Part of Oral Answers to Questions – in the House of Commons at 2:33 pm on 10 May 1999.
First, I thank my hon. Friend for the congratulations that she has offered to British troops engaged in Macedonia. They have shown their usual professional skill and dedication in carrying out their humanitarian work, and I am sure that my hon. Friend's commendation will comfort them enormously.
Facetious comments about targeting, however, are not very appropriate in the present tragic circumstances. A tragic mistake was made, and NATO is attempting to discover how that happened and what can be learned from it. Some 6,000 strike sorties have taken place, a small number of which have tragically led to a loss of civilian life on the Serb side. Against that, I ask my hon. Friend to examine carefully the testimony of thousands upon thousands of Kosovar refugees who say universally, credibly and believably that atrocities are continuing inside Kosovo.
Plan A, to which we have subscribed from the beginning, involves air attacks that will disrupt the violence in Kosovo and weaken the killing machine that is perpetrating that violence. We believe the air campaign is proving successful and that the resolve in Belgrade is weakening by the day. We are confident that our plan will succeed.