Nelson, James Military Operations from Kosovo to Kabul. The Unique Experiences of a Combat Lawyer

In this highly unusual role for a lawyer, the author found himself in 1998 having to learn on his feet at a frightening pace as the newly promoted senior legal advisor to the charismatic General Sir Mike Jackson, the commander who led the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps into strife-torn Kosovo the following year to restore some sort of normality in the aftermath of the NATO bombing campaign. A peace deal was finally signed, only for Russia to intervene at the eleventh hour. The author was asked to provide rules of engagement for NATO to eject a stubborn Russian unit from Pristina by force, amongst fears of starting World War III, one of the few occasions when he thought perhaps civilian legal practice might not have been such a bad idea after all. Ten years later the author was back at HQ ARRC, promoted to Colonel. The culture shock on this occasion was not so much, spending six months in Afghanistan as being professionally embedded in a large American military legal office led by a hyper energetic US officer from the "deep south". Unlike the short, sharp Kosovo experience in central Europe, this war in central Asia was the longest in the history of the USA, although for the British it was just the latest in a succession of operations going back two centuries to the "Great Game". Trying to apply the law, balancing the need for aggression with compliance with Western notions of human rights, and vain efforts to win over the hearts and minds of a proud but impoverished people historically blighted by conflict proved to be unimaginably fraught. "Military Operations from Kosovo to Kabul" is one experienced soldiers fascinating account of these historic events, seen on the ground from the perspective of a legal professional, seldom associated with fighting wars.

In this highly unusual role for a lawyer, the author had to learn at a frightening pace in 1998 as the newly promoted senior legal adviser to the charismatic General Sir Mike Jackson, the commander who led the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps into strife-torn Kosovo the following year to restore some normality after the NATO bombing. Eventually a peace agreement was signed, but Russia intervened at the last minute. The author was asked to draw up rules of engagement for NATO to forcibly evict a recalcitrant Russian unit from Pristina for fear of triggering World War III - one of the few occasions when he thought that civilian law practice might not have been such a bad idea after all. Ten years later, the author was back at ARRC headquarters and promoted to colonel. The culture shock this time was not so much spending six months in Afghanistan, but being professionally embedded in a large American military legal office headed by a hyper-energetic US officer from the "deep south". In contrast to the short, sharp Kosovo experience in Central Europe, this war in Central Asia was the longest in US history, although for the British it was only the latest in a series of operations stretching back two centuries to the Great Game. The attempt to restore justice, to reconcile the need for aggression with adherence to Western notions of human rights, and the futile endeavour to win the hearts and minds of a proud but impoverished people, scarred by conflict since time immemorial, proved unimaginably difficult.