(english / italiano)
IL MIGLIORE AMICO DI SALI BERISHA - SUBITO DOPO NIKI VENDOLA,
NATURALMENTE
ALBANIA: EX SEGRETARIO SICUREZZA USA ASSUNTO DA BERISHA
(ANSA) - TIRANA, 4 SET - L'ex segretario statunitense alla sicurezza
interna, Tom Ridge, e' stato assunto dal premier albanese Sali
Berisha come consigliere del suo governo. ''Ridge assistera' il
governo nelle questioni legate alla sicurezza. La nostra
collaborazione - ha spiegato il premier - include anche il processo
di integrazione nella Nato, le strategie per la lotta contro la
criminalita' organizzata e la corruzione e la possibilita' di
incentivare gli investimenti statunitensi in Albania''. Tom Ridge, 61
anni, nell'ottobre del 2001 fu incaricato di creare e dirigere il
dipartimento della sicurezza interna, costituito dal presidente
George W. Bush subito dopo gli attentati alle Torri gemelle. Nel
dicembre 2004 si era dimesso. Apparso a Tirana al fianco del premier
albanese, Ridge si e' detto ''entusiasta delle nuove sfide'' che
dovra' affrontare insieme al governo albanese. ''Non vedo l'ora di
cominciare a lavorare'' ha aggiunto. Alla domanda dei giornalisti sul
perche' della sua scelta di diventare consigliere del governo di un
piccolo paese come l'Albania, Ridge ha risposto che ''il primo
ministro Sali Berisha e' una persona convincente, che lavora con
passione e la sua visione sul futuro dell'Albania e' emozionante''.
Berisha spera di potere usufruire dei contatti politici e diplomatici
di Ridge, ma anche della sua esperienza come governatore della
Pennsylvania (lo e' stato due volte) considerata dal premier ''una
storia di vero successo''. (ANSA) COR-BLL
04/09/2006 20:04
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?
type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-09-04T145419Z_01_L04234414_RTRUKOC_0_US-A
LBANIA-USA-RIDGE.xml&archived=False
Reuters - September 4, 2006
Albania to employ Ex-Homeland Security chief Ridge
TIRANA - Tom Ridge, the former U.S. Homeland Security
chief, is to work as a consultant to Albanian Prime
Minister Sali Berisha on security, NATO and
investments.
"We have agreed with Mr. Ridge he will be the adviser
of the prime minister and the Albanian government
effective this month," Berisha, flanked by Ridge, told
reporters.
"Our cooperation includes ... integration of Albania
into NATO as a major priority, national security
strategy and the fight against organized corruption
and crime," Berisha added.
As much as Ridge's security expertise, Berisha wants
him to also bring to Albania his "success story" as
Governor of Pennsylvania on education, the judiciary,
information technology, agriculture and money
laundering.
Albania applied for NATO membership after Berisha
became Albania's first non-communist president in 1992
and turned the former...state into a staunch ally of
Washington.
He became a pariah when he refused to listen to U.S.
advice in a 1997 pyramid scheme crisis which visited
anarchy on the country and toppled his government. But
he has been courting the United States assiduously
since regaining office last year.
Berisha hired a U.S. firm to help him choreograph the
election campaign that brought him to power in July
2005 after eight years in opposition. He ran on an
anti-corruption campaign as the Socialist tore
themselves apart in power struggles.
Tirana has signed a Stabilization and Association
Agreement with the European Union. But it faces an
uphill struggle on the economy, infrastructure and the
fight against crime.
Berisha said he had told Ridge that being "selected by
the Albanian Prime Minister as a super-envoy at a
crucial moment for Albania" ranked equally to his
selection by President George Bush as the first Office
of Homeland Security Adviser on October 8, 2001,
shortly after the attacks against the United States.
Ridge resigned from government in December 2004.
"It is exciting to work with a government that is
enthusiastically and passionately committed to effect
the changes necessary to become a member of NATO and a
strong global partner in the global economy," Ridge
told reporters.
Asked what made a personality of his stature agree to
advise a small country like Albania, Ridge said
Berisha was a "very passionate and compelling
individual" whose vision for the future of Albania he
found exciting.
A government spokesman said Ridge would engage a team
of consultants and offer his connections to make known
Albania's reforms in the United States and create
homeland security and good governance strategies.
He would visit Albania every two months and the terms
of his employment would be made public in the future,
the spokesman added.
