> http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/worthington.html
February 22, 2002
The Balkan connection
Books says al-Qaida now active in Macedonia
By PETER WORTHINGTON -- Toronto Sun
An irony of the war against terrorism since Sept. 11 is that while the
prime enemy was Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network, not
Afghanistan's Taliban regime, it's the Taliban that has been crushed,
and not al-Qaida.
Osama and al-Qaida have become household words, yet they remain shadowy,
ill-defined, unfathomable. We are routinely told al-Qaida-trained
suicidal assassins are scattered in something like 68 countries, poised
to do dreadful things that they believe will get them into paradise,
where 72 virgins await to give them a martyr's welcome.
What most don't know, and few in the media have paid much attention to,
is the Balkan connection with al-Qaida. Much to their embarrassment now,
NATO and the Americans realize they may have unwittingly contributed to
al-Qaida fronts in Bosnia and Kosovo prior to Sept. 11.
One who knows more than most about the western-orchestrated chaos in the
Balkans is Scott Taylor, the peripatetic publisher of the military
magazine Esprit de Corps. He's been back and forth to the area
innumerable times, especially during NATO'S air war against Serbia and,
more recently, to note simmering unrest in Macedonia - where
al-Qaida-trained Albanian insurgents seek to overthrow the government.
Taylor wrote a book about Serbia and the Kosovo war (Inat: Images of
Serbia and the Kosovo Conflict), and this week has a new book about
Kosovo overlapping into Macedonia, which is a target in the unspoken
campaign for a Greater Albania, that involves al-Qaida and various
Muslim extremist groups.
This book, Diary of an Uncivil War, is ahead of the wave in that it
anticipates the next phase of the Balkan wars. Al-Qaida and Islamic
Jihad fighters have been active in Muslim areas of the Balkans ever
since Slobodan Milosevic began a megalomaniac campaign that resulted in
a shrinking of Serbia.
Bunked with villagers
Taylor's book is based on what he witnessed in travels in the area
during war - experiences different from those of establishment
journalists on expense accounts, with rented cars, translators and the
best hotels. Taylor bunked in with local villagers, bummed rides, took
buses, depended on locals for food.
There's authenticity in Taylor's stuff that's often missing in
conventional news reports. His adventures are one thing, and give a
flavour of the Balkans, but on a more serious level, his is a withering
reflection of western (U.S.) policy gone awry.
Today, Macedonia's independence is threatened by rebellion led by
Kosovar Albanians who fought the Serbs. The European Union, NATO and the
U.S. downplay this, but Albanian insurgents in Macedonia are well armed
and financed from abroad.
Reports suggest some 5,000 al-Qaida terrorists have been trained in
Bosnia and Kosovo. In January, the Americans announced the capture of
Algerian al-Qaida members in Sarajevo.
The fragile peace signed last August giving more power to Albanians
living in Macedonia, is crumbling. The NATO- and U.S.-armed rebel
National Liberation Army in northern Macedonia continues to harass.
Another Albanian insurgent group, the Real National Liberation Army, is
led by a mysterious figure who calls himself "The Raven," who is prone
to give interviews to journalists who publicize him and his cause.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson has condemned "extremists on
both sides" who resort to violence, conveniently overlooking that
tactics being used against Macedonia are similar to what the allies
supported in Kosovo against Serbia.
Montenegro also fears Albanian subversion. Albanian maps that show a
"Greater Albania" that includes parts of neighbouring countries, are
ignored by our media and governments, just as they ignore the presence
of foreign Muslim extremists in the Balkans.
Some al-Qaida members have been given Bosnian citizenship.
This is pretty significant, but has largely been ignored in President
Bush's "war on terrorism."
Taylor's book, which touches on all this, is not an academic exercise or
partisan polemic, but based on first-hand experiences and findings.
Ordinary Canadian soldiers who served in the Balkans, first as UN
peacekeepers, then as NATO peacemakers, often have greater understanding
of the area than politicians, academics and policy-makers in Washington
and elsewhere.
