Improvements Visible in Kosovo

American Forces Press Service ^ | Aug. 15, 2005 | By Jim Garamone

[mark502inf]

It's easy to spot the changes to Kosovo from the air -- all the U.N.-provided plastic tarpaulins that provided shelter in the years after the NATO intervention are gone. In their place are orange roofs covering homes that have been rebuilt. Roughly 1,700 American servicemembers -- almost all National Guardsmen -- are part of the 17,000-man Kosovo Force helping provide the environment the province needs to recover.

Four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters fly over Kosovo in support of a troop visit by Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and USO celebrities on Aug. 15. Myers is visiting American troops deployed around the world to assess morale and to thank servicemembers. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

NATO intervened in the province after then-Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic initiated ethnic cleansing against the Kosovar Albanians.

Americans today command Multinational Brigade East, headquartered here. Army Brig. Gen. William H. Wade II commands the unit, which includes Poles, Ukrainians and Lithuanians, among others.

The American side is predominantly a "composite" unit. Most Americans here are volunteers from the California, Kansas and Pennsylvania National Guards. The medical task force supporting the effort is made up of Army Reservists drawn from all over the Southeastern United States. "I have got portions of 42 different units from 27 states," Wade said during an interview. "I'm amazed at how well they work together."

The guardsmen come from all over the U.S. and demonstrate to the people of the region that diverse populations can work together. "They see black and white and Oriental and American Indian," Wade said. "They see Catholic, Jews, Protestants and Muslims. They see men and women working together, and we set the best example, I believe, that can be set for the people of Kosovo."

"The Guard ... is uniquely able to do this," Wade said. "We bring our civilian skills to this mission. We have attorneys; we have firemen; we have chiefs of police; we have (chief executive officers) of corporations; we have city managers. Those are the kind of skills that we bring here."

Servicemembers deployed here maintain the job in Kosovo is not yet done. "There are still men preaching hate around here," said Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Darren Dreher, a Pennsylvania Guardsman who flies Black Hawk helicopters.

Army Spc. Paul Roath and Cpl. McKindree Perrin, both of the Kansas Guard, know this well. Roath, a field artilleryman, and Perrin, a tanker, patrol the region on foot and in vehicles. They search for arms caches, conduct cordon-and-search missions, and work with local and international police. "We work with the people on a very positive basis," Roath said. "They like us. They know the United States stepped in to stop this country from going into chaos."

Spc. Stefanie Davison, a guardsman from Bellingham, Wash., agreed, saying that Serbs and Albanians living in the province tell her: "Because of us, they can live in peace."

Cpl. Danielle Grudzinski, an aviation specialist from the Pennsylvania Guard, said she believes local residents are beginning to understand not just freedom, but also the responsibility that goes with it. "On Earth Day this year, we worked with children from around the area to clean streets," she said. "Now I notice they are taking responsibility for cleaning the streets themselves, and there are other encouraging signs just since we have been here in February."

Wade said the unit has seen progress. "We see the institutions of self-government start to move forward," he noted.

In March 2004, there were a number of violent clashes between Albanians and Serbians. These may have served as a turning point for the province. "After the March riots, I believe all the people realized that it is in their best interest to cooperate and to move forward to whatever the future holds for all the people of Kosovo," Wade said.

Related Site: Kosovo Force

Related Article: Kosovo Mission Successful, Important, U.S. Forces Say

News Archive http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Aug2005/20050815_2447.html

[mark502inf]

UNMIK won't go out in the bad man territory (albanian regions) without NATO support/escort, isnt that right?..:)

It is true that in the Decani region, UNMIK does the bare minimum and often requests KFOR escort. KFOR, as part of NATO and because it is associated with the USA, remains respected & popular--the UN much less so.

Keep the US at Bondsteel, the presence needs to remain.

Just about everybody who has thought seriously about the Kosovo issue has come to the same conclusion.

[ma bell]

They need that request as the Albanians don't like the French and put up with the Brits. As the US stays, the peace remains, that is why I say keep the presence.

Now, the other thing about the Serbs deserving of being on the receiving end of the mass executions, is misguided.

You remember the movie "Coward of the County" where the kid/Tommy (serbia) who courts Becky (kosovo) but the Gatlin brothers (albanian gang) in the end beats the hell out of them? The Gatlins/alb gang kept chipping away at Tommy, building up the anger. One day, he discovers that Becky (kosovo) is all bloodied. Well, ole Tommy/Serbia had enough then he let them have it, with not one Gatlin/Albanian left standing. In came the Alb paid hired help with a great deception plan.

You can say our country/USA can be Tommy, who opened their arms with kindness then look at what we got in return - 3,000 dead. Well, I don't know how much you know about pre-1997, I suggest a trip back in time and not only see the Albanian side of it.

Go into Novi Pazar District, Presevo Valley District, Raska District talk to the Serbs, Albanian and Gypsy refugees that fled and remain in those areas about what they experienced and endured before finally fleeing pre-war/1998-9

[eleni121]

Not too many Albanian Mooslems on this forum because they have their minders looking out for them. Plus most Albanians are Liberal in this country. What would they be doing here on FR? They owe their essence to the Clintonistas and gang.

[zagor-te-nej]

Milosevic is not in power anymore so what is Albanian excuse for killing, torturing and ethnically cleansing non-Albanians now? There was no Milosevic 1941, 1915 or during those long black years of muslim terror and occupation, but that did not prevent Albanian muslim to kill, steel and destroy – did not it?

Kosovo and Metohija is the full name of Serbian province Albanians are trying to steel. Metohija is word used to describe property belonging to the Church. Milosevic left so what prevents your tribe from returning to Serbian Orthodox Church its rightful property? Milosevic is not in power, so why you keep killing old men and women, destroying churches and monasteries and desecrating graveyards?

