Posted on 11/12/2004 5:28:06 AM PST by Calpernia
The last of Clinton’s bombs fell on Serbia over five years ago. But now, America is focused on another war, so that the media in the U.S. can treat Clinton’s debacle in the Balkans, and its ongoing aftermath, as though they were yesterday’s news. It is easy to see why the American public has not yet come to terms with a number of vital issues connected with those events.
Unanswered Questions in the Balkans:
Where is the evidence of “ethnic cleansing” in Kosovo - and where are those “mass graves”?
Each war gets a different media “spin.” The direction of “spin” depends upon whether the media intend to help or to hurt the current administration. For several years, the U.S. media have been relentlessly harping upon the question of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, and demanding to know whether any of them have been found. We know that Iraq once had them. We know that they once used them. We know that Iraq did not side with the U.S. in the so-called “war on terrorism.” (Considering that radical factions of Islam have declared war on the U.S., it is a nonsequitor to declare war on a tactic rather than an enemy. See Rip Snortin' Van Winkle & Strange Bedfellows--Then and Now for our earlier comments.) We know that Saddam Hussein publicly offered large sums of money to the families of suicide bombers. Yet we keep encountering the same public expressions of outrage in the U.S. Many continue to ask, “Where are those weapons that were supposed to be in Iraq?”
Well, Serbia was never allied with anyone who attacked the US—never ever! Out of the blue, the Clinton-dominated media began concocting tales of “ethnic cleansing” that accused the Serbs of atrocities comparable to those of the Third Reich. As the war against the Serbian people raged on, the American public was fed a steady diet of what were purported to be “aerial photos of mass graves.” So, five years later, where are those “mass graves”?
Why won’t the current administration in the U.S. denounce Clinton’s support of bin Laden’s allies in the Balkans?
We are getting almost daily reports of the ongoing mess that has followed the Bushes’ war in Iraq. This is a valid concern. Many have pointed out the dismal failure of America’s attempt to force its own idea of “democracy” on the Iraqi people.
But where is the outrage over the mess that US foreign policy has made in Kosovo? The people that the U.S. and its NATO allies were allegedly fighting to protect were, and still are, the worst violators of minority rights on the planet.
Following my article, The Tale of Two Shquiptars, I heard from a number of individuals who claimed to be young Albanians. They all engaged in polite dialog. They all told me, in one way or another, that Islam played no role in the reasons for the conflict between their people and the Serbs in Kosovo. They also scoffed at my claims that al-Qaeda and the KLA had any connection with that war. In every other way, their stories diverged so much that they each seemed to be talking about a different conflict. Most of them asked me to set the folks at Serbianna straight.
After I referred them all to the detailed information available on Emperors Clothes at Bin Laden in the Balkans, none of them could give me a cogent reason to doubt the information presented there. Since then, we have received permission from Emperors Clothes to post the data on our website, www.tvweber.com, also, at www.tvweber.com/binLaden_KLA.htm. So why won’t the current administration in the U.S. denounce Clinton’s support of bin Laden’s allies in the Balkans?
Taking It to the Air
One of the reasons for getting my book to press was that it would afford an opportunity to vindicate the Serbs. The title of the book, The Crumbling Wall Against Tyranny: a/k/a The United States Constitution, does not give the slightest suggestion that there is anything in it that would remotely relate to the Balkans. Even so, in the span of seven pages, the reader sees a clear link between Clinton’s radical Muslim allies in the Balkans and the perpetrators of the 9-11 attack upon the United States. Those tragedies exemplify what can happen when the president is permitted to flout the Constitution with impunity, and to usurp powers not granted to the Presidency under the Constitution.
Using talk radio, we now have a chance to get these messages to the Christian people in America. It is my personal “aerial attack” upon the misinformation and propaganda that bombards us all.
Hence, among the suggested questions for discussion that my publicist sends to radio talk show hosts is: “Why do you call President Clinton, ‘al Qaeda’s man in the White House?’”
With the world listening, I explain in concise, “sound bite” language that Clinton conducted a war against the Christian people of the Balkans, on behalf of bin Laden’s allies. I don’t even need to say the word “Serb.” Some listeners understand immediately; others will need to think about the message first. But a Christian audience should have no trouble getting the message.
