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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 27, 2002

Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate

November 26, 2002

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

Pursuant to section 1212 of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001, Public Law 106-398, I hereby submit a report, prepared by my Administration, on the progress made in achieving the militarily significant benchmarks for conditions that would achieve a sustainable peace in Kosovo and ultimately allow for the withdrawal of the United States military presence in Kosovo.

The term "militarily significant" relates to tasks and objectives significant from a military standpoint that once accomplished would allow for withdrawal of military forces from Kosovo. In the establishment of the Kosovo benchmarks, four critical tasks for NATO forces were identified: military stability, public security, border/boundary issues, and war crimes/International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia support. Objectives for these tasks were drawn from United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244, the NATO Operations Plan, the Military Technical Agreement, and the Kosovo Liberation Army Undertaking.

I anticipate that KFOR -- and U.S. participation in it -- will gradually reduce in size as public security conditions improve and Kosovars assume increasing responsibility for their own self-government.

Sincerely,

GEORGE W. BUSH

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