Posted on 05/20/2003 8:51:59 AM PDT by Destro
Wolfowitz in Skopje What Next for Macedonia?
by Christopher Deliso
May 20, 2003
A total eclipse of the full moon on Friday morning, street warfare between Macedonians and Albanians in Tetovo on Friday night could these portentous events have had anything to do with the next day's visit from US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz?
Über-hawk Wolfowitz touched down briefly in Skopje on the third leg of his Balkan tour. At his first stop (Sarajevo) Wolfowitz oversaw the signing of a treaty guaranteeing that Bosnia will never extradite an American soldier to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. At the second stop, Kosovo's Camp Bondsteel, Wolfowitz inspected the troops at this all but forgotten imperial outpost.
Wolfowitz's trip to Macedonia was decidedly low-key, and lasted only a few hours. Officially, he came for the photo op and speech praising the Iraq-bound Macedonian conscripts. However, the fact that he also met in private with former NLA boss Ali Ahmeti, President Boris Trajkovski, and later with Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski and Defense Minister Vlade Buchkovski seems to indicate that Rumsfeld's right-hand man came to talk business.
Operation Evade Journalists
However, it is slightly unclear as to what that business was. Wolfowitz's entourage, which included US Ambassador Laurence Butler and the proverbial men in dark suits and sunglasses talking on mobile phones, were escorted briskly in and out of government buildings all morning, leaving little chance for interrogation. Although Wolfowitz answered two or three mundane questions in a mundane way when meeting with Trajkovski, no real explanation for his visit was given. And the US Embassy on Saturday claimed to have no one available who could speak on the matter.
Saturday's final photo op for Wolfowitz was the Macedonian Army's Ilinden barracks, a sprawling encampment situated on a high wooded bluff overlooking Skopje. Here Wolfowitz gave a short speech to the 39 Iraq-bound Macedonian soldiers. Among them are members of the Wolves (special forces), as well as army medics.
Flanked by officials, Wolfowitz stood opposite the neatly-arrayed Macedonian troops and thanked them for playing their part in the "liberation" of the Iraqi people from " one of the worst dictators of modern history." He also alluded to the US-imposed Ohrid Agreement when praising the Macedonians for "settling issues by talking instead of by fighting." He then proceeded down the row, cordially shaking hands with each of the conscripts. Much snapping and flashing ensued from the thicket of cameras adjacent.
photo by Cvetin Cilimanov for Antiwar.com
(Excerpt) Read more at antiwar.com ...
All offers given to the Croats were rejected, with the offer for Krajina Croatian autonomy still on the table. Serbs have you right where we want ya.
RSK will again be retained by the Serbs as history does show, in times of international conflict, Serbs do dominate the region militarily with the Croats playing both sides of the fences. The muslims always trying to exterminate all Infidels. History repeats itself in a cyclical wheel.
First off, you guys are more concerned with Kosovo, and secondly the Croatian Serbs aren't stupid enough to get fooled again by Belgrade.
they got rid of Djindjic, ehh?..:)
I had a PiP call from an "Caller ID" block from a guy who wanted to know where Srpska Krajina was on the map, as it is not an "internationally recognized" entity. I love it when people from the academia world calls to question the Fire, I held my own quiete well after a bad first minute as he caught me off guard...:) Then a regroup as I had him rebut a long winded tale on the Hapsburg,etc...:) Then the debate went on...I call it a draw, then the phone went CLICK! from his end. He was a Doctor I believe.
What was the Yogurt revolution in Vojvodina?
What was the revocation of Kosovo's autonomy?
You're a little bit confused it seems. What has all this to do with the right to self-determination for the Krajina Serbs and the Bosnian Serbs? The fact that there were many difficulties in Yugoslavia during the 1980's does not make their claim to seccession, in response to Croatia's and Bosnia's seccession, invalid.
If "Krajina" was allowed to secede, could Croats then secede from "Krajina"? Fair is fair.
No problem with me, as there shouldn't have been a problem for Herceg-Bosna to secede. Instead, the Croats choosed to ally themselves with the islamists in Bosnia. Would you agree, that Milosevic sold out the Krajina Serbs in the same sense Tudman sold out the Bosnian Croats? Trapped and imprisoned in a state they didn't and don't want to live.
The Croats of Herceg-Bosna are in better shape than the Serbs of Croatia living in Vojvodina.
And BTW, your guys allied with the Islamists while attacking Croatia in '91. You do remember the Muslim generals don't you? You do remember that Sefer Halilovic was the JNA boy bombing Zadar?
If you go by that, then you give up Kosovo.
So make your pick, Kosovo or "Krajina".
That was what I was responding to - you were saying the breakup of Yugoslavia was due to outsider's influence, when the problem was interethnic rivalries which nationalist politicians rode to power upon and then had to feed with Yugoslavia's blood.
Please note, on the issue of the Croatian and Bosnian Serbs secession, the Badinter commission ruled that the redrawing of borders to form the RSK and RS was invalid in the eyes of international law, as opposed to the republic borders, which, as Yugoslavia was ruled to have dissolved, were seen as valid. The subsequent ethnic cleansing which took place in both entities did nothing to help the Serb's position in the eyes of the world, DEI, and ruined any chance of either entitiy surviving in the long run.
Read again:
their claim to seccession, in response to Croatia's and Bosnia's seccession
So tell me, when did Serbia leave the Yugoslav Federation, so that Kosovo could claim seccession from Serbia in response to that?
Since when is the Badinter commission equal to international law? Who set it up and who is obliged to fulfil it's decission and under which law? What about the ICC and the US?
According to the Bosnian constitution, Bosnia's secession was illegal. Duh!? OK, you say Croatian and Bosnian Serbs secession, in response to Croatia's and Bosnia's illegal secession, was illegal. What if they would have demanded 'not to leave', that means to remain in Yugoslavia. That wouldn't have been a secession in the technical sense. The Bosnian and Croatian Serbs would have remained part of Yugoslavia in that case, as they have been for decades. No change of status quo, no secession, nothing. What you say clown?
Only if you consider the communist constitution. Others reject it.
You can't have your cake and eat it too.
This of course is all semantics, seeing as the Belgrade Serbs sold out Croatia's Serbs.
Hey, we Croats didn't like the redrawn borders either.
Can we go back the agreement of 1939 between Serb Cvetkovic and Croatian Macek?
Your dislike did not prevent you from siding with the islamofascists.
Sure, why not. But, Croatia has to join Yugoslavia before we can rearrange that agreement. Your welcome.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.