If the Crumbling Wall Falls, Tyranny Reigns
My book is about the American system of government, how it should work, and why it no longer works so well. It roundly condemns the actions of those U.S. presidents who have—contrary to their Constitutional status—assumed the powers that allowed Clinton to launch his war against the Serbian people without interference from Congress.
Only Congress has the power to declare war, and there had been no declaration of war, yet Congress sat back and let the war continue. It is illegal for a President to do as Clinton did; yet the American people accepted it. Neither Congress nor the American people attempted to stop him.
The potential for tyranny is great when one man can single-handedly start a war and no one dare raise a hand to stop him.
America at the Crossroads
The bitterness of the 2004 campaign season is one more piece of evidence that the US has lost its Constitutional moorings. Every four years, we can each offer a miniscule degree of input regarding who our next dictator will be. Except for those who have already resigned themselves to the idea of being, in effect, slaves to the government of the United State (intentionally leaving the “s” out of “States), and those who feel that the U.S. is beyond hope, citizens are in absolute horror over the outcome of each election.
With the Clinton administration long out of power, it is time for America to make amends. Both Democrats and Republicans need to take an honest look at Clinton’s failed foreign policy and assume responsibility for setting matters aright.
With the President’s new administration about to begin, there is absolutely NO excuse for retaining anyone in the federal government who still considers the Serbs to be “war criminals,” the Russians to be our “geopolitical rivals,” and the KLA and Bosnian Muslim fanatics to be our “friends.” It is not our purpose to raise the issue of the Constitutional definition of treason, which was once a capital offense rather than a prerequisite for entry into America’s self-styled elite. But it is entirely reasonable to insist that the federal government cease to employ those people in any position of public trust!
The administration needs to look for honest and capable people who are free of racist bigotry against Slavic peoples, and free of religious bigotry against Orthodox Christians. It may even be necessary to recruit candidates from sources other than the Ivy League, the University of Chicago, or the Beltway “think tanks,” which evidently have become breeding grounds for their own particular prejudices and distorted worldviews.
The Serbs have been an ally of the U.S. since there was a free Serbia in the 19th century. Isn’t it time to renounce Clinton’s failed Balkans policy, apologize to the Serbian people, and restore the lands that they have lost due to the wrongful intervention of the American military?
If not, let us remind you of the slogan, “Serbia, the land where empires die.” Who would have expected the once-mighty empire of the Ottoman Turks, the Austro-Hungarian empire of the Hapsburgs, and the formidable Nazi empire of the Third Reich, all to become extinct after picking on tiny Serbia? On what basis do the American government and people claim to be the sole exception to the principles of history and of common sense that apply to everyone else? Is America too blinded by vainglorious pride to see that it is following the same downhill path that landed its old enemies in the dustbin of history?
Far better for the US to swallow its national pride, repent of its errors, and join hands with Serbia in heartfelt cooperation—so that al-Qaeda can be the next empire to die in the Balkans rather than America’s empire.
Like the witnesses whose credibility I tore apart in my links?
As long as u don't smell like her!
LOL! In your dreams!
Racak happened. The Serbs did it. And the evidence proves it.
I think Joan just fainted!
Ever been to the David Copperfield's show? It looks so real, but isn't, althouhg you can see it with your own eyes.
In a perfect world, we would be able to pool all available information about Racak together, and the various noise signals would cancel each other and the truth, the whole of the truth and nothing but the truth would remain.
I want to hear your account, because it can help us move in that direction.
I have no hard feelings, although I don't particularly like being called a liar (not by you, but by others). Also I understand perfectly your skepticism. Here you have been having this discussion on and off for five years and along comes a newbie that claims to have been there.
I just got home and although I haven't yet found my notes yet I did find my witness statement I gave to the ICTY at the Hague on 5 & 6 Feb 1999. I will transcribe the pertinent parts of it here verbatim. After reading it I have already noticed a few small differences and additions from my memory. As I said before, my memory is not perfect. I won't try to hide those differences but will post them as is for you to judge. There is one caveat and that is that unless I know for sure a name is already public knowledge I am going to delete the specific names in the transcription. These are primarily other KDOM and OSCE observers and translators. If this causes anyone to doubt the veracity of this report, oh well. The whole statement was 12 typewritten pages long so I will post a little at a time. Unfortunately, I don't have an electronic copy and don't have a scanner. So, give me a few minutes and I'll post the first part.
