Kosovo ex-president Thaci convicted of war crimes

Deutsche Welle ^ | 9/16/26 | Wesley Rahn

[ek_hornbeck]

A Kosovo war crimes tribunal on Wednesday found former President Hashim Thaci guilty of war crimes committed during the 1998-1999 war for independence from Serbia.

Thaci, a former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for crimes including murder, torture and illegal detention.

He was tried along with three other former KLA guerrilla leaders in The Hague.

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TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: balkans; beau; biden; bidencrimefamily; bidentruth; democrattruth; kosovo; liberaltruth; serbia

[ek_hornbeck]

In 1999, the narrative that we got from the Clinton administration and from neocon-aligned politicians like John McCain was that Thaci and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were freedom fighting heroes, the Balkans Muslim equivalent of America's founding fathers, while the only parties guilty of war crimes in the region were the Serbs.

This was despite the fact that a year earlier, the KLA was classified as a terrorist organization by the US state department and the KLA's role in the heroin trade and human trafficking to fund their cause was well-known.

Finally, more than a quarter of a century later, the EUcrats are acknowledging that their one time darling Thaci was a war criminal and murderer, not some sort of folk hero (except perhaps to his own people).

[TexasFreeper2009]

the whole idea of “war crimes” is complete and total BS

there are no war crimes, there is simply an excuse by the winners to imprison and murder the losers. Every war crime trial in history has been complete 100% BS

[AuntB]

Ok. Pay attention to this! This is one of Joe Biden’s big grifts and betrayal. There’s lots to be discovered.

Start with AI.
Joe Biden and former Kosovo President and Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi share a diplomatic relationship built on U.S. support for Kosovo’s independence and statehood . [1, 2]
Key Diplomatic Interactions

• Early Support: As a U.S. Senator and later as Vice President, Joe Biden was a prominent advocate for Kosovo during and after the 1998–1999 conflict, leading Thaçi to famously refer to Biden as a voice for Kosovo during its most difficult days.
• White House Meetings: As Vice President, Biden hosted Thaçi (then Prime Minister) at the White House in 2009 and 2012 to discuss bilateral ties, Kosovo’s sovereignty, and European integration. Biden also met with Thaçi in Washington in 2013 to praise regional normalization efforts with Serbia.
• Visits to Pristina: Biden traveled to Kosovo in August 2016, where he met with Thaçi (then President) in Pristina. During this visit, Biden famously referred to Thaçi as the “George Washington of Kosovo” while also warning the country’s leadership about the dangers of corruption. [1, 7, 8]

The “Special Relationship” with Kosovo

• The Biden Family Connection: The diplomatic ties extend to a personal connection with the broader Biden family. Joe Biden’s late son, Beau Biden, worked in Kosovo as a legal adviser post-conflict training local prosecutors and judges.
• Continued Correspondence: Even after leaving the vice presidency, Biden maintained correspondence with Thaçi, sending letters of support regarding dialogue and a mutually agreed-upon final normalization of relations with Serbia. [9]

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/guerrilla-commander-statesman-defendant-kosovos-hashim-thaci-2023-04-03/
[2] https://www.koha.net/en/arberi/thaci-bideni-ishte-zeri-yne-ne-ditet-me-te-veshtira
[3] https://media.unmikonline.org/mediareports/articles-kosovo-media-7497
[4] https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/10/readout-vice-president-biden-s-meeting-kosovo-prime-minister-hashim-tha-
[5] https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/readout-vice-president-bidens-meeting-with-prime-minister-thaci-kosovo
[6] https://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2232091&Language=en
[7] https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-warns-kosovo-of-the-cancer-of-corruption/3468941.html
[8] https://www.rferl.org/a/biden-balkans-tour/27925341.html
[9] https://www.balkanweb.com/en/Keep-the-faith—this-is-the-unique-message-that-inspired-Hashim-Thaci/

[ek_hornbeck]

Yes - “war crimes” convictions tend to be single-sided victor’s justice, which is about revenge and power, having nothing to do with justice at all. Convicting Thaci of war crimes after three decades of his side of the war getting a free pass is just window dressing.

[Tench_Coxe]

If it weren’t for a certain General Michael Jackson, the chickenhawks might have gotten the war they were looking for instead of having to wait two decades later to try again.

[x]

Good, but you don’t get to be a leader in Former Yugoslavia without having committed war crimes (exception maybe for Slovenia if they managed to break free before the fighting).

