Posted on 03/17/2008 5:44:13 AM PDT by Clive
NATO's big blunder Action in Kosovo one of the great outrages of our time
By PETER WORTHINGTON/b>
Last Thursday, at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto, a gathering sponsored by Lord Byron Society discussed Kosovo declaring independence from Serbia.
This is an esoteric topic of limited concern to those not familiar with Balkan politics. It is one of the great outrages of our times, and certainly the most scandalous and unnecessary adventure of the presidency of Bill Clinton, who unleashed his incompetent Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, to declare war on Serbia and persuaded NATO to join in.
Albright and the Clinton administration were persuaded that genocide was under way in Kosovo against Albanian Muslims who constituted a majority of the population.
The spectre of massacres and mass graves resulted in the 1999 decision to bomb Serbia into submitting to a more independent, multicultural Kosovo.
It was predicted by those who advocated war, that within 48 hours of being bombed, Serbia (Belgrade and Slobodan Milosevic) would capitulate and Kosovo would be free. Serbs, however, were made of sterner stuff than NATO and Washington anticipated, and the bombing lasted 78 days.
In the end, Kosovo technically remained a province of Serbia under UN jurisdiction. As for genocide and mass graves -- that was a hoax. Nothing was found.
Atrocities, yes, roughly divided among Serbs and Albanians -- the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). But not one mass grave.
It was eventually estimated that four times the number of Kosovo civilians died under NATO bombs, than had been killed by Serbs. The "war," was largely the product of Kosovo Albanians provoking Serbs into retaliatory action, and having a willing international press -- and U.S./NATO staff -- eager to document what they were told.
Jamie Shea, NATO's spokesman, announced that some 100,000 Kosovars were missing, unaccounted for, and probably slaughtered. NATO later reduced this estimate to 10,000.
Winnipeg forensic pathologist Dr. Peter Markestyn was one of those designated to investigate and conduct forensic examinations. His team performed 1,800 autopsies. "That's it," he said. Hardly genocide.
War crime prosecutor Louise Arbour -- Albright's choice for the job -- did her bit by charging Milosevic with genocide and war crimes. She and the U.S. believed he was responsible for a massacre at the village of Racak, in January, 1999, when Serbs supposedly massacred 45 Muslim Albanians.
William Walker, head of the Kosovo Verification Mission, visited the site and called it "an unspeakable atrocity ... a crime against humanity ... the worst I've ever seen."
Skeptical French journalists investigated, and discovered that the bodies of KLA fighters who'd been killed while fighting, were dragged to the ditch, mutilated, some decapitated, and presented as massacred by Serbs.
Finnish pathologists found it odd that little blood was in the ditch, and many had been shot at random, rather than executed. In other words it was a phony massacre, aimed at framing the Serbs.
To some it was mindful of Bosnian Muslims in Sarejevo mortaring market places and blaming Serbs -- and getting away with it. Fortunately for Arbour's reputation, Milosevic died before facing trial for Kosovo war crimes, else he'd likely have been acquitted.
The Kosovo war was staged and unnecessary -- the U.S. and NATO hoodwinked into attacking. None of this suggests that Serbs were choirboys in the Balkans. Horrendous atrocities occurred.
Today, the Bush administration and European Union recognize Kosovo's Independence. Russia and it allies do not. Nor does Serbia.
Realistically, there's no way to right what was clearly a wrong, but at very least the truth of what happened should be recognized -- which is what the meeting at the Military Institute on Thursday was all about.
LETTER OF THE (STOCKWELL) DAY REPATRIATION AND CLEMENCYRe Greg Weston's column (March 6), "Day's Policy Folly, Aiding Canadians who face death penalty now more complicated:" Greg Weston demonstrated a surprising (and alarming) lack of understanding of the very different concepts of "repatriation" and "clemency." According to Oxford's dictionary, clemency is derived from the word meaning "merciful." It is the art of showing mercy. When clemency is sought, it is not a request to ignore the crime; it is to show mercy in the sentencing. Repatriation (Oxford again), refers to bringing a person back to their native land. Through the minister of public safety, the government can request under certain conditions, that a Canadian imprisoned in another country for crimes committed there be returned to Canada. Most Canadian criminals know that coming back to Canada can mean less (or no) prison time for their crimes in another jurisdiction. For that reason, we do not automatically seek the repatriation of all Canadians who rape, kill or otherwise harm people in other countries. Repatriation is very much done on a case-by-case basis. Clemency, also done on a case-by-case basis, can be requested apart from any consideration of repatriation. For example, we can request clemency (such as commuting a death sentence) without also seeking to bring the perpetrator back to Canada. Greg Weston deliberately took my comments on repatriation and applied them as if I was talking about clemency. Mr. Weston would better serve his readers by reporting accurately, not prejudicially, especially on life and death issues.
