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.
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
I have examined the folder of enlarged photographs shown to me by Investigator NAME DELETED at the ICTY on 6 February 1999. I recognize the photographs as depicting scenes of Racak and of a number of the dead persons I saw on 16 January 1999 as described below.
On the way up to the ravine I saw a relatively freshly dug trench, just outside the town of Racak. I passed by the trench and saw a woman crying. I saw a man’s body that had been shot in the head. It looked like he had been turned over. His body was about a foot away from where it appeared he had fallen, away from the pool of blood. It appeared he had been shot in the back of the head and there was a piece of bone protruding under his eye and cheekbone. Photographs xx-xx depict this scene. Many of the bodies I saw looked like they had been turned over to identify them. Every body I saw that day was in civilian clothes. With the exception of the woman and boy described below, all the bodies I saw were male aged between 18-80 years old.
About 20-30 feet past the first body, another man was shot in the head. Photographs xx-xx depict this scene. The third body I saw was also shot in the head about 30 feet past. The fourth body was about 10 feet further away shot in the head. At this point we also saw ammunition cartridges and cardboard boxes with .762 calibre markings on them. We collected these and handed them over to OSCE that night with a report.
We continued up the hill another 20 ft and found another man’s body. A further body was about 10 feet up the hill. A few feet further up the hill I saw a group of 15 bodies. I did not closely examine the wounds of these 15 people. I had looked closely at the people who were spaced apart. About 10m to the north in a ravine, another body was located. My impression at this point was that they had been executed as all had been shot in the head and the large number grouped together. Photographs xx to xx depicts this group of bodies.
TO BE CONTINUED
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
We continued down the hill and found a body of another man. He had been shot near the groin. There was a large amount of blood which had run down his leg into his boots. His boot was full of blood. His foot appeared to be broken at a 90 degree angle at his ankle. It appeared that he had been shot while running away.
I continued down the ravine until we got back to the southern end of town. I found a man who had been killed outside. There was a large amount of blood and brains on a rock outside. His body had been moved inside a room of a house. I saw that the top part of his head was missing. There was also a huge gash in the skin leading from the top of his head to his eye. I reported at the time that part of the injury couls have been caused by an axe. There also appeared to be a half moon shaped wound that indicated a bullet entry. I also found a part of the top of his head down the hill, about 20 feet from the rock. Photograph xx depicts the house described above. Photographs xx-xx depict the man described above.
There was another man’s body, with a gunshot in the head in the next house down the slope. Photograph xx-xx depict this scene. There was another man in a nearby house sitting in the yard. Part of his eye was hanging out of his skull. Photographs xx-xx depict this scene.
Next to the house was a stream and a hill. Three bodies were found on that hill. We were told that these three were brothers. The men had been shot in various positions up the hill and their body positions indicated that they had been shot while running away. Photographs xx-xx and xx depict this scene.
TO BE CONTINUED
FYI only ping.
BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION
We returned to the center of town. I saw a man’s body whose head was missing. It appeared as if his head had exploded around the yard. There was only a small part of his neck remaining. It looked as if his family had covered up his body with wood and blankets but not moved him. Photographs xx-xx depict this scene.
The next body we saw was the man we saw the night before with part of his head missing. The next we saw was a woman we saw had been shot in the back. The entry wound was in the back and the exit wound near the shoulder. We were told that she may have been helping wounded people and was shot by the police while doing so. Photographs xx and xx depict this woman.
We then saw that woman’s father who had been shot in the head. The next we saw had been shot in the head, decapitated and the skin removed from the head.
The next we saw were three males together. One was a father, the second was the son about 10-12 years old, another was a relative about 18 years old. Thefather had been shot in the chest and knee. The boy had been shot in the neck. The third had been shot in the abdomen.
They were the last bodies I saw personally. I heard reports from colleagues that another two bodies were found in Racak. I also heard reports from Albanians that another five persons had been killed in Racak who were from the village of Malopoljce. Their bodies had apparently been returned to Malopoljce.
The relative of the man with the headless body asked when he could bury the body. I asked Femi to delay burying the bodies as it was important to document and record what had happened. He agreed.
