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.
Animals do not skin people - people skin people. Your wording is designed to show that the Serbs skinned the head of the corpse as if was scalped by American Indians on the war path - when in reality all those yucky non gunshot wounds - including the decapitations were done by animals. Lots of wild dog packs in the region.
(Scandinavian peace keeping troops in Kosovo got into some trouble for making videos of them shooting wild dogs for sport)
Since it is clear you and your team have no forensic ability, why were you there for?
You must be telepathic to be able to read minds and know what I was thinking.
If you don't even know why we were there you clearly have no understanding of the situation as it existed at the time.
The Albanians after Racak claimed Serbs decapitated and mutilated the bodies including "skinning" (google it). In reality no Albanian was decapitated by a human being. Wild animals scavenging the corpses did it. No wound was described as being "skinned" by the EU forensic team.
If you chose these words without malice - I ask you to invest in a thesaurus so you can better articulate your observations with more accurate words. Or when given such a mission suggest someone more quailified to make forensic observations for the position.
I only wonder what kept you so long from discovering Free Republic or how you could resist to be a lurker for so long, until I posted that January 15 1999 was the key impeachment trial day?
I agree with your statement that "unfortunately, many people took their OPINIONS as fact". Everyone can have an opinion, how informed it is, is another issue.
Take for example your opinion that "I also have seldom seen a group of people more pro-American than the Albanians."
Sure, there is a main street in Pristina named after Bill Clinton. But Albanians are not only pro-American. Albanians were also pro-Hitler during WWII, pro-Communist dictator Tito after WWII and pro-American today. It is safe to assume they are pro-anyone who would help them illegally settle in Kosovo, steal the land from the rightful owners and expell the rest. You failed to mention that pesky detail.
Also your opinion that "After that and a few other incidents in Jan 99, the Serbs got what they desrved."
"The Serbs got what they deserved" is a racist statement. It implies collective guilt and justification of collective punishment. Also, Serbia is a home to 29 ethnic groups and they all got bombed, posoned with DU, PCB and other toxic spillout and their livelihoods destroyed.
Perhaps Clinton indeed did not have an agenda in Kosovo january 15 1999, however it is hard to believe in it. Bombing targets were selected in October 1998. After that it was one-way street.
Since you promised to stand by the claims you call facts, I will adress them one by one to make it easier to follow.
My aim is not confrontation but getting the record straight.
Paratooper: Thank you for your helpful reply and your gracious acceptance of my apology. I'm glad you're here. I have lots of questions, but just peeking in at lunchtime, so I'll wait and ask them when I have time.
Destro: More "skinned." I took it as the same meaning one would when saying a kid fell down anD "skinned" his knee the first time I read it. I took no sinister meaning from it at all. It's been clarified by Paratrooper and I think everyone understands now. Can we please call a moratorium on the "skinned" and the white hats now?
While you are at it. What is the name of the Serbian MUP Commanders and the unit.
Yes, what was that units nomdeguerre/nickname???
By the way, do you have any photographs of that area you were in for us to view?
yeah...welll..your mama wears boots and has armpit hairs too. :)
I guess that the 45 names in Schedule A were taken from KDOM report.
There are 45 names listed. Only 22 have approximate age listed. 23 do not. It is rather odd, having in mind the tight-knit community Albanians live in. Their relatives and neighbors, schoolmates and friends did not know how old they were?
Since you stand by the facts, can you explain why the ages of 23 persons are missing? Was it your sloppiness while making the KDOM report ,Racak inhabitants did not know the dead personally or something else?
Your schedule A link will not open. I am assuming it is the list from the ICTY. If this is so, then it is the same list that KDOM gave them. I know this to be a fact because I saw the list at the ICTY.
I do not remember asking for the ages of the people because at the time it did not seem important. I asked for a list of names and that was given to me.
ICTY ("The Hague") says 45 kiled in Racak were UNARMED CIVILIANS (verbatim: "Although scores of OSCE verifiers were deployed throughout Kosovo, hostilities continued. During this period, a number of killings of Kosovo Albanians were documented by the international verifiers and human rights organisations. In one such incident, on 15 January 1999, 45 unarmed Kosovo Albanians were murdered in the village of Racak in the municipality of Stimlje/Shtime."
I have a question:
How many dead you recorded? 45 or more?
How many were listed as unarmed Albanian civilians, how many as Albanian KLA fighters and how many as Non-Albanian KLA fighters (i.e. mercenaries/foreign advisers)?
Since you admit that some dead were KLA, it is important to know the exact number.
Btw. say greetings to your coleague at work, without his/her help we would not have this discussion :-)
Home village: Mostly Racak with a few from Malopolce.
Age and sex: This has already been covered in previous posts. I am at work right now and will have to go home first to find my notes from that time.
Serbian Commanders: I've got the names of the Police Chiefs of Stimlje and Urosevac at home in my old notes. As I said I will try and find them tonight. As to the unit that attacked Racak, I will have to look in my notes. I can't remember off the top of my head how specific my information was at the time.
Photographs: When we deployed we were told we could not take cameras. Of the pictures taken at Racak, I chose not to bring them back with me because they really were not something you want to look at again. I may have a group picture of some of us in Klina. I'll have to look but I'm not sure what that would prove to you.
He meant in in a reply to me to make the skinning look like an atrocity.
DTA, I thought we went thru this some months ago: Buja (?), the local KLA commander, names the KLA soldiers killed in action at Racak in his testimony at the ICTY; they're in the on-line transcript. Those names are different from the 45 civilians listed, which is consistent with what Paratrooper says above.
I kindly asked Para to share his recollection of the number of the dead with us, and he will do tonight, I was not asking you to comment on Buja.
But since you have mentioned Buja,I would like to hear your opinion. In ICTY testimony, Buja admitted that he killed Serbs (police, military and perhaps others) before the bombing started. Yet, he faced no consequences after the testimony.
Killing police and military personnel is an act of terrorism in U.S. of A. Do you consider Shukri Buja to be a terrorist?
From the indictment for Racak:
Paragraph 66.a. On or about 15 January 1999, in the early morning hours, the village of Racak (Stimlje/Shtime municipality) was attacked by forces of the FRY and Serbia. After shelling, the forces of the FRY and Serbia entered the village later in the morning and began conducting house-to-house searches. Villagers, who attempted to flee from the forces of the FRY and Serbia, were shot throughout the village. A group of approximately 25 men attempted to hide in a building, but were discovered by the forces of the FRY and Serbia. They were beaten and then were removed to a nearby hill, where they were shot and killed. Altogether, the forces of the FRY and Serbia killed approximately 45 Kosovo Albanians in and around Racak. (Those persons killed who are known by name are set forth in Schedule A, which is attached as an appendix to this indictment.)
Follow the indictment link above and the names are listed at the bottom. Those are civilian noncombatants and killing noncombatants is murder--that is what the indictment addresses.
There were KLA in Racak also. According to their commander, nine were killed or died later of wounds. Their names are not included in the above as they were combatants and legitimately killed by the Serb security forces that morning. The KLA commander, Shukri Buja, describes what happened here. (Scroll down to page 6297) Its a long read. The bodies of the KLA soldiers who were killed were later buried in the village of Mullopolc.
Their names were Kadri Syla, Skender Qarri, Ismail Luma, Enver Rashiti, Mehmet Mustafa, Sadik Mujota, Ali Beqa Nazim Kokollari, who was also known as Budakovc, and Skender Jashari. Those names are not included on the list of civlians in the indictment.
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