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Remember Kosovo? By Cliff Kincaid | December 28, 2004 Clinton's policy was not to bomb those terrorists but to support them and bomb the Christian Serbs. AIM put together a list of the most underreported or buried stories of 2004, and one of them was the resurgence of anti-Serb, anti-Christian violence in Kosovo. Dozens were killed and more Christian churches were destroyed there. Kosovo got some attention near the end of the year when newspapers covered the fact that a former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, the KLA, became prime minister in a new Kosovo-based government. A story in...

December 6, 2004 U.N.-APPROVED TERRORIST TO RUN KOSOVOby Srdja Trifkovic Imagine a "multi-ethnic" Palestine, administered by the United Nations, in which a Hamas leader notorious for terrorist attacks on Jewish civilians is certified as the Authority's "democratically" elected chief executive. Imagine Abu Musab al-Zarqawi being approved by a future UN governor as Iraq's prime minister. Imagine that in Kosovo a KLA murderer . . . but then in Kosovo you don't have to imagine anything. On December 3 the provincial parliament in Pristina voted to elect Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister. This 36-year-old former commander of the "Kosovo Liberation...

More than 10 million Afghans will... cast ballots to choose their president on Saturday, in the first direct election for head of state in the nation's 5,000-year history.... After the fall of the Taliban, Afghanistan faced enormous challenges, the lack of a legitimate political system, the existence of warlords with private militias, the absence of effective national institutions -- and desperate poverty. Though none of these problems has been fully overcome, significant progress is now being made against all. Step by step, the Afghans are rebuilding an effective state and political system. At last year's Constitutional Loya Jirga (or political...

Afghan Army's Kandahar Regional Command Stands Up By Col. Randy Pullen, USASpecial to American Forces Press Service KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 20, 2004 -- The Afghan National Army stood up its first regional command headquarters outside the Kabul area in Kandahar Sept. 19. Afghan Defense Minister Fahim Khan (center), accompanied by Kandahar Gov. Yousef Pashtoon (in light suit), reviews the troops of the Afghan National Army's 205 Corps prior to the beginning of the ceremony establishing the Kandahar Regional Command. Photo by Maj. William S. Wynn, USA(Click photo for screen-resolution image); high-resolution image available. Establishing regional commands of the Afghan...

Afghanistan Prepares Rehearsal For Oct. 9 National Election American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2004 -- The Afghan government is preparing to conduct a dress rehearsal for the country's Oct. 9 presidential election. The date of the exercise, which will address voting procedures, logistics and security, will be announced later, a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan official said Sept. 6. The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan, the U.N.'s International Security Assistance Force, and the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan will assist the Afghan government in conducting the exercise, the spokesman said. More than 8 million Afghans, out of an estimated...

Renewed fears over a possible shortfall in Russian oil production pushed crude oil prices to a new peak of $44.41 a barrel Thursday and contributed to a retreat in U.S. stock prices. This new hike in prices for crude oil futures contracts added to Wall Street concerns that higher oil prices would place an additional drag on the U.S. economy and that crude oil could hit $50 a barrel later this year. The Dow dropped 163.48 points, the second-largest one-day drop this year, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell to lows not seen since last year.

While heavyweight pundits ponder the "real reasons" behind CIA director George Tenet's sudden resignation, an Albanian newspaper has offered a typically whimsical explanation; he fell victim to an ancient curse. The Korrieri daily said the Central Intelligence Agency chief's resignation on Thursday fell a day before he had been due to visit Albania. "If he had not planned a visit to Albania, probably he would have not been struck by the curse of the Pojan jinx," editor Alfred Peza said in his column, citing a supposed evil spirit that jinxed the villagers of Pojan back in the mists of time....

  Afghan National Army Increases Battalions Being Trained By Cpl. Douglas DeMaio / Office of Military Cooperation - Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, May 27, 2004 — There was an increase in the number of cohort battalions being trained at the Kabul Military Training Center this month. This will have a significant impact on the expansion of the fledgling Afghan National Army. Each battalion graduates with approximately 750 soldiers. During the time in which four cohort battalions are training simultaneously, 3,000 soldiers will be learning basic soldier skills like marksmanship, first aid, drill and ceremony and communications. The increase in cohort...

Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance Jr. unleashed a political Maelstrom on Friday in the state's 1st Congressional District by announcing that he would not seek re-election. The one-term congressman from Warrenton said he was, in effect, stepping down due to health problems. "We're pressing on," Ballance told the Daily News during an interview. In a press release, Ballance's congressional office in Washington, D.C., reported that the congressman was diagnosed in February with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease. "With treatment, he was expected to regain normal strength in approximately six weeks, but his condition has not progressed as expected," says the...

Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance Jr. of Warrenton responded Thursday to statements made by one of his potential Republican opponents and repeated his claim that he has not broken the law. Ballance renewed that claim, already reported by the Daily News and other newspapers, as possible GOP challenger Greg Dority of Washington helped make Ballance's past involvement with a nonprofit agency a central theme of the campaign. Dority has said repeatedly during public appearances that he believes Ballance will be indicted, convicted and sent to jail for his role in distributing state funds to the now-closed, drug-combatting John A. Hyman...