IL MIGLIORE AMICO DI SALI BERISHA - SUBITO DOPO NIKI VENDOLA,
NATURALMENTE
ALBANIA: EX SEGRETARIO SICUREZZA USA ASSUNTO DA BERISHA
(ANSA) - TIRANA, 4 SET - L'ex segretario statunitense alla sicurezza
interna, Tom Ridge, e' stato assunto dal premier albanese Sali
Berisha come consigliere del suo governo. ''Ridge assistera' il
governo nelle questioni legate alla sicurezza. La nostra
collaborazione - ha spiegato il premier - include anche il processo
di integrazione nella Nato, le strategie per la lotta contro la
criminalita' organizzata e la corruzione e la possibilita' di
incentivare gli investimenti statunitensi in Albania''. Tom Ridge, 61
anni, nell'ottobre del 2001 fu incaricato di creare e dirigere il
dipartimento della sicurezza interna, costituito dal presidente
George W. Bush subito dopo gli attentati alle Torri gemelle. Nel
dicembre 2004 si era dimesso. Apparso a Tirana al fianco del premier
albanese, Ridge si e' detto ''entusiasta delle nuove sfide'' che
dovra' affrontare insieme al governo albanese. ''Non vedo l'ora di
cominciare a lavorare'' ha aggiunto. Alla domanda dei giornalisti sul
perche' della sua scelta di diventare consigliere del governo di un
piccolo paese come l'Albania, Ridge ha risposto che ''il primo
ministro Sali Berisha e' una persona convincente, che lavora con
passione e la sua visione sul futuro dell'Albania e' emozionante''.
Berisha spera di potere usufruire dei contatti politici e diplomatici
di Ridge, ma anche della sua esperienza come governatore della
Pennsylvania (lo e' stato due volte) considerata dal premier ''una
storia di vero successo''. (ANSA) COR-BLL
04/09/2006 20:04
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?
type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-09-04T145419Z_01_L04234414_RTRUKOC_0_US-A
LBANIA-USA-RIDGE.xml&archived=False
Reuters - September 4, 2006
Albania to employ Ex-Homeland Security chief Ridge
TIRANA - Tom Ridge, the former U.S. Homeland Security
chief, is to work as a consultant to Albanian Prime
Minister Sali Berisha on security, NATO and
investments.
"We have agreed with Mr. Ridge he will be the adviser
of the prime minister and the Albanian government
effective this month," Berisha, flanked by Ridge, told
reporters.
"Our cooperation includes ... integration of Albania
into NATO as a major priority, national security
strategy and the fight against organized corruption
and crime," Berisha added.
As much as Ridge's security expertise, Berisha wants
him to also bring to Albania his "success story" as
Governor of Pennsylvania on education, the judiciary,
information technology, agriculture and money
laundering.
Albania applied for NATO membership after Berisha
became Albania's first non-communist president in 1992
and turned the former...state into a staunch ally of
Washington.
He became a pariah when he refused to listen to U.S.
advice in a 1997 pyramid scheme crisis which visited
anarchy on the country and toppled his government. But
he has been courting the United States assiduously
since regaining office last year.
Berisha hired a U.S. firm to help him choreograph the
election campaign that brought him to power in July
2005 after eight years in opposition. He ran on an
anti-corruption campaign as the Socialist tore
themselves apart in power struggles.
Tirana has signed a Stabilization and Association
Agreement with the European Union. But it faces an
uphill struggle on the economy, infrastructure and the
fight against crime.
Berisha said he had told Ridge that being "selected by
the Albanian Prime Minister as a super-envoy at a
crucial moment for Albania" ranked equally to his
selection by President George Bush as the first Office
of Homeland Security Adviser on October 8, 2001,
shortly after the attacks against the United States.
Ridge resigned from government in December 2004.
"It is exciting to work with a government that is
enthusiastically and passionately committed to effect
the changes necessary to become a member of NATO and a
strong global partner in the global economy," Ridge
told reporters.
Asked what made a personality of his stature agree to
advise a small country like Albania, Ridge said
Berisha was a "very passionate and compelling
individual" whose vision for the future of Albania he
found exciting.
A government spokesman said Ridge would engage a team
of consultants and offer his connections to make known
Albania's reforms in the United States and create
homeland security and good governance strategies.
He would visit Albania every two months and the terms
of his employment would be made public in the future,
the spokesman added.