Replies

Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
December 17, 2010

....QUESTION: Council of Europe accusations against – Council of Europe report today accused also prime minister for serious crimes, basically. In the report, the FBI is mentioned as one of the sources of the inquiry. So is there anything new about that? We heard something —

MR. CROWLEY: We addressed that a couple of days ago.

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. CROWLEY: We fully support that – any investigation by a legitimate authority into these charges.

QUESTION: Do you have any contacts with Kosovo government on the issue?

MR. CROWLEY: I’ll take that question, see if we’ve had – I’m not aware of any – I’ll tell you what, I’m not aware of any contacts we’ve had since that report has come out. If that is – if our – but I’ll take that question and see.

QUESTION: P.J., just on that subject, you said – when you did address it the other day – I think it was Wednesday – you said pretty much the same thing, that you fully support an investigation. But you also noted, pointed out that this has come up before and that the ICTY has declined to prosecute or declined to go any further. Is that – I took that to suggest that you didn’t think that there was anything new here or that you thought that there was any – there was evidence that —

MR. CROWLEY: Well, we did have a statement of fact that some of these issues had been investigated before, and – but to the extent that this report sheds new light on these issues, they should be followed through.

QUESTION: And do you have any concerns about what this might do to the U.S.-Kosovo relations, in particular —

MR. CROWLEY: I don’t think it’s going to change fundamentally U.S.-Kosovo relations.

QUESTION: Well, the U.S. –

MR. CROWLEY: I mean, they’re based on our mutual interest, not on specific personalities.

QUESTION: Well, right. But I mean, if – do you see any problem in dealing specifically with Mr. Thaci?

MR. CROWLEY: Well, at this point, since any individual anywhere in the world is innocent until proven otherwise, he is the current prime minister, and we will continue to work with that government.

QUESTION: Well, yeah, but you won’t deal with President Bashir; he’s not been convicted of anything. You don’t deal with Mugabe, pretty much, and he’s not been convicted of anything.

MR. CROWLEY: He – well, he – yeah.

QUESTION: You’re calling for Laurent Gbagbo to leave Ivory Coast.

MR. CROWLEY: For very different reasons, Matt.

QUESTION: Well, all of them have been accused of – okay – being accused of crimes. None of them have been convicted of anything. And yet – so why is Hashim Thaci given this luxury?

MR. CROWLEY: We’re not giving anybody a pass. As we’ve said, if there’s new information that is revealed in this report, it should be fully investigated.

QUESTION: Giving the pass on Hashim —

MR. CROWLEY: In fairness, we don’t want to neglect the back of the room.

QUESTION: Thank you. Do you have any comments on today’s Japanese prime minister visit to Okinawa?

MR. CROWLEY: I do not......

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2010/12/153124.htm

Sorry folks, this is such BS that it makes you want to beat your head against the wall. The very people that the US State Dept supported — and Hillary in specific supported — are accused of killing people in order to sell their organs. But no big deal, let’s not talk about it, it’s business as usual at the State Department.