Starting on page 4. The statement was originally typed by someone else while I was dictating. If I have to insert a clarifying comment I will do so enclosed in brackets. The first few pages contained background information and incidents on both sides that I believed led up to the incident on 15 Jan.
START TRANSCRIPTION
On 15th January, 1999 I was patrolling with NAME DELETED and NAME DELETED, our interpreter. About 9am our Operations center told us there was tank fire in the Racak area so we proceeded there and arrived [in Stimlje] at about 9:45am. Upon arrival I spoke to a police officer who was stopping cars in the center of town. I asked him what was happening. He replied words to the effect: “that the police were conducting an operation to arrest or catch the terrorists who had recently killed some police.”
I then saw an OSCE vehicle from Urosevac which included NAME DELETED, NAME DELETED,and NAME DELETED. I made observations from the town of Stimlje. I could see two tanks and a Serbian 30mm anti aircraft gun and a police Pinzgauer transport vehicle sitting on the ridge between Stimlje and Racak. The tank was shooting in a south easterly direction. We could also hear machine gun and small arms fire from the direction of Racak.
About 10:45am NAME DELETED [from the OSCE vehicle] and I relocated on a tall hill (hill 685) south of Stimlje for better observation. From that hill I could see parts of the towns of Racak, Petrova, and Malopoljce. I could see in plain view the tanks and anti aircraft guns previously mentioned. Between 11am and 12pm, I saw several police cars go up the crest of the hill identified as Hill 685. The police established a firing position on top of the hill. They were followed by a Serbian T55 tank several minutes later and then a 30mm anti aircraft gun. During this entire time, the tanks on the ridge between Stinlje and Racak were periodically firing south towards Petrova and Malopoljce. The tanks and weapons on Hill 685 were also firing so that the entire field of fire encompassed the area from the south end of the town of Racak to the town of Malopoljce. This also included mortar fire.
About 12pm I could see a column of smoke coming from Malopoljce. I drove further up the hill 685 to see what was burning. I established the location of the burning building and that the tanks were firing at the village. I moved when I realized the tanks were firing over our heads with 12.75 mm machine guns towards Petrova. I moved to my original position about 300m north of the tanks.
END TRANSCRIPTION
To be continued after a short break.
It's a .PDF, and is part of a Brit DU report, but I've found it helpful for trying to figure out who was where.
CONTINUE TRANSCRIPTION
We stayed there throughout the afternoon observing tanks and mortars firing towards Petrova and Malopoljce where I could see that they were firing at houses and impacting on houses. At 1500hrs from my position, I was about 700m from the house, I saw a muzzle flash from the tank and I saw two rounds impact on the house. A short time later, I saw people run from the house and into another house, a short distance away. I saw that the house fired upon had been occupied as there was smoke coming from the chimney of that house. At no time during the day did I see any indication that there was any weapons fire from the house.
The fighting continued until 1545hrs. Between 1545 and 1600 I saw the tanks drive away and the police leave the hills. They went to an assembly area in the hills 1km north west of Stimlje. At the same time, OSCE reinforcements from Prizren arrived (two cars). We met them near the assembly area. We had a short discussion and then we saw transport vehicles filled with police (MUPS wearing black uniforms and ski masks) move from the assembly area and drive towards Urosevac where they drove into the police barracks compound and stopped and got out. Some were still observed to be wearing black ski masks (Seen by OSCE crew).
TO BE CONTINUED
Thanks, this is a good to be able to speak from a common reference point.
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
At this time I went down the road towards Petrova to inspect the houses that had been shot at by the tanks and check if anyone had been killed there. I found the house that had been hit. It had hit a gate and part of the roof. I talked to a couple of Albanian villagers. They said no one had been killed as they had hid in the basement all day however they did not know where their children were as they had gone to the woods. It was about 1630 at this time and was starting to get dark.
