Here you go...
you’ve got to love this man:
(from Wikipedia)
NATO
In 1997 (General Sir Michael David “Mike”) Jackson was appointed Commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. He served in the NATO chain of command as a deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Wesley Clark.
In this capacity, he is best known for refusing, in June 1999, to block the runways of the Russian-occupied Pristina Airport, to isolate the Russian troops there.[1]
Had he complied with General Clark’s order, there was a chance the British troops under his command could have come into armed conflict with the Russians; doing this without prior orders from Britain would have led to his dismissal for gross insubordination. On the other hand, defying Clark would have meant disobeying a direct order from a superior NATO officer (Clark was a four-star general; Jackson only a three-star).
Jackson ultimately chose the latter course of action, reputedly saying “I won’t start World War III for you”,[1] though the point became irrelevant when the American government prevailed upon the Hungarians, Romanians, and Bulgarians to prevent the Russians from using their airspace to fly reinforcements in.
As a result, he was dubbed “Macho Jacko” by the British tabloid press. Among his own troops and the British press, however, Jackson had a reputation for being severe, and prone to anger, earning him the nicknames “Darth Vader” and “Prince of Darkness”.[2]
Jackson went on to serve as Commander-in-Chief, Land Command from 2000 to 2003.
That was actually the SECOND time Weasly Clark tried to start World War III.
Russia had a couple of spy ships in the Adriatic making notes on our conduct of the war in Yugoslavia for future use. Clark gave orders to bomb and sink those ships. Fortunately, word got back to Washington and his orders were overruled before they could be carried out.
The man was an idiot. It is said that his fellow officers called him The Ultimate Perfumed Prince.
Thank you. I knew that Clark had done something extremely stupid concerning the Russians, but for the life of me I couldn’t remember the details.