9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

“OSAMAGATE”

Replicating the Iran Contragate Pattern

Remember Ollie North and the Nicaraguan Contras under the Reagan Administration when weapons financed by the drug trade were channeled to “freedom fighters” in Washington’s covert war against the Sandinista government. The same pattern was used in the Balkans to arm and equip the Mujahideen fighting in the ranks of the Bosnian Muslim army against the Armed Forces of the Yugoslav Federation.

Throughout the 1990s, the Pakistan Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was used by the CIA as a go-between — to channel weapons and Mujahideen mercenaries to the Bosnian Muslim Army in the civil war in Yugoslavia. According to a report of the London based International Media Corporation:

……………

Complicity of the Clinton Administration

In other words, the Republican Party Committee report confirms unequivocally the complicity of the Clinton Administration with several Islamic fundamentalist organisations including Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda.

The Republicans wanted at the time to undermine the Clinton Administration. However, at a time when the entire country had its eyes riveted on the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Republicans no doubt chose not to trigger an untimely “Iran-Bosniagate” affair, which might have unduly diverted public attention away from the Lewinsky scandal. The Republicans wanted to impeach Bill Clinton “for having lied to the American People” regarding his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. On the more substantive “foreign policy lies” regarding drug running and covert operations in the Balkans, Democrats and Republicans agreed in unison, no doubt pressured by the Pentagon and the CIA not to “spill the beans”.

From Bosnia to Kosovo

The “Bosnian pattern” described in the 1997 Congressional RPC report was replicated in Kosovo. With the complicity of NATO and the US State Department. Mujahideen mercenaries from the Middle East and Central Asia were recruited to fight in the ranks of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in 1998-99, largely supporting NATO’s war effort.

Confirmed by British military sources, the task of arming and training of the KLA had been entrusted in 1998 to the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and Britain’s Secret Intelligence Services MI6, together with “former and serving members of 22 SAS [Britain’s 22nd Special Air Services Regiment], as well as three British and American private security companies”.7

The US DIA approached MI6 to arrange a training programme for the KLA, said a senior British military source. `MI6 then sub-contracted the operation to two British security companies, who in turn approached a number of former members of the (22 SAS) regiment. Lists were then drawn up of weapons and equipment needed by the KLA.’ While these covert operations were continuing, serving members of 22 SAS Regiment, mostly from the unit’s D Squadron, were first deployed in Kosovo before the beginning of the bombing campaign in March. 8

While British SAS Special Forces in bases in Northern Albania were training the KLA, military instructors from Turkey and Afghanistan financed by the “Islamic jihad” were collaborating in training the KLA in guerilla and diversion tactics.9:

Bin Laden had visited Albania himself. He was one of several fundamentalist groups that had sent units to fight in Kosovo, … Bin Laden is believed to have established an operation in Albania in 1994 … Albanian sources say Sali Berisha, who was then president, had links with some groups that later proved to be extreme fundamentalists. 10

Congressional Testimonies on KLA-Osama links

According to Frank Ciluffo of the Globalized Organised Crime Program, in a testimony presented to the House of Representatives Judicial Committee:

What was largely hidden from public view was the fact that the KLA raise part of their funds from the sale of narcotics. Albania and Kosovo lie at the heart of the “Balkan Route” that links the “Golden Crescent” of Afghanistan and Pakistan to the drug markets of Europe. This route is worth an estimated $400 billion a year and handles 80 percent of heroin destined for Europe. 11

According to Ralf Mutschke of Interpol’s Criminal Intelligence division also in a testimony to the House Judicial Committee:

The U.S. State Department listed the KLA as a terrorist organization, indicating that it was financing its operations with money from the international heroin trade and loans from Islamic countries and individuals, among them allegedly Usama bin Laden” . Another link to bin Laden is the fact that the brother of a leader in an Egyptian Jihad organization and also a military commander of Usama bin Laden, was leading an elite KLA unit during the Kosovo conflict. 12

Madeleine Albright Covets the KLA

These KLA links to international terrorism and organised crime documented by the US Congress were totally ignored by the Clinton Administration. In fact, in the months preceding the bombing of Yugoslavia, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was busy building a “political legitimacy” for the KLA. The paramilitary army had –from one day to the next– been elevated to the status of a bona fide “democratic” force in Kosovo. In turn, Madeleine Albright has forced the pace of international diplomacy: the KLA had been spearheaded into playing a central role in the failed “peace negotiations” at Rambouiillet in early 1999.

