GREECE DEEMS THREAT FROM BOSNIAN ARABS

menewsline.com ^ | 12/17/2003 15:31:25 | MENL

[Destro]

:)

[Billthedrill]

That was as a result of her own difficulties in Macedonia. I certainly wouldn't care to minimize Greece's contributions in Afghanistan, but her position on Iraq was not well-informed. Pity, too - she had a major opening when the Turks managed to pooch their own position.

We're sending the U.S. Olympic team next year and hence have a vested interest in area security. We'll play. But I for one would like to hear a little less shrillness from the Greeks, because my temper's a little short at this point and the Colonels were a long, long time ago.

[Destro]

I consider the war against Iraq's Baathist regime important but I do not consider it as part of the war on al-Qaeda (which some wrongly misnomer as a war on terror-clearly we are not fighting all terrorists of all kinds just the ones that came after us). Just like our war with Japan had little to do with our war with Germany. Hence I do not judge countries on the Iraq issue too harshly.

Secondly, while not helping in Iraq outright Greece has ponied up some cash. I will look for the article.

[Destro]

Greece to offer funds for Iraq reconstruction

20 October 2003

Greece offered a financial contribution Monday to Iraqi reconstruction in addition to its share in the 200 million eurosmillion dollars) pledged by the European Union, officials said here.

The amount will be announced in the coming days, Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis told reporters.

[Billthedrill]

Heh heh...so has France, but I will have to admit the Greeks were there first!

[mark502inf]

The greek covernment fianally admitts they have no control over their northern borders. The are trying to figure out how to have nato join in to foot the bill (the americans) to help prop up their boarder.

Looks like the Greeks think just the opposite, here's a news excerpt from 7 Nov 2003:

ATHENS: Greece said on Thursday it would move army units posted on the frontier with former Soviet bloc countries to its border with long-time rival Turkey as part of plans to streamline the military... Defence Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said at a press conference. "The northern threat doesn’t exist anymore," he added. Greece is ... disbanding a number of units that were located during the Cold War alongside Greece’s border with its northern neighbours Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria.

[mark502inf]

we have turned Bosnia and Kosovo (especially the latter) into lawless zones

True that there's lots of smuggling, but let's take a look at some excerpts from the State Department's report on Human Rights in Serbia & Kosovo during 2002:

"There were 68 killings of citizens in Kosovo during the year, compared with 136 in 2001. According to available figures, assailants killed 60 Kosovar Albanians, 6 Kosovo Serbs, and 2 persons of unknown ethnicity. Most killings of Kosovo Serbs and other minorities were ethnically motivated (see Section 5), but the majority of murders of Kosovar Albanians apparently were connected to family and economic rivalries and criminal activities. Police reported 47 arrests for murder during the year: 43 other suspects were Albanians, 2 were Serbs, and 2 were of other ethnicities."

Compare 68 murders for about 2,000,000 people in Kosovo with the rate in D.C. or Miami, or Houston. And check out the actual figures for the Serbs versus what the Milosevic apologists would have us believe.

[longtermmemmory]

that may be. But when I was there the people have a very different opinion. It could just be cover for inadequacy.

[nomoreheroes]

Translation: The greek covernment fianally admitts they have no control over their northern borders. The are trying to figure out how to have nato join in to foot the bill (the americans) to help prop up their boarder.

Who does control their own border? Greece isn't trying , it has a right as a member of NATO for assitance and to have its security concerns adressed by the organization that is responsible (due to lack of enforcement) for security in occupied Balkans.

[nomoreheroes]

Read it again - the Greeks are getting their panties in a twist because something could happen, not because it actually is.

I did read it again, and I thought what the US would do if it there were 2,000 Arabs training in Mexico? How about pre-emptive strike, isn't that the way things are done these days?

[Hoplite]

If the US already had troops on the ground and intelligence agencies watching the hypothetical 2,000 Arabs in Mexico, and those Arabs were for the most part not doing anything noteworthy, you'd have a hard time selling any pre-emptive strike.

Such is the case in Bosnia - we have snatched troublemakers from Bosnia in the past and we continue to do so, with the cooperation of the Bosnian government. There is one village, Bocinja, where the Mujahadeen have settled, and it is closely watched, though the Serbs would have you believe that it is a mini-Waziristan or something.

[nomoreheroes]

Officials said Western intelligence agencies have assessed that some of those Arab nationals could be training to carry out attacks on Israeli, U.S. or other targets during the Olympics in Athens.

I take that as a serious enough reason for Greece to be concerned for its own security. The US has shown that pre-emptive stikes to preserve security is the most effective action against terrorism. Get the cockroaches before they multiply. Passive tolerance of destabilizing forces in the Balkans is a sign of support for those forces.

[Hoplite]

So we're back to the Greeks worrying about something that could happen, when our forces in Bosnia are actively engaged in watching those the Greeks are worried about.

The 'Arabs' in Bosnia bear watching, but they are being watched, and scooped up and sent to Guantanamo when appropriate.