[dfwgator]

We are becoming the new Yugoslavia by importing all these people incompatible with each other.

[ek_hornbeck]

Good, but you don’t get to be a leader in Former Yugoslavia without having committed war crimes

This is true, which is why it was hypocritical and completely dishonest to make Serbs the sole villains in the conflict when bullets were flying in both directions.

[ek_hornbeck]

The chickenhawk view was embodied by Madeleine Albright’s complaint that the US has a huge military but never uses it, not to mention non-stop op-eds by neoconservatives, e.g. Bill Kristol and Jonah Goldberg pounding the drums of war.

[ek_hornbeck]

It wasn’t just Biden, “adopting” the KLA was pretty much the pet project of the Clinton administration, the entire Democrat establishment, and a good slice of the GOP establishment (particularly the McCain-Graham wing of the party) as well.

[dfwgator]

[rktman]

Is this the guy that tried to take out Hildabeast causing her to do open field zigzaging? 🤔

[muir_redwoods]

So the activity of unit 731 in Japan was just war-as-usual? Really? What about the Rape of Nanking where Japan attacked an unguarded, Un militarized city and killed and/or raped 200,000 civilians?

Just asking…

[AuntB]

“wasn’t just Biden, “adopting” the KLA was pretty “

I didn’t say it was. But he made more money than anyone off it. No one was closer to Thaci
AI

Yes, that is correct. Joe Biden visited Kosovo and met with President Hashim Thaçi in August 2016, which was during his final months in office as Vice President. [1, 2]
While it was not his final day in office, it was his last official Balkan tour during the Obama administration. In addition to meeting with Thaçi to discuss relations with Serbia, the trip carried a deep personal meaning: Biden and his family attended a ceremony dedicating a road named after his late son, Beau Biden, near the Camp Bondsteel U.S. military base. [2, 3, 4]
Note: Following that physical visit, Biden and Thaçi continued to communicate up until the end of his term. They had their final official meeting in Washington, D.C., followed by a final official telephone call on January 18, 2017—just two days before the administration left office. [5, 6]

[1] [https://www.rferl.org](https://www.rferl.org/a/biden-balkans-tour/27925341.html)
[2] [https://www.abc27.com](https://www.abc27.com/international/biden-says-kosovo-holds-special-place-for-his-family/)
[3] [https://prishtinainsight.com](https://prishtinainsight.com/joe-biden-received-warmly-kosovo-calls-advancing-reconciliation-serbia/)
[4] [https://balkaninsight.com](https://balkaninsight.com/2016/08/17/biden-kosovo-and-serbia-to-advance-reconciliation-08-17-2016/btj/)
[5] [https://www.facebook.com](https://www.facebook.com/kosovo.usembassy/photos/check-out-vice-president-bidens-message-about-kosovo-after-meeting-with-presiden/1752217678137713/)
[6] [https://president-ksgov.net](https://president-ksgov.net/en/president-thaci-thanked-vice-president-biden-for-the-commitment-in-avoiding-the-tensions-between-kosovo-and-serbia/)

[dfwgator]

Kosovo is Serbia!

[TexasFreeper2009]

Actually, that was war as usual. What we have had since ww2 is the exception that will only last as long as we continue to win, and will end exactly at the moment we actually eventually lose.

At which point the greatest rape and pillage in history will commence upon our descendants, and all talk of “rules of war” will go out the window.

And the US and its allies have committed many crimes by the same rules and have never been held to the same standards.

[TexasFreeper2009]

Actually, the whole premise of mutually assured destruction is based on the fact that we are willing to commit war crimes in defense of our country if we are faced with destruction and defeat otherwise.

[Tench_Coxe]

Yeah. The ‘cleaning lady’ gets a kiss...Madeline Not-so-bright.

[Nateman]

...Every war crime trial in history has been complete 100% BS

You do realize that would include the trials against the Nazis and the Japanese prisoner camp commanders? Are you willing to take their side in this?

[Forward the Light Brigade]

There is only one rule of war—You must win at all costs. Nirenberg was not justice—it was revenge. Some day, when we lose a big war, Americans will be in the dock. What was one of the crimes the Nazis were charged with? Waging aggressive war — That’s what we are doing in Iran and have done in other lands. Why is it OK if Israel has a nuke? or North Korea? or India? or France? even the UK? Why is Iran forbidden to have one?