The Senate and the House tacitly endorse State Terrorism

While the various Congressional reports confirmed that the US government had been working hand in glove with Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda, this did not prevent the Clinton and later the Bush Administration from arming and equipping the KLA. The Congressional documents also confirm that members of the Senate and the House knew the relationship of the Administration to international terrorism. To quote the statement of Rep. John Kasich of the House Armed Services Committee: “We connected ourselves [in 1998-99] with the KLA, which was the staging point for bin Laden…” 13

In the wake of the tragic events of September 11, Republicans and Democrats in unison have given their full support to the President to “wage war on Osama”.

In 1999, Senator Jo Lieberman had stated authoritatively that “Fighting for the KLA is fighting for human rights and American values.” In the hours following the October 7 missile attacks on Afghanistan, the same Jo Lieberman called for punitive air strikes against Iraq: “We’re in a war against terrorism… We can’t stop with bin Laden and the Taliban.” Yet Senator Jo Lieberman, as member of the Armed Services Committee of the Senate had access to all the Congressional documents pertaining to “KLA-Osama” links. In making this statement, he was fully aware that that agencies of the US government as well as NATO were supporting international terrorism.

The War in Macedonia

In the wake of the 1999 war in Yugoslavia, the terrorist activities of the KLA were extended into Southern Serbia and Macedonia. Meanwhile, the KLA –renamed the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC)– was elevated to United Nations status, implying the granting of “legitimate” sources of funding through United Nations as well as through bilateral channels, including direct US military aid.

And barely two months after the official inauguration of the KPC under UN auspices (September 1999), KPC-KLA commanders - using UN resources and equipment - were already preparing the assaults into Macedonia, as a logical follow-up to their terrorist activities in Kosovo. According to the Skopje daily Dnevnik, the KPC had established a “sixth operation zone” in Southern Serbia and Macedonia:

Sources, who insist on anonymity, claim that the headquarters of the Kosovo protection brigades [i.e. linked to the UN sponsored KPC] have [March 2000] already been formed in Tetovo, Gostivar and Skopje. They are being prepared in Debar and Struga [on the border with Albania] as well, and their members have defined codes. 14

According to the BBC, “Western special forces were still training the guerrillas” meaning that they were assisting the KLA in opening up “a sixth operation zone” in Southern Serbia and Macedonia. 15

“The Islamic Militant Network” and NATO join hands in Macedonia

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http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO110A.html 

Geschrieben in Welt News Spezial, Geschichte - History, Balkan (Englisch) | Drucken | 1 Kommentar »

9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

Tom Koenig ist ohne Zweifel einer der peinlichsten Abzocker und ein absolut unfaehiger und skrupellose Person, was er u.a. schon im Kosovo gezeigt. Der armselige Kerl hat nur Eines im Sinne, kriminelle Clans an die Macht zu bringen und ist der Mentor der International operierenden Drogen Clans, welche ein wichtiger Faktor in der Welt Finanz sind.

Man kann Tom Koenig als Prostiuierte der Welt Hilfs und Aufbau Politik bezeichnen, denn was Besseres kann einem zo so einer Person nicht einfallen.