So Taylor has a view that's closer to reality than pundits who observe
from afar - and whom history proves are wrong far more often than they
are right.
---
To contact the author:
Esprit de Corps Magazine & Books
#204 - 1066 Somerset St. W.
Ottawa, ON K1Y 4T3, Canada
Tel: (613) 725-5060
Fax: (613) 725-1019
www.espritdecorps.on.ca
===*===
> http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2002/02/24/f120.raw.html
Sunday, February 24, 2002 Back The Halifax Herald Limited
Balkans will likely re-erupt -author
By Bill Spurr / Military Reporter
A new book by Herald columnist Scott Taylor
predicts another round of violence in the
Balkans as early as this spring,
as soon as the snow melts.
In Diary of an Uncivil War, which was
released Friday, Taylor writes that observers
of the region are bracing for
an Albanian offensive following the
melting of the winter snows, an
offensive the presence of 50,000 NATO
soldiers seems unable to stop.
"The Albanians have reconstituted the army
that they were supposed to have disbanded
... which is a harbinger of a spring offensive,"
Mr. Taylor said in an interview Thursday.
There are 1,400 Canadian troops in Bosnia
and smaller groups in Kosovo and Croatia.
Only the presence of western
armies prevents war, writes Mr. Taylor.
"They're sitting on top of a powder keg in
Bosnia, there's no long-term solution,"
he said. "And if they leave, it'll
all go up tomorrow."
Adding to the tension is the fact that on
Tuesday, the UN refused to recognize the
boundary between Kosovo and
Macedonia, and Mr. Taylor, recently
returned from his 16th visit to the
area, thinks the survival of Macedonia
depends on its ability to control its
own border.
Mr. Taylor said the Americans are taking a
anti-Macedonia stand, and are taking
care to ensure the safety of Albanians.
He quotes an American general in Kosovo
as saying any interference from the
Macedonians will result in the U.S.
crushing their army "like a pop can."
Aside from a significant military presence
in the area, Canada also has a large
Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian
population, totalling perhaps
three-quarters of a million people.
"After (the Second World War), there was a
tremendous influx, and since the (Balkan)
war began we have been one of the
two major countries to take in refugees
from there, (along with Australia),"
said Mr. Taylor.
He also writes that many westerners have an
over-simplified view of the conflict
in the war-torn Balkans, in which
Serbians are considered evil and the
other factions good.
He said during the war many western
reporters compared Serbian soldiers
to Nazi storm troopers and are now
ignoring legitimate arguments being
made by former Serbian president
Slobodan Milosevic at his war crimes trial.
"I think he's already pronounced guilty,"
said Mr. Taylor, who pointed out that
as recently as 1996, the U.S. was a
staunch supporter of the Milosevic regime.
===*===
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, February 22, 2002
U.S. backed Albanian rebels with al-Qaeda links, book says:
Author predicts renewed Balkan war
By Bruce Garvey
The Balkans will likely be plunged into a new round of war as
early as this spring, with fighting centred in Macedonia, according
to a new book by Ottawa military writer Scott Taylor.
Diary of an Uncivil War warns that despite concessions made by the
Macedonian government, ethnic Albanians and their guerrilla army,
made up of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters, are preparing for a
major offensive in the region. The wildcard will be whether the U.S.
government backs away from its support of the Albanians in their
quest to take control of parts of the region they claim as theirs,
Mr. Taylor writes.
"While everyone is bracing for an Albanian offensive following the
melting of the winter snows, what remains unclear is whether the
U.S. will continue to support the guerrillas," Mr. Taylor writes.
"Secretary of State Colin Powell has indicated that the U.S. will
scale back its military presence in the Balkans. But it will not be
easy for the Americans to disengage themselves from the mess they
created without setting off another round of factional violence."
The ethnic Albanians and their guerrilla army are intent on carving
out what they call "Greater Albania" -- an area that includes 90,000
square kilometres of Kosovo, Greece, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia and
Montenegro.