Apparently, U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance, D-N.C., wasn't aware that federal income tax returns are to be in the mail no later than April 15 - every year. You would expect a congressman to be more knowledgeable. The tax-exempt nonprofit organization he chairs filed its first tax return last year - only 10 years late - and only after the Carolina Journal reported that lapse so Ballance's constituents could learn who they had just sent to Congress to replace the retiring and respected Eva Clayton. On April 15, 2003, Ballance said the organization he heads, The John A. Hyman Memorial Youth...

Former state Supreme Court Justice G.K. Butterfield of Wilson has decided he won't challenge U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance in the 1st District Democratic primary. Butterfield, who is now a Superior Court judge, had formed an exploratory campaign committee, citing in part a scandal involving a charitable foundation formed by Ballance. Butterfield said he commissioned a poll that found 58 percent of those surveyed were aware of the investigation into the John A. Hyman Memorial Youth Foundation. Still, he said Ballance should not be obstructed in his work and would abide by a promise he made to Ballance not to challenge...

Shadowy Albanian rebels appear at Kosovo funeral By Shaban Buza PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, April 13 (Reuters) - A shadowy rebel group appeared at a funeral in U.N.-run Kosovo vowing to stop the "occupation" of the province and to fight for unified Albanian lands, local media reported on Tuesday. Three men wearing balaclavas and insignia of the Albanian National Army (ANA) showed up during the re-burial on Monday of two ethnic Albanian guerrillas who died fighting Serb forces five years ago, several dailies said. Their surprise appearance in the western village of Bainca may worry international officials, coming a few...

ANA ENDORSES SENATOR JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT Since the first American Nurses Association (ANA) Presidential endorsement of the 1984 Mondale-Ferraro ticket, ANA has played an integral role engaging nurses in Presidential politics. ANA is proud to continue this tradition with its endorsement of Senator John Kerry for president. On February 20, the ANA Board unanimously approved the ANA Political Action Committee’s recommendation to endorse Kerry’s presidential bid.This endorsement decision came only after the completion of an extensive, non-partisan endorsement process.

Albania's opposition leaders have called for a mass demonstration this weekend in a bid to oust a government they contend is corrupt and not doing enough to lift living standards in one of Europe's poorest countries. Former President Sali Berisha's Democratic Party and nine other opposition groups have joined forces ahead of Saturday's protest, an effort to force the resignation of Prime Minister Fatos Nano and his Socialist-led government.

Rebel attacks and land mines killed at least 11 Russian servicemen and pro-Moscow Chechen police officers in Chechnya over a 24-hour period, an official in the region's Kremlin-backed administration said Monday. Four of the Russian soldiers were killed and five others were wounded in rebel attacks on Russian outposts across Chechnya, the official said on condition of anonymity. Three servicemen died in separate skirmishes with rebels in Chechnya's southern mountains, and two were killed Sunday when their fuel-laden truck hit a land mine and exploded in a giant fireball outside the village of Samashki, the official said. On Monday, the...

3000 new soldiers desert From correspondents in Kabul January 12, 2004 THOUSANDS of Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers have deserted the fledgling service after completing training by instructors from the United States, France and Britain, defence ministry officials said today. "Some 3000 ANA soldiers have fled the army," ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said. "The defence ministry has announced that they have to come back and join the army otherwise they will have to pay for all the expenses spent on their training." The desertions are a serious blow to the nascent ANA which, according to Zahir Azimi, numbers...

The Afghan National Army took a step closer to building its strength with a reconnaissance mission here Jan. 4. The mission, conducted by the U.S. Recruiting Assistance Team, part of the Office of Military Cooperation - Afghanistan, was an attempt to select a prominent site and secure land to build an ANA volunteer center in the province. "Today, we are here to bring Afghanistan closer to its desire to be an independent nation," said Lt. Col. David Francavilla, director of the recruiting assistance team. During the mission, the recruiting team, along with an Afghanistan Ministry of Defense representative and a...

National Guard Soldiers with the 124th Regional Training Institute from Colchester, Vt., are here to "train the trainers" and teach Afghan National Army members how to become better soldiers. The unit has been here since June in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, training the ANA. Their main focus is getting ANA trainers to take over courses and ultimately train their own people. "Our main role is to aid in the establishment of the Afghan National Army and to mentor and guide the Afghan officers and (noncommissioned officers)," said Capt. Scott R. Cadieux from Georgia, Vt. "We're here to help make...

Pitt County's citizens who live in the 1st Congressional District will begin a new year with a shadow of doubt over their representation in Washington. A federal grand jury is considering testimony from an FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office investigation into a now defunct drug and alcohol counseling program funded by state money and begun by U.S. Rep. Frank Ballance, a Democrat from Warrenton. In October, a state audit identified $325,000 in questionable expenses by the John A. Hyman Foundation and found the organization riddled with conflicts of interest. The audit confirmed poor practices, inattention to records and lack of...