a huge victory. Contradictory as

[3:38] that may sound to outsiders, Serbs

[3:40] understand it.

[3:41] >> Ordinary Serbs here learned one simple

[3:44] thing. Whenever we have different

[3:46] options for solving our crisis, we know

[3:48] that the worst one will be here chosen.

[3:52] The evidence is all around them. A NATO

[3:55] strike last night has left most of the

[3:57] city without power, including hospitals.

[4:00] The steadily escalating bombing raids

[4:01] are slowly but surely pushing the Serbs

[4:04] back towards the 19th century. Although

[4:06] not even the Russians