I returned to Racak and met up with two teams from the OSCE. There were a few civilian villagers walking around. One of the OSCE staff showed me the body of a deceased man which was in the courtyard of his house. I examined the body and saw that the front half of his skull was gone, including the face above the mouth to the top of his head, blown away and his skull was empty. There were pieces of brain on the ground which appeared to have fallen where the man had been struck and died. At that time, the villagers that we saw could not tell us if or how many casualties there were. After a short discussion, I and one of the OSCE vehicles decided to travel to Petrova to meet with the UCK with the intention to meet their commanders and request them to exercise restraint during the night.
About 700 metres north of Petrova, we were met by a UCK squad who were in an agitated state. They were crouched down in the gully behind bushes. One of them jumped out on the road and ran around to the drivers side of the car. [I was driving] He asked for our interpreter and our documents. We handed over our passports for verification [we had diplomatic passports]. A few minutes later a car full of UCK soldiers (4-5) drove up in front of us. After about 5-10 minutes of discussions, they decided to allow us to travel to Petrova and asked us to follow them in their car. We went to Petrova to their meeting house which is where the UCK conduct all meetings with outsiders.
TO BE CONTINUED
There is at least an additional bullet hole below the heart area which is close to center mass. Besides, if the man was laying on his stomach shooting - like the fighters in the Jashari montage photo I posted earlier - there would be lack of bullets to his lower body. However from that photo we can't be aware of all the bullets. He also could have been shooting from a trench or from behind a large rock whereby only his upper body was exposed. We do see bullets to his arms - right near the crook of his right elbow - probably his fighting arm, and around his shoulder (just a bit higher the bullet would have missed or skimmed his shoulder). That is not the pattern for execution where a bullet or two goes to the head. What execution style killing targets a man's lower bicep? Or what goes for a few inches more center than his upper shoulder?
I don't think any had bullets JUST to their heads.
All the men were shot in the head.
But in other parts of their bodies too as would be consistent with a shoot out. Also, reports said that at least a few bodies were tampered with after death. The KLA easily, and probably did add some extra shootings to the already dead victims' heads. The KLA had 17 hours and plenty of weapons and freedom to do such a thing. They had the town to themselves.
Yeah, and in that stance their lower bodies would be protected from bullets, but their heads, shoulders, fighting arm would be exposed - consistent of the injuries to the dead man.
These guys were well ouside and south of Racak. Please wait until I get to the part with my observations of the dead in the gully and then critique what I saw.
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
As we got there a group of Albanian men gathered around the car. This included some villagers from Petrova and some soldiers [UCK]. I spoke to Femi, assistant to NAME DELETED1. I have previously been told by the regional commander of the UCK for that region that NAME DELETED1 had been authorized by the General Staff, UCK, to speak for the UCK. From speaking to the men there, we ascertained that they did not know of any civilian casualties in Petrova. They did not appear to know of anything that happened outside Petrova other than there had been shooting all day. They all appeared to be fairly agitated. I also met a UCK soldier I knew named NAME DELETED. (last name unknown) He’s normally with NAME DELETED1 as a translator. After talking to this group for some time we left and returned to Racak about 1830hrs.
We drove into Racak and found an Aamerican OSCE observer based at Prizren nicknamed “NAME DELETED” who was applying first aid to three civilians. There was about 20 villagers around, all in civilian clothes and I believe all male. One of the men was holding a piece of skull which he claimed to be from his brother. One of the men gave us a list of about 20 men wh he said had been arrested and taken to the police station in Urosevac. We gave that list to NAME DELETED, operations officer, OSCE Urosevac to make inquiries. We found there had been two other casualties in the village, an elderly man and woman in her fifties. We brought them down to the car. We talked to some of the villagers to try and determine what had happened. They said most of the people had left the village and were up in the mountains. They estimated that perhaps 15 people may have been shot. No one had a clear idea.The villagers stated that some of the forces who did the raid wore black uniforms and ski masks. Others they recognized their faces as police from Stimlje. Others they recognized as civilians from Stimlje in police uniforms.
