Posted on 03/19/2008 4:08:36 PM PDT by joan
WASHINGTON (AFP) — President George W. Bush authorized Wednesday supplying Kosovo with weapons, signaling the establishment of government-to-government relations after recognizing its independence, the White House said.
In a memo to the State Department made public by the White House, Bush said: "I hereby find that the furnishing of defense articles and defense services to Kosovo will strengthen the security of the United States and promote world peace."
A senior official said the authorization followed US recognition of Kosovo's independence and was part of the normal process of establishing relations with a new government.
In a comment apparently meant to allay concerns from Serbia and its ally Russia, the official stressed the military restrictions imposed on Kosovo under a plan by former UN special envoy for Kosovo Martti Ahtisaari.
Under the Ahtisaari plan, which is the basis for Kosovo's supervised independence, Kosovo is allowed a lightly armed 2,500-person security force under NATO oversight and training.
Kosovo, an Albanian-dominated Serbian province under UN administration since 1999, unilaterally declared its independence on February 17. The United States recognized it on March 18, despite strong opposition from Serbia and Russia.
The US official, who asked not to be identified, said the US weapons deliveries were preparing the ground for the future, adding that the United States had struck similar relations with other countries in the region.
Furthermore, the official said, provisions of defense equipment and services would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The official said that providing military equipment to Kosovo would improve security relations and engagement with Kosovo, promote security and stability throughout the Balkans, improve Kosovo's capacity to take part in peacekeeping activities, to detect, deter and defeat terrorists, and to deal with humanitarian emergencies.
Bush, McCain, Clintons, Obama, are not of us. They serve the global community instead of America. They don’t care what we like, or want. They rule, we bend over. They know we are all too spoiled and weak to fight it.
They are probably right. It took awhile, but they rule now.
We are at their mercy.
Right because Russia and Serbia’s islamofscist Iranian ayatollah allies are the good heroic muslims because they fight the “great satan” USA.
I’m glad you mentioned that because my one and only son will be 18 and out of high school in a few months. This moron could have us in a war or wars of epic proportions which would make WWII pale in comparison. All because he lacked both the moral clarity and the corage to kill the bad guns on or freakin’ terms. It will go nuclear after many unecessary deaths. He’s a dangerous fool.
aaaaand....
Russia offers Serbia alternative for EU
Russian deputies reactivated the old idea for admission of Serbia into the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization of the former Soviet Republics.
By this initiative, Moscow offers Belgrade an alternative for membership in the European Union, advocated by the pro-Western President Boris Tadic.
This initiative will be reviewed if Serbia faces increasing isolation by the European countries and the international community in terms of recognition of Kosovo, “Izvestija” daily quotes Viktor Ozerov, the Russian Defense and Security Committee Chairman, as saying.
I forget whose side are we on in the war on terror?
It gives me no pleasure to state that, but, Bush has “jumped the shark.” He doesn’t seem to give a damn about America or Americans.
Trust me, you and your son (all the people of America itself) are constantly in my prayers.
“I forget whose side are we on in the war on terror?”
Whichever side our politicians can profit the most from.
I'm surprised at you, tuckrdout. For a crusader against bigotry, to imply that our prezhidint's policy of welcoming the millions of freedom-loving undocumented workers to our country is wrong is very disturbing.
Bush has less than a year to go and he is thinking of his retirement. His Saudi financed retirement and Presidential library.
I thank you deeply for your prayers. Today, like most days, my son and I spent a few minutes passing the guitar back and forth to show each other what each of us are working at and I couldn’t help but wonder what kinds of things he might have the experience to write songs about 10 years from now and realizing it was less than 10 years ago that we bought him his first guitar. Time - fleeting and relentless.
Largely because those of us who really remember what "America" is, are too damn old to start a new American Revolution now and take back our country from the corrupt politicians. All we can do is "talk" and it won't be long before we can't even do that, given what happened to the blogger, Lionheart, in England last month.
Bravo Siera, pure BS, sometimes, when war breaks out, when the bodies start to pile up, this statement should be hung about the Bushies necks like a stinking dead skunk."
Yes, it is pure BS and Bush should hang his head in shame. This is much like our arms and "police" training for the Palestinians that will be turned against the Israelis. In that case, our arms have already been used against the Israelis. Diplomatic safeguards made by the State Department and Bush are without meaning when the fighting starts
We are placing MORE arms in the hands of the terrorist muslim KLA/KPC...KFC-—whatever they are calling themselves these days. Well, the next move is for Russia to supply arms to the Serbs...here we go....
The scale of recent US arms sales should not be news. The US sold over $61 billion worth of weapons to Third World countries from 1999-2006, making it by far the leading international supplier. Russia, the second largest arms dealer, managed to sell less than half as much.
How old is too old to pull a trigger?
What happened?
How does arming Jihadists help the US in any way, except to secure our title as the world’s appeasement experts?
Lionheart is a blogger who helped police nab a Pakistani drug ring in his neighborhood. Then he started blogging about the connections between Muslims and the drug trade and violence. The next thing you know, the police put out a warrant for his arrest on "Inciting racial & religious hatred", even though he never incited violence and his blogging re Muslims was no worse than what you see on FR.
No, much like the War on Some Drugs, meet the War on Some Terror.
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