When Albs got independence, like their Chechen cousins, they were not able to live in peace. Instead they start killing and expelling minorities and exporting Islam revolution. If you are really ancestors of ancient Illyrians and European people why don’t you show that you can respect lives and property of Serbs, Macedonians, Turks, Roma…?

Albanian terror and crimes, oppression of non-Albanians and mass murder rob you of any right on Kosovo and Metohija. Your misdeeds clearly demonstrate that Albanians are stranger to the Kosmet. Your tribe in unable to treat non-Albanians like human beings- with dignity and respect for their individual right. One day - Inshallah - Serbs will take back what was stolen from them, until that enjoy.

[mark502inf]

Hey zag, this is all much easier to understand if you just apply simple standards of right & wrong. Murder is wrong, rape is wrong, robbery is wrong, and burning down houses, schools, mosques & churches is wrong whether done by Albanians or Serbs or Croats or Bosnians. Even if your great grandfathers did it to each other when the Ottomans were running things.

The problem the Serbs have is that during the most recent Balkan Wars, they were the champions at all the above listed crimes--Serbs killed more people, destroyed more churches, destroyed more mosques, burned more villages, and threw more people out of their homes than any other group--Christian or Muslim notwithstanding. Refusal to recognize that and to hold the criminals accountable is the first problem the Serbs have with the USA and rest of the international community.

The next thing that you & our other Serb warcrime apologists have a problem grasping is that pointing out that Serbs committed crimes does not mean one is for crimes committed by other groups. As I said before, even though Croats, Bosnians, and Albanians also committed crimes; there aren't a bunch of nut-jobs from those groups posting ahistorical nonsense on this web-site.

There is a reason that American policy in the Balkans has been consistent since G.H.W. Bush up thru year five of G.W. Bush. It is based on a combination of American national interest & American national values. We wanted stability in the Balkans for fear of a spreading conflict that could eventually drag in NATO members. We wanted peace to prevent the widespread atrocities and ethnic cleansing seemingly endemic to Balkans conflicts. We identified Serbia and the Greater Serbia project as the center of gravity of the Balkans problems.

Our policy ever since has been to prevent Serbian aggression; whether by detererrence such as President Bush I's 1992 Christmas Warning" to Serbia about Kosovo; or economic sanctions versus Serbia such as all three administrations have followed; or by deploying troops such as President Clinton did in 1993 to protect Macedonia from Serbia; by strengthening Serbia's neighbors such as Bosnia & Croatia as all three administrations have done; by international diplomacy via the Contact Group & international legal action via the Hague Tribunal as pursued still by the current Administration.

So, zagor, its about time you & your fellow-travellers get your head out of your 4th point of contact or in a few years American policy toward Serbia will remain unchanged under the next administration.

[zagor-te-nej]

Mr. Nice admitted today that Slobodan Milosevic never espoused or advocated the idea of "Greater Serbia." This admission from the prosecution came as a shock to everybody, including the judges, who have been laboring under the false impression that Milosevic is accused of masterminding a conspiracy to create Greater Serbia.

“Great Serbia” is propaganda myth invented by Serbian enemies to justify killing Serbs and steeling their property.

[zagor-te-nej]

Talk is cheap mark – if you are so opposed to murder, rape, robbery and burning down houses, schools and churches you have opportunity to right some of the crimes committed by Albanians and start treating non-Albs like human beings. For start, show adherence to “standards” and return property of Serbian Church to its rightful owners. Stop burning down churches and monasteries and stop threatening your neighbors.

This, of course, will not happen. Bosnia, Krajina, Kosovo and Metohija are ancient Serbian lands and most of the property there was legally owned by Serbs. This simple fact does not prevent you from babbling about Serbian aggression and trying to choke us/mislead with tons of useless, non-related mis-information and fantasies.
So yes you are right – today “international community” supports your reign of terror same way “international community” supported you 1941 or 1914 or during muslim occupation. But what is your “master plan” when your present friends lose interest to cover-up for your crimes or situation changes (and it always changes) and your tribe is left to tend for themselves?

Think about that - there are millions of Serbs, Macedonians, Greeks… around you - people you killed, raped, destroyed, terrorized, converted to Islam for centuries! And you are not particularly liked in Italy, Germany or any other European country – on contrary! So what you going to do when they knocked on the doors of the houses you expelled them from and ask for their property? “What you gona do, what you gona do when they come for you?”

[mark502inf]

“Great Serbia” is propaganda myth invented by Serbian enemies

"We shall realize the boundaries of Greater Serbia when we assume power at the federal level."

-Vojislav Seselj, leader of the Serb Radical Party, Serbia's largest political party. (October 1997)

[dennisw]

Whoopee. Another land made safe for Islam. Kosovo is it's beach head into Europe.

[dennisw]

In other words you have some crazy axe to grind. You are always seeking to justify your life actions in this forum. Always looking for a pat on the back and someone to say "job well done" Your recent life was devoted to helping the Muslims take over Kosovo. That is the net effect of your "humanitarian crusade"

[mark502inf]

"job well done"

Thank you, Dennis. My life's work is now complete.

[dennisw]

As I thought. Kosovo is all about your ego and self justification. Pathetic that you use a public forum to look for some stroking.

[ma bell]

mark, seselj was never in power to achieve what he spoke about. He never had it and the people never elected him to that position of power.

The new CPC leader is more levelheaded and will become the next Prime Minister in the next election if Tadic doesn't falter. I support Tadic over any CPC as he is doing a decent job leading the country against the muslim problems.