Mr. Taylor has covered the fighting and political situation in the
Balkans over the past several years for the Citizen. Diary of an
Uncivil War, published by Esprit de Corps books, has just been
released in stores.
A news report this week from Macedonia includes warnings from
western intelligence officials that former KLA guerrillas and
Albanian extremists have used profits from a Taliban drug-smuggling
ring to re-arm themselves. The money has been used to buy
surface-to-air missiles that give the Albanians the ability to shoot
down Macedonian helicopter gunships, one of that force's main
deterrents against the guerrillas.
Mr. Taylor's book chronicles his first-hand observations of
fighting in Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia over three years. It also
outlines the strong support by former U.S. president Bill Clinton's
government for the KLA, despite the links the guerrilla group has to
extremist Muslim organizations such as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.
Mr. Taylor writes that the U.S. military has supplied the group
with equipment and advisers, including former senior U.S. army
officers, who have been training the Albanian guerrillas.
In some cases, the U.S. support has been blatant. In August 2001
U.S. troops were to disarm 500 KLA guerrillas and transport them to
camps in Kosovo. Instead, they transported the men, still armed, to
a location inside Macedonia near an ethnic Albanian stronghold.
There the guerrillas promptly resumed their attacks.
But the Clinton administration's unofficial policy of supporting
the ethnic Albanians and KLA has backfired and has only created
instability in the region, Mr. Taylor argues.
The current crisis in Macedonia began last March, when Albanian
guerrillas staged attacks from inside NATO-occupied Kosovo, using
weapons that NATO was supposed to have confiscated, Mr. Taylor
reports.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. also highlight the folly
of Mr. Clinton's policies in the Balkans. Over the past decade,
mujahedeen fighters, and in particular Mr. bin Laden's followers,
have fought in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, and have benefited from
the U.S. military support. Previously, Macedonian intelligence
officials had tried to warn western governments that Arab and Afghan
volunteers form the backbone of organizations such as the KLA.
An exclusive excerpt from Diary of an Uncivil War by Scott Taylor
will appear tomorrow (Saturday, Feb 23, 2002) in the Ottawa Citizen.
===*===
GRAVISSIMO AFFRONTO DIPLOMATICO: USA E KFOR
NON RICONOSCONO L'ACCORDO JUGOSLAVO-MACEDONE SUI CONFINI!!!
YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ASKS KOFI ANNAN TO EXERT HIS INFLUENCE ON KFOR AND
UNMIK
BELGRADE, Feb. 21 (Beta) - Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica asked
UN general secretary Kofi Annan on Feb. 21 to exert his influence on the
high representatives of KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovo and Metohija to observe
the articles of the Agreement on the Yugoslav-Macedonian border.
"Your Excellency, with grave concern and surprise I received the
statements of KFOR and UNMIK high representatives in Kosovo and Metohija
doubting the legality of the Agreement," reads the letter Kostunica sent
to Annan.
"I would like to ask you to... exert influence on UNMIK and KFOR
representatives in Kosovo and Metohija to observe the articles of the
ratified Agreement on the Yugoslav-Macedonian border and abstain from
similar public statements in the future, because it is clear that they
do not serve the efforts of the international community to strengthen
regional stability but, on the contrary, serve the efforts of those who
advocate unacceptable solutions," added Kostunica.
Kostunica says the Agreement, concluded on Feb. 23, 2001, has been
welcomed by all international factors, including the EU and the US and
the participants of the Summit of state presidents and prime ministers
of southeastern Europe held in Skopje on Feb. 23, 2001.
MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT STUNNED, WILL SEND DEMARCHE TO UNITED NATIONS
SKOPJE, Feb. 21 (Tanjug) - Macedonian government is stunned by KFOR Gen.
Keith Huber's statement, which is supported by UMNIK, as well, saying
that the Kosovo part of Macedonian-Yugoslav border line is illegal.
The Macedonian Interior Ministry has announced it would send a demarche
to the United Nations and NATO, both KFOR and UNMIK being under their
wing.
