March 22, 1996, around 7 a.m., the border area between Kentucky and Indiana.
The smell of gunpowder mixed with the scent of damp earth hung over the dilapidated border town.
A convoy composed of military jeeps and black SUVs bounced along the pothole-riddled road, the NATO emblem and the Star-Spangled Banner on the vehicles particularly conspicuous.
The convoy stopped at a relatively intact highland vantage point.
The car doors opened, and a group of men and women in suits that were completely out of place with the surroundings emerged.
Leading them were several core members of the NATO advisory group:
William, the Great British Shit Stirrer, the French representative Durand, and several other NATO member military observers and civilian officials.
Following closely were the Lieutenant Governors of Kentucky and Ohio, with humble smiles mixed with anticipation and anxiety on their faces.
A large group of reporters carrying cameras swarmed in like sharks smelling blood.