TO BE CONTINUED
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
The men had been gathered up; the police had told them to run away; that they were free to go; as they ran away the police had shot at them. None of the persons who spoke to us indicated that they had seen this directly, rather they heard it from other sources. We places a few injured people in the car and drove them to the hospital in Stimlje for treatment. When we arrived there, there was two police standing in the door watching us. They remained at the hospital the whole time we were there. It took about 45 minutes for treatment. We evacuated them to Pristina. I took a boy aged about 10-12, a woman in her 20’s, a woman in her 50’s and elderly man in his 70’s to Pristina hospital. During the drive to Pristina I asked these people some more questions. They repeated the account that men had been gathered up; told to run away and then shot. The woman in her 50’s had said her husband and son had been killed that day. She had been shot near the knee. The boy was injured in the lower right leg. The old man was shot in the back and buttocks. The woman in her 2-‘s was wounded in the arm. The hospital [in Stimlje] had refused to evacuate these people in their ambulance. We left these people in the care of the doctors ar Pristina Hospital. We handed over the treatment papers from Stimlje. Another woman in her late teens or early 20’s had been wounded in the upper arm. NAME DELETED took her to a relatives house in Urosevac.
My translator, NAME DELETED retained the names of the people we evacuated. We dropped the translator off at his house and returned to KDOM HQ for the night. I wrote a daily report that night. Several days later, Serbians dressed in civilian clothes recognized NAME DELETED [the translator] from CNN reports of Racak and pistol whipped him severely about the face which required many stiches. NAME DELETED [the translator] is a male in his fifties and lives in Pristina, currently employed by the OSCE as a translator.
TO BE CONTINUED
END of the first day
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
At 0700hrs on the 16th January 1999 we met at the road intersection, center of town, Stimlje. NAME DELETED was in charge of this area. About 0715 I returned to Petrova to the meeting house with the intention of speaking with UCK. Initially there were just a few UCK soldiers and civilians walking around. I spoke to NAME DELETED [the same one I had spoke to the night before] a UCK military policeman. (The UCK have military policemen who also fight but are utilized to enforce certain orders or laws of the UCK. They are used to guard premises occupied by the UCK high command and othe sentry duties. They wear armbands with the initials PU on them which is Albanian equivalent of MP. They also dress completely in black uniforms and wear black berets.) NAME DELETED told me that thee had been no civilians hurt in Petrova as he had rounded them up the day before and sent them to a safer place. He told me that he had heard through another source that the police had taken a group of people into the mountains near Racak and slit their throats. Apparently a boy had seen that and got away. I asked if he knew about a group of men being shot. He said he did not know that.
About 20 minutes later, Femi returned. At that point he did not know any more than the night before. A short time later, a UCK policeman came in with a list of manes of civilians who had been killed. At that time there was about 20 names. We drew the distinction between civilians and soldiers. In the course of the conversation I also ascertained that 8 UCK soldiers had been killed. The regional commander of the UCK, Buja (first name unknown) arrived. His region includes the villages of Stimlje and Urosevac, all the way south to the border with Macedonia. Buja was extremely irate and not in the mood to listen. He said, “This is all your fault that this happened. You sat up on the hill and did nothing when you should have been in the town stopping it.” He also said we interfered in their capacity to defend themselves as they would not shoot in our direction and we were in the line of fire. He also accused us of escorting the VJ back to the barracks which prevented the UCK from attacking the column as it went down the road. I attempted to explain that we were not intentionally trying to protect the VJ from their line of fire. We had not escorted the column, we were following them to ascertain where they had come from. He was in no mood to listen to anything; he cut me off and said he was busy and that he had to go back to work and left. Although he was irate and verbally accused us, I did not feel physically threatened at all. He was just irate at what had happened.
TO BE CONTINUED
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
Another soldier came in and gave Femi another piece of paper with additional civilian casualties, about 15 names. Femi appeared distraught at the sight of the names he received. Reports came in at that stage that there had been some sort of mass killing at Racak.
Between 0800-0830 I told Femi that it was important that we go and check Racak to ascertain what happened. NAME DELETED [the UCK MP] said he would have to coordinate permission from the UCK authorities to enter Racak. He sent another soldier in the car to get that permission and said to wait for about 10 minutes. While waiting, about 4-5 OSCE cars came by and I informed NAME DELETED what was happening. About 15 minutes later we got the authority to move. We took NAME DELETED and Femi in our cars.
First thing I saw in town was a UCK soldier, sitting on a rock, crying and hitting his gun. In Racak we were led by civilians and escorted by UCK soldiers up the ridge line, west of Racak, above the town in a small ravine.
TO BE CONTINUED
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