http://www.nationalpost.com/commentary/
story.html?f=/stories/20011113/783573.html
November 13, 2001
War on terrorism skipped the KLA, by James Bissett
National Post, CANADA
U.S. President George W. Bush has made it clear the war against
terrorists will be unremitting and relentless. Even those countries
affording shelter to terrorists will not be spared. These words come
too late for the Serbs, Gypsies, Jews, Turks and other non-Albanians
who have been driven from their ancestral homes in Kosovo by the
terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army. It is too late as well for Macedonia,
which has been forced by the United States, the European Union and NATO
to yield to all the demands of the Albanian terrorists in that country.
This double standard and lack of consistency when dealing with
terrorists calls into question the policies the United States and its
NATO allies followed in the Balkans. It also underlines the necessity
for the United States and its allies to clean up their act if they wish
to retain credibility in the war against terrorism.
The bombing of Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999 allegedly to stop ethnic
cleansing and prevent the Balkans from becoming once again the powder
keg of Europe has backfired. Kosovo has become exclusively an Albanian
province with the exception of a few stalwart Serbians in the Mitrovica
area who live surrounded by barbed wire and are threatened daily with
murder and mayhem by their Albanian neighbours. The Balkans, since the
end of the bombing, have been in constant turmoil caused by the KLA
terrorist activities.
NATO allowed the KLA, which under the terms of United Nations Resolution
1244 was to be disarmed after the end of the bombing, to keep its
weapons. The KLA was renamed the Kosovo Protection Force and been given
the task of maintaining peace and security in Kosovo. How well it has
been able to carry out this task is summed up in a report dated Feb.
26, 2001, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan,
which accuses the protection corps of widespread acts of murder,
torture and extortion.
That condemnation should not have come as a surprise. As early as 1998,
the U.S. State Department listed the KLA as a terrorist organization
financing its operations with money from the international heroin trade
and funds supplied from Islamic countries and individuals, including
Osama bin Laden.
This did not stop the United States from arming and training KLA members
in Albania and in the summer of 1998 sending them back into Kosovo to
assassinate Serbian mayors, ambush Serbian policemen and intimidate
hesitant Kosovo Albanians. The aim was to destabilize Kosovo and
overthrow Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
Bin Laden and radical Muslim groups have been deeply involved in the
Balkans since the civil wars in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995. Despite a UN
arms embargo and with the knowledge and support of the United States,
arms, ammunition and thousands of Mujahideen fighters were smuggled
into Bosnia to help the Muslims. Many remain in Bosnia today and are
recognized as a serious threat to Western forces there. The Bosnian
government is said to have presented bin Laden with a Bosnian passport
in recognition of his contribution to their cause. He and his al-Qaeda
network were also active in Kosovo, and KLA members trained in his
camps in Afghanistan and Albania.
Emboldened by the knowledge it could achieve its political objectives by
terror, the KLA moved into southern Serbia and initiated, under the eyes
of 40,000 NATO troops, a campaign of terror against the Serbian
population.
Not until NATO permitted the new democratic government of Serbia to
send the Serb army back into the area was the KLA routed and sent back
across the border into Kosovo.
Macedonia, with its large Albanian minority, was the KLA's next target.
In February, its forces moved against this small and newly independent
democracy. The familiar pattern of murder, ambush and intimidation
followed. Unlike Serbia, which still possessed a powerful and well-
equipped army, Macedonia had little with which to defend itself against
the well equipped and battle-hardened KLA fighters. The promises of
assistance made by former U.S. president Bill Clinton in return for
Macedonia's co-operation during the Yugoslav bombing were forgotten.
Nevertheless, when the fighting started, it appeared NATO and the
European Union might help Macedonia resist the terrorist threat. In
March, Lord Robertson, the Secretary-General of NATO, condemned the KLA
terror campaign and described them as "murderous thugs." He supported
the Macedonian government's refusal to negotiate with the terrorists.
Obviously, Lord Robertson was not aware the United States had other
ideas about which side to support in Macedonia.
The message was made clear in May, when U.S. diplomat Robert Fenwick,
ostensibly the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe, in Macedonia, met secretly in Prizren, Kosovo, with the leaders
of the Albanian political parties and KLA representatives. Macedonian
officials were not invited. It was clear the United States was backing
the Albanian terrorist cause. This was confirmed a month later, when a
force of 400 KLA fighters was surrounded in the town of Aracinovo near
the capital, Skopje.
As Macedonian security forces moved in, they were halted on NATO
orders. U.S. army buses from Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo arrived to remove
all the heavily armed terrorists to a safer area of Macedonia. German
reporters later revealed that 17 U.S. military advisors were
accompanying the KLA terrorists in Aracinovo.
In August, fearing the Macedonian forces might be able to defeat the
KLA, U.S. Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice flew to Kiev and ordered the
Ukrainian government to stop sending further military equipment to
Macedonia.
Since Ukraine was the only country supplying Macedonia with military
assistance, the Macedonians realized continued resistance against the
KLA terrorists, the EU and NATO was futile. Macedonia was forced to
concede defeat and obliged to accept all the terrorist demands. When
the peace treaty was signed, Lord Robertson proclaimed, "This day marks
the entry of Macedonia into modern, mainstream Europe ... a very proud
day for their country."
James Bissett is a former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Bulgaria
and Albania, 1990-1992.
