NATO Bombs Are Accurate

Not all U.S.-led NATO bombing is precise. But an amazing, truly amazing, amount of it is.

This is based on first-hand, on-the-ground observation and assessments made by your reporter and others while in Belgrade and while going through other parts of Yugoslavia, both in the Belgrade outskirts and beyond.

Certainly, mistakes are made. And more are bound to come in the future, as the amount of air strikes is increased.

We learned during and after the Gulf War that claims of precision air strikes were overstated. But, two points: number one, Gulf War strikes were, even after properly discounting some claims, remarkably accurate. And number two, the U.S. weapons now being rained on Serbia are even more accurate.

You cannot spend time in Serbia now and not be impressed with the accuracy of the bombing.

Your reporter has walked the ground in and around one target after another, and viewed air strikes as they were happening, and can testify it's a fact: the accuracy is impressive.

Rank-and-file Serbs with whom your reporter spoke while in the country, and some officials, acknowledge this. But they emphasize that Americans don't realize -- or, as they put it, choose to ignore -- how much damage is inflicted around many of the targets that are hit with precision.

They point to schools closed because of broken windows and structural damage from nearby mega-explosions, and in some cases, hospitals shaken. In general, ordinary peoplesÂ' property is damaged and lives are disrupted.

Even with precision bombing, war is still hell.