06.08.2007 - Zu allen Zeiten

KABUL/BERLIN (Eigener Bericht) - Angesichts des Besatzungsfiaskos in
Afghanistan nimmt der Streit um eine erneute Ausweitung des
Bundeswehreinsatzes zu. Vor der kommenden Mandatsverlängerung, über
die das Parlament im Herbst entscheidet, plädieren führende Berliner
Außenpolitiker für die Entsendung zusätzlicher Truppen. Zugleich soll
das bisherige Einsatzgebiet der deutschen Militärexpedition entgrenzt
werden, um den westlichen Alliierten zu Hilfe zu kommen. Auch
konservative Kriegsgegner warnen, bei der geplanten Fortführung des
Krieges müssten die Besatzungsmächte das Land womöglich “demnächst
unter unwürdigen Bedingungen verlassen”. Um den Warnungen
entgegenzuwirken, bietet die Bundesregierung den deutschen Politiker
Tom Koenigs auf. Koenigs (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) gilt als
karrierebewusster Bellizist der Fischer-Schule und war der UNO vom
Auswärtigen Amt angedient worden. Als UN-Sonderbeauftragter in
Afghanistan nimmt er die Rolle eines Kronzeugen für die weitere
Eskalation der Kriegshandlungen wahr. Die deutsche Publizistik
begleitet die Gewaltexplosion in Afghanistan, der in der vergangenen
Woche erneut Dutzende Zivilpersonen zum Opfer fielen, mit bekannten
Legitimationsmustern. Frieden “musste zu allen Zeiten erzwungen
werden” - durch “überlegene militärische Macht”, heißt es in der
führenden Zeitschrift für deutsche Außenpolitik.

mehr
http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/de/fulltext/56952

mehr

http://balkanforum.org/thread.php?postid=3698#post3698 

Geschrieben in Welt News Spezial, Balkan | Drucken | Keine Kommentare »

9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

One Gunmen Killed

Night Watch: PRESEVO VALLEY - Reuters reports Serbian police, late Sunday, exchanged fire with a group of masked gunmen wearing black uniforms who had been stopping cars in Serbia’s Presevo Valley.The valley is in south Serbia along the Kosovo border, the Serbian province whose ethnic Albanian majority have been demanding independence for ten years and until recently they believed the international community, led by the United Nations and the European Union headquarters in Brussels, was going to officially recognize it.

But the Serbian government in Belgrade has stated, for more than a year, any declaration of independence would mean war and not just against the Albanians but also against any military units from countries that supported the declaration. Since the NATO 78-day air campaign against Serbia in 1999, the divided alliance has maintained approximately 17,000 occupation troops in the province, but Belgrade, with massive assistance from Moscow-Tehran, has re-armed. [SWISSINFO]

…………………..

What may not have received much publicity as Macedonia in 2001, was the fighting that began in south Serbia’s Presevo Valley that same year, started by a rebellion of Albanians against Serbian rule. Now here is this firefight late Sunday involving masked gunmen in black uniforms, the military uniform of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and perhaps also of the Albanian National Army (ANA). Neither unit is official but they both have a lot of contacts with official governments, especially the Albanian government in Tirana.

….

What may not have received much publicity as Macedonia in 2001, was the fighting that began in south Serbia’s Presevo Valley that same year, started by a rebellion of Albanians against Serbian rule. Now here is this firefight late Sunday involving masked gunmen in black uniforms, the military uniform of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and perhaps also of the Albanian National Army (ANA). Neither unit is official but they both have a lot of contacts with official governments, especially the Albanian government in Tirana.

newsblaze

Geschrieben in Welt News Spezial, Balkan (Englisch) | Drucken | Keine Kommentare »

9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

Thursday, August 9, 2007. Issue 3717. Page 9.
Liberty, Not Sovereignty, at Stake in Kosovo
By Matthew Kaminski

Remember Kosovo? “Madeleine’s war,” Slobodan Milosevic’s ethnic cleansers, a million displaced Albanians and NATO’s 78 days of bombing? So much history in the eight summers since has pushed this dusty Balkan plot off the map. But a relic of 1990s geopolitics is back in the headlines.

Caught among a pushy Kremlin, weak-kneed Europe and otherwise-occupied Washington, the Kosovars are being denied their happy ending. Unless the United States forcefully steps in to usher this province of 2 million to independence without any messy compromises, Southeast Europe could fall off track again, with nasty repercussions for everyone.
………………

Matthew Kaminski is editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe. This comment appeared in The Wall Street Journal.