The Ministry said that the demarche would focus on the Security Council
Resolution 1244 on Kosovo, which is obligatory for everyone, including
the UN mission, and which does not give KFOR and UNMIK officials the
right to define the document in a way that intensifies the tensions in
the region and questions the Yugoslav and Macedonian sovereignty.
The Ministry views Huber's statement as harmful and unacceptable, and
points out that it is beyond KFOR and UNMIK's mandate, and that it is in
contradiction with efforts aimed at establishing lasting peace in the
region.
The Ministry also reminded of the fact that the agreement on border
lines, which had been signed by Yugoslav and Macedonian representatives
a year ago, had been welcomed by NATO Secretary General George
Robertson, EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten, and then
Stability Pact head Bodo Hombach, who had attended the signing of the
document, as well as by top international officials, including those
from the UN and the European Union.
Skopje demands that NATO and the UN give their stand on the
Yugoslav-Macedonian border line, which, according to the statement, was
ascertained in keeping with all international regulations.
AGREEMENT ON BORDER UNCONTESTABLE FOR STATE DEPARTMENT
SKOPJE, Feb. 21 (Tanjug) - The UN Security Council requested on March
12 last year that everyone respects the agreement on the demarcation of
the border between Macedonia and Yugoslavia, signed on February 23,
2001, and the government of the United States supported, just as does
now, the State Department said Thursday through the intermediary of the
Voice of America in the Macedonian language.
The statement added that the United States has a long-term policy of
support to the territorial integrity of states in the region to which
also belongs Macedonia, and to consult with the UN on issues relating to
Kosovo, bearing in mind the accord on the demarcation of borders.
The official US stand was made known following the statement of US Gen.
Huber, with KFOR, and the spokesman for the UN Civilian Mission in
Kosovo-Metohija (UNMIK), Andrea Agnelli, that the accord on the border
between Yugoslavia and Macedonia was not valid for them and that they
will abide by it.
STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN AGREES WITH US GENERAL ON YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN
BORDER
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Tanjug) - State Department Spokesman Richard
Boucher has agreed with a statement by the commander of the US forces in
Kosovo that the border agreement between Macedonia and Yugoslavia is not
valid.
Asked whether he agreed with General Keith Huber and UNMIK that they do
not recognize this agreement, Boucher replied positively. "I believe I
agree with this, but I do not know the circumstances," Boucher said.
YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN BORDER TREATY NOT REGISTERED WITH UN
SKOPJE, Feb. 24 (Beta) - The UN missions of Macedonia and Yugoslavia
have not registered a border treaty signed in Skopje in February,
diplomatic sources in Skopje told BETA.
"Both missions, the Macedonian and Yugoslav, did not follow regular
procedure after the treaty was signed -- submitting it to the UN
secretary's office in New York and receiving confirmation that the
document has been registered and placed in the world organization's
archives," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source added that Macedonian Foreign Minister Slobodan Casule would
visit New York on Feb. 25 to file a written statement and settle the
matter. "The Macedonian foreign minister will not participate in
tomorrow's session of the UN Security Council, as some in Skopje have
alleged, because Kosovo and not Macedonia is on the agenda," the unnamed
diplomat added.
CASULE: PERMANENT MEMBERS OF UN SECURITY COUNCIL RECOGNIZE BORDER
AGREEMENT
SKOPJE, Feb. 25 (Beta) - Macedonian Foreign Minister, Slobodan Casule,
said on the evening of Feb. 25, that the ambassadors of the five
permanent members of the U.N. Security Council had accepted the
Macedonian-Yugoslav border agreement as valid, and that it must be
observed by all U.N. members.
Casule told Macedonian television from a U.N. session in New York that
the Security Council suggested that the border be secured immediately,
"especially the part with Kosovo, so that citizens who have fields on
Macedonian territory be legally able to access and cultivate them."
"I said that Macedonia was ready to take up the operation of securing
the border on its side, and that it remained for Yugoslavia and the U.N.
to agree on their engagement concerning securing the border on their
terrain," (along the border with Kosovo) he added.
