The North Atlantic Treaty Association's relentless bombing of what remains of Yugoslavia is a great deal more than unconscionable and must be stopped. NATO has demonstrated its imperialistic nature and has gone front a "mutual defense alliance'' to an aggressive high tech multinational terrorist organization. As more and more innocent people die. NATO is celebrating 50 years of existence in a "Summit" held here in Washington D.C. Anyone who cares about the future of mankind must take the opportunity to stand up against this atrocity and show their opposition to NATO and everything it stands for.

NATO is clearly a tool of the Pentagon to maintain military hegemony in Western Europe. Created as a defense alliance and protectorate against Soviet expansionism. NATO allows the US to maintain a formidable military presence in Europe, even though the "enemy" no longer exist. The US Government has over 100,000 military personnel in Europe. NATO provides a cover for actions that would otherwise be unilateral and met with opposition by the "leaders'' who instead stand under its umbrella''. NATO also provides the bulk of new military hardware in Europe, rewarding states that agree to its terns and punishing those unwilling to play its game. The fact is NATO is all about preventing Europe from being strong and unified enough to send the U.S. War machine home.

Many self-proclaimed "liberals" are in favor of the NATO bombing, as they were in favor of the bombings in Bosnia, because they think that the US Government is intervening "to stop the genocide." In fact, the Yugoslav government's persecution and slaughter of the Kosovo Albanians has increased as a result of the bombings, and Milosevic's hand has been strengthened as many who were opposed to his government in Serbia feel compelled to stand behind the gov-ernment during the attack. The US Government's motives are not now, nor have they ever been, altruistic. Self-interest is what propels states to take military action, not concern for the lives, of foreigners. If the US Government were worried about saving lines, there it world not be upholding sanctions that have murdered over 1 million people in Iraq at the same time as it is talking about stopping genocide in Yu-goslavia. The US government's hypocrisy on this subject is an attempt to muster public support for the bombings, which seems at this point to have only partially succeeded. The wishy-washy liberals (who believe in the mythical feel-good state) have been taken in yet again.

Opposition to the NATO bombing is not the same as supporting the Yugoslavian government. It is certainly possible to be against the NATO bombing and be in favor of self-determination in Kosovo; in fact, true supporters of self-determination wolfed never look to an imperialist power as the salvation of an oppressed people. RedLeaf and many other organizations that oppose the bombing are not pro-Serbian nationalism: we recognize the destruction this type of na-tionalism has caused and do not think that oppressed minorities any-where shored be forced to remain parts of' the stales that oppress them. The NATO members are certainly not free of oppressive states; Turkey, for example, has brutally oppressed the Kurds for seventy years without any trouble from the US Government. Had Yugoslavia's government had the foresight to join NATO, they could now be mur-dering Kosovar Albanians with impunity.