Yugoslavia:
US plan to invade Montenegro

The disintegration of the former Yugoslavia at the hands of imperialism, 
which entailed diplomatic intrigue, covert action, economic sabotage and 
armed intervention, left only two of the former six republics within the 
renamed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY): Serbia and Montenegro.

The US and other Western imperialist powers have refused to recognise the 
FRY, insisting on treating Serbia and Montenegro as separate countries. The 
recent NATO war against Yugoslavia was always referred to as war with 
"Serbia".

The purpose of that war was to further break up the FRY, detaching the 
province of Kosovo from Serbia. Now the US is preparing plans for the 
invasion of Montenegro, to sever it from the FRY and to prop up its pro-US 
leader Milo Djukanovic.

The US organisation Truth in Media (TiM) received the information "from a 
TiM reader, a former US Special Forces officer" who in turn received it 
from his "sources in the Pentagon".

These sources confirmed that operations plans (OPLANs in Pentagon-speak) 
for the invasion of Montenegro and forcible expulsion of Federal Yugoslav 
forces from the Republic are now being upgraded into operations orders 
(OPORDs).

The unit designated as the spearhead for the invasion of Montenegro is the 
2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (II MEF), stationed at Camp Lejune in North 
Carolina.

II MEF already has an Operational Planning Team (OPT) in Macedonia 
calculating how best to secure bridgeheads to militarily support the 
Montenegran government should it decide to declare its independence 
from the FRY.

II MEF has been directed to conduct command post exercises (CPXs) — in 
other words, exercise their staff — to work out the OPORD execution 
requirements with the aim of confronting the 20,000-strong Yugoslav 2nd 
Army in Montenegro. Also included as "enemy" ground forces are the 33,000 
man police force.

Truth in Media's informant says Pentagon joint operations planning is based 
primarily on crippling the Yugoslav army, isolating Serbia, then the 
insertion of occupation forces as "peacekeepers" (the same scenario as 
Kosovo).

In other words, the political decision has already been made by the US 
Government to separate Montenegro from Serbia, thus completing the 
destruction of the FRY.

"Designated US military units are planning for an armed invasion with a 
`peacekeeping' contingency", he writes. "Subordinate units are tasked with 
the seizure of ports, airfields and lines of communication.

"The invasion is planned to follow anti-Serb demonstrations in Montenegro 
organised and financed by the CIA, followed by a declaration of 
independence by Montenegran separatists and the expected suppression of the 
separatists by Federal military forces.

"The US 75th Ranger Regiment has been given a warning order (WARNORD) to 
dust off contingency plans for airfield seizures in Montenegro, and will 
soon stage a number of airfield seizure exercises within the United States 
as rehearsals."

Truth in Media first wrote about the likelihood that the US would try to 
cut off Montenegro from Serbia along the "Green Interstate" line in 
November 1995, immediately after the Dayton Agreement was signed. But as 
the TiM editor notes, "it is one thing to pontificate about geopolitical 
reasons for such a move; and an entirely different level of certainty to 
have such prognostications confirmed by none other than the Pentagon".

Back to index page