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.
Isn’t that wild? Man, that was weird.
Unfriggingbelievable.
The same should be true for Tibet then, eh pea brain?
LOL! Now that was a clever response, even if it was an insult in my direction...I can appreciate it!
Take a bow.
Yeah... though she “advises” him on the “right” way to handle international situations.
Ultimately, it’s still his responsibility.
What the hell???
Time for him to go.
Sounds like Lionhart is in need of political asylum.
That’s where stating the truth gets you.
War on Terror? Do you know what your tax dollars will fund?
Check this out:
American troops have to guard Bin Laden Mosque in Kosovo. Please read:
Yeah, we know what arming muslims got us, 3000 dead Americans.
I've learned not to omit the {/sarcasm} at the end of posts. Fewer things skewer more mortally than humour, and there are things happening so ridiculous from this administration that while I'll oppose them, I'll laugh at them, also.
Perhaps, Mr. Bush really does believe he and his class are above history's vicissitudes; but, I imagine, so too did the Hapsburgs, the Hohenzollerns, the Romanovs and the Ottomans. He may have gotten his history degree from a prestigious school, but it's becoming embarassingly apparent that any lessons he could have learned were ultimately lost on him.
At first I thought it might be premature, but the more I see of what they're doing in the Balkans, beggaring us to the Chicoms and effectively giving away our sovereignity to other countries, e.g. Mexico, I have a suggestion for this administration's epitaph: What fools these mortals be.
Bingo!
“Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, (even if they are) of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.” — Qur’an 9:29
Doesn’t it just warm the cockles of your heart to know that Uncle Sam is making this possible in a Christian land?
It seems that the study of history for far too many people leads to the conclusion that all the mistakes which happened in the past can’t possibly happen again because now we’re “so much smarter”.
Maybe someone has said this but How long before the Albanians start shooting at NATO? Is it happening already?
Remember the Fort Dix episode? Two guys wanted to blow up the military base..?
One of them was Albanian from Kosovo who was brought to the States, to Fort Dix couple of years earlier, as a refugee from Kosovo.
How grateful...well, it is just a matter of time.
I’ll second that or 1,000x whatever it is by now.
I remember that but back then I didn’t know the difference between Bosnian, Albanian, and Serb. Was the guy in the Salt Lake mall an Albanian?
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