Moskow Times

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9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

Die Akte Tillman

Nick Abbe 09.08.2007
Der Tod eines “American hero” in Afghanistan wirft Fragen auf

…………..

Laut den offiziellen Darstellungen des US-Verteidigungsministeriums wurde Tillman von Kameraden aus größerer Entfernung getötet, weil sie ihn irrtümlich für einen [extern] Feind hielten (PDF-Datei). Nach den Aussagen von, an der Obduktion beteiligten, Medizinern hingegen seien drei Schusswunden in Tillmans Stirn so exakt und nahe bei einander liegend vorgefunden worden, dass er wohl aus höchstens zehn Metern Entfernung gezielt mit einem M-16 (dem Standard-Sturmgewehr der US-Streitkräfte) [extern] “niedergestreckt” worden sein muss. Dies aber würde darauf hindeuten, dass er praktisch exekutiert wurde.

Als der obduzierende Arzt sich diesbezüglich an seine Vorgesetzten wandte, die ihm zusagten, seine Informationen in der Militär-Hierarchie weiterzuleiten, wurde er letztendlich ignoriert; eine Bitte um Einleitung einer Untersuchung durch die Criminal Investigation Unit der US-Armee wurde abgelehnt (eine Leistung, die verantwortliche Militär-Anwälte zu gegenseitigen Glückwünschen veranlasste). Am Ort der Geschehnisse, sowie an den beteiligten Fahrzeugen, fanden sich keinerlei Spuren von “feindlichem Feuer” - keine Geschosshülsen oder Einschüsse. Die Rolle von Scharfschützen, die - laut Zeugenaussagen - an dem Zwischenfall beteiligt waren, konnte bislang [extern] nicht geklärt werden.

Eine Befragung seiner Kameraden, im Rahmen der Untersuchung des Pentagons, bezüglich der Umstände von Tillmans Tod, ergab keine Hinweise auf Motive von Soldaten seiner Einheit, ihn zu [extern] töten.

Das Weiße Haus und das Pentagon berufen sich inzwischen auf das so genannte “executive privilege”, also eine Immunität gegenüber Untersuchungen seitens der Legislative, um Dokumente, die von einem Untersuchungsausschuss des Abgeordneten-Hauses des US-Kongress angefordert wurden, zurückzuhalten und die weiteren Untersuchungen zum Tode Pat Tillmans damit [extern] zu blockieren.

Patrick Daniel “Pat” Tillman wurde nur 27 Jahre alt.

Telepolis

__________

Geschrieben in Welt News Spezial | Drucken | Keine Kommentare »

9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

06/08/2007

In a carefully planned and executed sting, police infiltrated the Croatian Privatisation Fund in order to uncover corruption there. Seven officials have now been arrested, including three vice-presidents.

By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb – 06/08/07

Seven officials of the Croatian Privatisation Fund are being charged with accepting bribes and selling state owned companies without legal bids. [HFP]

Croatian police and anti-corruption institutions have carried out their largest operation ever in the fight against corruption and organised crime. Seven officials of the Croatian Privatisation Fund (HFP) were arrested, including three vice-presidents — Ivan Gotovac, Josip Matanovic and Robert Pesa. One other person remains at large. They are being charged with accepting bribes and selling state owned companies without legal bids.

The indictees are now being questioned by the state prosecution’s investigative officers. More than 40 witnesses will give their testimony, although this part of the investigation is closed to the public. The identity of the witnesses is also secret.

Operation Maestro was planned carefully and thoroughly. The undercover agents infiltrated HFP and located the officials who could bribed. At a press conference announcing the sting, State Prosecutor Mladen Bakic revealed that the agents paid more than 800,000 euros to HFP’s vice-presidents and their associates.

The three vice-presidents did not know of each other’s illegal activities and were not working together. However, each had a network of associates. The undercover agents testified that they had to pay 50,000 euros just to have coffee with one of the vice-presidents — that is, to gain the opportunity to discuss illegal activities.