On 16th January 1999 while I made my observations described above in Racak, I took 30 photographs of the bodies. The film I took was later handed over to NAME DELETED, OSCE. I later saw the photographs developed and they can be identified with a date reference on the photograph
END
That’s all I will write tonight. My fingers are getting tired. The rest pertains to the meeting between Buja and AMB Walker and other events following later. If there is any interest I can transcribe it on another day.
Oh, and someone asked me about the name of the Serbian units on the scene. According to my testimony I heard it was Arkan’s paramilitary units with possible involvement from foreign mercenaries.
Calpernia, Your original post has grown--and check out Paratrooper_501's FReerepublic exclusive eyewitness account of the Racak incident.
But UN legal officials say his trial was dogged by procedural irregularities and that trial testimony was contradicted by forensic evidence and initial witness statements.
According to one UN legal officer with knowledge of the case, the panel of two international judges and one Albanian judge had considered abandoning the trial for lack of evidence, "but they didn't dare to do it. Politically speaking it was not possible.
"The people of Racak would have been furious. Racak is a symbol of what happened during the war for all Albanians. They gave in to pressure, pressure that was exerted through out the case."
Four key trial witnesses altered their testimony between giving statements to members of the international criminal tribunal for Yugoslavia and appearing in court. Two witness claims that victims had been shot though the front of the head were contradicted by forensic evidence. senior UN legal official said the Stanojevic trial reflected weaknesses throughout the Kosovo judicial process. "The quality of evidence is very very poor and relies on testimony for which there is very little supporting evidence. No one hesitates to make things up.
I did in several posts above.
Some of our posters have spent a significant amount of time either supporting the Milosevic regime version of events at Racak, or attempting to discredit, through whatever means, the results of the investigations surrounding the attack on Racak once it became apparent they couldn't be spun the proper way.
So your presence here, on this forum, is somewhat problematical for them.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
I have noticed. I have spent the last six years listening to lies about what happened including those written in COL Hackworth's articles (they really made me mad because they were supposedly written by Army guys). At first I felt I couldn't say anything since I was still on active duty. Later I just quit paying attention. Last week I read the original post about Racak and just got downright mad. I'll let my posts stand on their own. For those that have their minds made up the posts are probably irrelevant. Those who still think freely can judge the posts for what they are worth.
Destro, there's no question that Racak was a crime against humanity committed by Serb forces. The ONLY issue they are resolving at the Hague is the extent to which the higher level chain of command up to Slobo should be held liable. And based on these telephone intercepts it is clear that the Racak crimes weren't just confined to the local Serb units and commanders.
Also, thanks for your career of service in the Army and whatever you do, don't feel like a failure just because you were in the 501st and not the 502d Infantry.
Paratrooper: I wish I had more time to respond better, but for now... thank you very much for taking the time and trouble to provide your notes here. It is most helpful, and I look forward to more. You have already provided some answers to questions that had always me about Racak.
And, oh yes, I second Mark's #272.
Did you ever have any contact with KLA Commanders Remi (Rustem Mustafa); Shala; Drini; Ramush; or Bardhi ?
You distort the article like you distortthe truth. UN and Amnesty International - the Albanian witnesses are shown to have lied - made up - their eye witness testimony - which contradicts forensic evidence (no execution style wounds). You just can't be honest with yourself.
So what good did your observations do? Would it have not been more logical to send in a forensic team? Who needs experts. Good enough for gubberment work.
Give it up Destro. Racak happened and the Serbs did it. Maybe you should just go back to complaining about the USA decision to call Macedonia by its constitutional name without consulting the Greeks.
According to one UN legal officer with knowledge of the case, the panel of two international judges and one Albanian judge had considered abandoning the trial for lack of evidence, "but they didn't dare to do it. Politically speaking it was not possible.
"The people of Racak would have been furious. Racak is a symbol of what happened during the war for all Albanians. They gave in to pressure, pressure that was exerted through out the case."
If you will recall, OSCE was in the process of doing just that when on the morning of 17 Jan the Serbs attacked again and seized all the evidence.
What did you think about these KLA commanders ?
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