Hon. Stockwell Day Minister of Public Safety
CONSERVATIVE party of Canada
(Stock ol' buddy, instead of firing off letters to the editor, why not re-examine your own words from question period in the House of Commons on Nov. 1, the day in dispute. We' ve reprinted it for your convenience. Do you see "repatriation" here?)
Hansard, Nov 1, 2007Hon. Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, it has been the long-standing policy of our country, reaffirmed by Foreign Affairs as recently as last Friday, that "there is no death penalty in Canada and the government of Canada does not support the death penalty" and that it will "seek clemency for Canadians sentenced to death in foreign countries." Yet the government has now reversed this policy in not seeking clemency for Alberta-born Ronald Allen Smith, the only Canadian on death row in the United States.
Will the government reaffirm our long-standing policy restated last Friday and seek the commutation of a Canadian citizen?
Hon. Stockwell Day (Minister of Public Safety, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, we will not be actively seeking to bring back to Canada convicted murderers who have been found as such in a jurisdiction that is both democratic and respects the rule of law. It would be a wrong message. We want to preserve public safety in Canada, and that is our position.
Hon. Irwin Cotler (Mount Royal, Lib.)
Mr. Speaker, we are talking about the commutation of a death penalty.
Canadian law also prohibits the extradition of an American citizen back to a state in the United States that practises the death penalty. Why would we now refuse to intervene to protect a Canadian citizen sentenced to death in an American state, thereby effectively reinstating capital punishment for Canadians?
Are we going to, in fact, change our extradition law as well as change our policy on capital punishment?
Hon. Stockwell Day (Minister of Public Safety, CPC)
Mr. Speaker, there is no capital punishment in Canada. Nor is there any attempt at all to change that sort of a policy.
We will not actively pursue bringing back to Canada murderers who have been tried in a democratic country that supports the rule of law.
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Truer words have seldom been spoken.
He resigned the Yugoslav presidency amid demonstrations, following the disputed presidential election of September 24, 2000.
Milošević was arrested by Yugoslav federal authorities early on Sunday, April 1, 2001, on suspicion of corruption, abuse of power, and embezzlement. The initial investigation into Milošević faltered for lack of hard evidence prompting the Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić to send him to The Hague to stand trial for alleged war crimes instead.
The Hague war crimes tribunal charged Milošević with crimes against humanity, violating the laws or customs of war, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and genocide for his role during the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo.
Fortunately for Arbour's reputation, Milosevic died before facing trial for Kosovo war crimes, else he'd likely have been acquitted.
Yep, if at first you can't frame someone, be a good Muslime tool and try, try, again.
The lesson to all nations who watched what happened was clear: Treaties and words do not matter. The only way you can protect your independance is by owning nukes.
The first time I wrote to a US Senator was a letter to Sam Nunn in 1992 or so, asking him to please keep us out of the balkans. ( I recieved what I was to soon recognize asa Senatorial papp form letter back, thanking me for my interest). - Yep Bill was going to have our boys home by Christmas if we went into the balkans, we wouldn’t need to use many troops, and there would ne no long term commitment.
I couldn’t understand how the press rolled over on that one.
I guess the century that the Christmas was in wasn’t asked.
Anyway 16 years later, here we are. and to quote Uncle/Comrade Walter ... That’s the way it is.
But then, the left has never been worried much about logic, reason, or truth.
WITHOUT the UN's support. Ignored by the same adoring public and politicians that excoriated President Bush for doing the same.
"The spectre of massacres and mass graves resulted in the 1999 decision to bomb Serbia into submitting to a more independent, multicultural Kosovo."
And specters they remain. The only "mass grave" found turned out to be a cemetary.
"It was eventually estimated that four times the number of Kosovo civilians died under NATO bombs, than had been killed by Serbs. The "war," was largely the product of Kosovo Albanians provoking Serbs into retaliatory action, and having a willing international press -- and U.S./NATO staff -- eager to document what they were told."
And where was the outrage? Where is it now? All projected onto President Bush.
The entire thing, from our reason for going in there to the carefully orchestrated propaganda campaign to justify every mistake that was made and every civilian killed. Incidents that, had any of them happened during the WoT, would be pounded and railed against for months. Each.
Remember the passenger train? Clinton lied and people died. Where was the outrage?
I've always said it would keep coming back and biting us in rear, and it has. Over and over.
The Hague is nothing but but a group of jackals invented to be the official court of the One World Government. We don’t recognize it for good reason.
ping
Good article.
Balkans Bump
There is an entry in IMDB however: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314930/
Alternately, here is the link to Google video.
Google Video:
Yugoslavia: The Avoidable War Part 1
Yugoslavia: The Avoidable War Part 2
getoffmylawn, I believe, was involved in the making of that.
Thanks Monty.
You’re right. I haven’t been too involved in the Balkans threads much lately because it’s so depressing and inevitable.
Of course for anyone who knows the region, that documentary was little more than Serb propaganda.
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