The state prosecutor’s office has its work cut out for it. The investigation will likely reach back to the early 1990s, when HFP was established, as some of the persons charged have been working there for almost two decades. Now Croatians are wondering just how many state-owned firms were sold under suspicious circumstances over the years, and how the situation can be redressed. The government has already raised the issue of compensation for firms damaged in the process, but it is too early to say how this will be done. It is also not yet clear if HFP will keep on with its work, or cease to exist as an independent institution.

“Every privatisation carried out by the Fund should be investigated for a second time, just to make sure everything is properly managed,” says President Stipe Mesic.

Polls show that the public welcomes the arrests, and that more than 70% favour a decisive anti-corruption strategy.

Transportation, Development, Infrastructure and Tourism Minister Bozidar Kalmeta’s personal driver is facing corruption charges. [AFP]

The EU has responded favourably. The bloc’s ambassador to Croatia, Vincent Degert, praised the police and judiciary for doing their job well. He said Brussels will keep on encouraging its partners in Croatia to continue with the good work and eradicate corruption on all levels — local and national.

Fighting corruption remains the Croatian government’s biggest challenge as the country moves towards EU accession. While under pressure from Brussels to show concrete results, the authorities also have to contend with domestic politics, including distrust of influence from abroad. The Croatian People’s Party (HNS), meanwhile, has called on the government to resign because four cabinet members are on HFP’s advisory board. They are government Vice-President Damir Polancec, Agriculture Minister Petar Cobankovic, Finance Minister Ivan Suker and Transport, Development, Infrastructure and Tourism Minister Bozidar Kalmeta.

……………..

http://setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/articles/2007/08/06/reportage-01

Geschrieben in Economy - Wirtschaft, Balkan (Englisch), Balkan | Drucken | Keine Kommentare »

9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

07/08/2007

Kosovo’s ethnic Albanian leadership says independence is non-negotiable; Serbia calls for compromise.

(AP, Reuters, RFE/RL, HINA, Focus News Agency, B92, Beta, Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, Serbian government - 06/08/07; VOA - 05/08/07)

Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said the new round of negotiations is an opportunity for compromise. [Getty Images]

Days before the Contact Group is expected to initiate a new round of talks on Kosovo’s future status, statements by senior officials in Belgrade and Pristina on Monday (August 6th) showed little hope for a breakthrough.

In his weekly radio broadcast, Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku said the new talks are not the beginning of a new process, but simply an “unnecessary delay”. Expressing confidence that Kosovo will soon gain independence, he vowed that Pristina would not budge on the issue.

According to the co-ordinator of Kosovo’s negotiating team, Blerim Shala, Pristina’s platform for the talks consists of three points — Kosovo independence will not be subject to negotiation, Kosovo borders will remain unchanged and there cannot be any changes to former UN envoy Martti Ahtisaari’s status plan, which calls for supervised independence.

“These are the three positions that have been stated,” Shala said on Sunday. “They will not change.”

……………..

http://setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2007/08/07/feature-01

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9.8.2007 by CrniLabudovi.

More cell phones than residents in Montenegro

08/08/2007

In a trend that keeps growing, there are more mobile phones in use in Montenegro than there are citizens. With the recent addition of a third mobile service provider, the phenomenon is expected to increase.

By Nedjeljko Rudovic for Southeast European Times in Podgorica – 08/08/07

Most Montenegrins have mobile phones. [Getty Images]

The number of mobile phones in use in Montenegro far exceeds the number of citizens. Montenegro has a population of around 620,000 citizens — with an average monthly salary of 326 euros. According to the Telecommunication Ministry, the number of mobile phones in use in the country numbers around 700,000. With last month’s entrance of a new mobile provider in Montenegro, the number of mobile phone users in the country increased further.

M-tel, a joint venture between Telekom Srbija and Ogalar BV — a Dutch-based company controlled by Delta Holding — entered the newly independent country’s market at the beginning of July. The company said it sold 12,000 prepaid packages with SIM cards during its first official day of operation.

Setimes

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