Letters tothe editor:
rmackinnon@...
story.html?f=/stories/20011113/783573.html
November 13, 2001
War on terrorism skipped the KLA, by James Bissett
National Post, CANADA
U.S. President George W. Bush has made it clear the war against
terrorists will be unremitting and relentless. Even those countries
affording shelter to terrorists will not be spared. These words come
too late for the Serbs, Gypsies, Jews, Turks and other non-Albanians
who have been driven from their ancestral homes in Kosovo by the
terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army. It is too late as well for Macedonia,
which has been forced by the United States, the European Union and NATO
to yield to all the demands of the Albanian terrorists in that country.
This double standard and lack of consistency when dealing with
terrorists calls into question the policies the United States and its
NATO allies followed in the Balkans. It also underlines the necessity
for the United States and its allies to clean up their act if they wish
to retain credibility in the war against terrorism.
The bombing of Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999 allegedly to stop ethnic
cleansing and prevent the Balkans from becoming once again the powder
keg of Europe has backfired. Kosovo has become exclusively an Albanian
province with the exception of a few stalwart Serbians in the Mitrovica
area who live surrounded by barbed wire and are threatened daily with
murder and mayhem by their Albanian neighbours. The Balkans, since the
end of the bombing, have been in constant turmoil caused by the KLA
terrorist activities.
NATO allowed the KLA, which under the terms of United Nations Resolution
1244 was to be disarmed after the end of the bombing, to keep its
weapons. The KLA was renamed the Kosovo Protection Force and been given
the task of maintaining peace and security in Kosovo. How well it has
been able to carry out this task is summed up in a report dated Feb.
26, 2001, to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan,
which accuses the protection corps of widespread acts of murder,
torture and extortion.
That condemnation should not have come as a surprise. As early as 1998,
the U.S. State Department listed the KLA as a terrorist organization
financing its operations with money from the international heroin trade
and funds supplied from Islamic countries and individuals, including
Osama bin Laden.
This did not stop the United States from arming and training KLA members
in Albania and in the summer of 1998 sending them back into Kosovo to
assassinate Serbian mayors, ambush Serbian policemen and intimidate
hesitant Kosovo Albanians. The aim was to destabilize Kosovo and
overthrow Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
Bin Laden and radical Muslim groups have been deeply involved in the
Balkans since the civil wars in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995. Despite a UN
arms embargo and with the knowledge and support of the United States,
arms, ammunition and thousands of Mujahideen fighters were smuggled
into Bosnia to help the Muslims. Many remain in Bosnia today and are
recognized as a serious threat to Western forces there. The Bosnian
government is said to have presented bin Laden with a Bosnian passport
in recognition of his contribution to their cause. He and his al-Qaeda
network were also active in Kosovo, and KLA members trained in his
camps in Afghanistan and Albania.
Emboldened by the knowledge it could achieve its political objectives by
terror, the KLA moved into southern Serbia and initiated, under the eyes
of 40,000 NATO troops, a campaign of terror against the Serbian
population.
Not until NATO permitted the new democratic government of Serbia to
send the Serb army back into the area was the KLA routed and sent back
across the border into Kosovo.
Macedonia, with its large Albanian minority, was the KLA's next target.
In February, its forces moved against this small and newly independent
democracy. The familiar pattern of murder, ambush and intimidation
followed. Unlike Serbia, which still possessed a powerful and well-
equipped army, Macedonia had little with which to defend itself against
the well equipped and battle-hardened KLA fighters. The promises of
assistance made by former U.S. president Bill Clinton in return for
Macedonia's co-operation during the Yugoslav bombing were forgotten.
Nevertheless, when the fighting started, it appeared NATO and the
European Union might help Macedonia resist the terrorist threat. In
March, Lord Robertson, the Secretary-General of NATO, condemned the KLA
terror campaign and described them as "murderous thugs." He supported
the Macedonian government's refusal to negotiate with the terrorists.
Obviously, Lord Robertson was not aware the United States had other
ideas about which side to support in Macedonia.
The message was made clear in May, when U.S. diplomat Robert Fenwick,
ostensibly the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe, in Macedonia, met secretly in Prizren, Kosovo, with the leaders
of the Albanian political parties and KLA representatives. Macedonian
officials were not invited. It was clear the United States was backing
the Albanian terrorist cause. This was confirmed a month later, when a
force of 400 KLA fighters was surrounded in the town of Aracinovo near
the capital, Skopje.
As Macedonian security forces moved in, they were halted on NATO
orders. U.S. army buses from Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo arrived to remove
all the heavily armed terrorists to a safer area of Macedonia. German
reporters later revealed that 17 U.S. military advisors were
accompanying the KLA terrorists in Aracinovo.
In August, fearing the Macedonian forces might be able to defeat the
KLA, U.S. Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice flew to Kiev and ordered the
Ukrainian government to stop sending further military equipment to
Macedonia.
Since Ukraine was the only country supplying Macedonia with military
assistance, the Macedonians realized continued resistance against the
KLA terrorists, the EU and NATO was futile. Macedonia was forced to
concede defeat and obliged to accept all the terrorist demands. When
the peace treaty was signed, Lord Robertson proclaimed, "This day marks
the entry of Macedonia into modern, mainstream Europe ... a very proud
day for their country."
James Bissett is a former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Bulgaria
and Albania, 1990-1992.
Letters tothe editor:
rmackinnon@...