Gallegly, Sherman Back Airstrikes in Balkans

Although war veterans in Ventura County were sharply divided Wednesday over the NATO airstrikes in Yugoslavia, this area’s two congressmen displayed a rare solidarity and threw their support behind the crews of American warplanes.

As a World War II and Korean War veteran, Byron Wren said the military action meant to force Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to sign a peace agreement was inevitable.

The bombing was necessary punishment for the leader’s hard-line stance against making peace in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo and a stand against ethnic violence, Wren said.

In his speech about the launching of cruise missiles, President Clinton said the airstrikes were meant to end more than a year of ethnically driven killings in Kosovo that have cost the lives of more than 2,000 people.

“We can’t stand by and let people be killed over there,” agreed Wren at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1679 in Ventura. Although he supported the decision by the United States and its NATO allies, Wren said he hoped military officials would not prolong the air campaign.

“We’ve got to do a good job,” the Ventura resident said. “What we want to do is ruin their war machine.”

On Wednesday at 11 a.m. PST, missiles rained on Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, as satellite-guided B-2 warplanes--or so-called stealth bombers--dropped 2,000-pound bombs on targets inside Yugoslavia. At least one Yugoslav MiG fighter was reportedly shot down.

In Thousand Oaks, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post, former Army Sgt. Mike Bera said America should stay out of Yugoslavia’s affairs.

“I’m supportive of anything the president does, but at the same time, it’s a civil war,” said Bera, who said he served in Vietnam and Korea. “I don’t know why we’re getting involved. They should just let them settle it themselves.”

Bera of Simi Valley suggested Clinton ordered the attacks because “it’s good for the economy.”

“People get jobs, anybody in politics goes on the front pages,” Bera said. “Whenever there is a major war, there is very little unemployment.”

Back at Post 1679 in Ventura, Steve Rauch, who is in the Army reserves, was more cynical. He believed Clinton lent U.S. might to the attacks simply to bolster his image four weeks after his impeachment trial, a strategy Rauch scorned.

“You can’t involve yourself in somebody’s civil war to save face,” said Rauch of Ventura.

While the vets hashed it out, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) agreed it was time for Congress to display a unified position in support of the American military crews in Kosovo.

“I have been critical of the president’s actions, but in this case I hope and pray he proves me wrong,” said Gallegly, who last week voted against authorizing American ground forces in Kosovo.

“This is not the time to be pointing fingers,” he continued. “I support our troops and want to make sure that everything we do is positive . . . I don’t want to send any mixed signals. Once the president has made this commitment, I don’t want to see any division.”

Sherman, whose district includes parts of eastern Ventura County, said the airstrikes were necessary.

“We all support the fighting men and women of the United States and our NATO allies, who are putting their lives on the line to try to prevent mass murder,” Sherman said. “I don’t think this is the time to second-guess the policy.”

Gallegly said he hoped the bombings would spark discussion of the country’s “tissue-thin” military resources.

“We keep talking about how we need to decrease our military,” Gallegly said. “There are still an awful lot of [enemy] weapons. . . . To say there is no longer a military threat is a very dangerous thought process. That in itself is worth a national debate.”

Within hours of the airstrike, officials at the Point Mugu Naval Air Station said they had not been placed on alert regarding the European combat.

“Things are pretty much status quo here,” said Lt. Cmdr. Pete Tomczak of the E-2 radar plane wing. “We’re monitoring things that are going on, as everybody else across the country.”

Times Community News reporters Anna Gorman, Jennifer Hamm and Massie Ritsch contributed to this story.

* AIRSTRIKES DEFENDED: President Clinton tells the nation “only firmness can prevent greater catastrophe later.” A1