Macedonian ambassador to the U.N. Srdan Kerim told the A1 television
station that the Macedonian and Yugoslav missions to the U.N. made a
"technical admission/omission" by not enclosing a topographic map with
the agreement. He said that this will be done on Feb. 26.
The agreement on the border between Yugoslavia and Macedonia was signed
in Skopje last February by Yugoslav minister of foreign affairs Goran
Svilanovic and Kerim, who was then head Macedonian diplomat.
UNMIK, KFOR TO RESPECT YUGOSLAV - MACEDONIAN BORDER TREATY
SKOPJE, Feb. 25 (Beta) - UNMIK and KFOR officials announced on Feb. 25
that they would accept a border treaty signed by Yugoslavia and
Macedonia in Skopje last February.
UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel said that a UN declaration recognizing
the treaty had eliminated any dilemma that may have existed regarding
its validity, adding that the UN Mission in Kosovo would respect the
agreement.KFOR representatives said that they had been sticking to the
treaty for more than a year, adding that border patrols were being
carried out based on its provisions.
However, Kosovo Albanians are against the treaty because it gives almost
2,500 hectares of Kosovo territory to Macedonia. The Alliance for the
Future of Kosovo said on Feb. 25 that it is against the border treaty,
adding that the people of Kosovo are against having a part of the
province ceded to Macedonia. Riza Smakaj, chairman of the Association of
Independent Lawyers of Kosovo, criticized the U.N. and KFOR for
accepting the treaty and called the entire matter a scandal.
===*===
> http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=6976
Stars And Stripes
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
General's comments about disputed Balkans border area
set off diplomatic furor
-Then last week, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Keith Huber
reportedly told the Macedonian news media the
agreement was illegal because Yugoslavian President
Vojislav Kostunica lacked authority to make deals
regarding Kosovo.
By Steve Liewer, Kosovo bureau
European edition, Tuesday, February 26, 2002
PRISTINA, Kosovo - The U.S. general in charge of Task
Force Falcon kicked up a diplomatic furor last week
after he was quoted as saying he would send U.S.
troops to protect Kosovar Albanians who farm a
disputed border region claimed by Macedonia.
At stake is about 2,500 acres of farmland near Vitina,
about five miles southeast of Camp Bondsteel. U.S.
troops regularly patrol near the area.
In February 2001, Macedonia and Yugoslavia signed an
agreement settling several land disputes along their
mutual border, including lands in Kosovo. As part of
the agreement, the disputed 2,500 acres was turned
over to Macedonia, which was part of the Yugoslav
federation until it declared independence in 1991. At
the time the United Nations, NATO and the European
Union praised the agreement.
Then last week, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Keith Huber
reportedly told the Macedonian news media the
agreement was illegal because Yugoslavian President
Vojislav Kostunica lacked authority to make deals
regarding Kosovo.
The Yugoslav province has been run as a U.N.
protectorate since the summer of 1999. A spokeswoman
for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo supported
Huber?s statement.
His comments earned criticism in both Belgrade and
Skopje.
Some Macedonians viewed the statement as tacit support
for Albanian rebels in Macedonia who would like to
break away, according to analysts for the London-based
Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
Shortly after the agreement was signed last year, a
rash of border disputes in and around the area broke
out. At one point, a company of U.S. troops with the
82nd Airborne Division, which already was in Kosovo,
deployed to the border to move ethnic Albanian rebels
off the line. A brief gunfire ensued in the town of
Mijak on March 7.
Eventually, the border battle in that area subsided,
but fresh fighting broke out to the west along the
border, especially around the city of Tetovo.
News media in Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Kosovo have
been buzzing with news of the dispute for almost a
week. The Kosovo newspaper Zeri quoted a Macedonian
army spokesman as saying his troops would shoot any
settlers or KFOR soldiers who trespassed.
A Task Force Falcon spokesman said Huber will issue a
statement on the matter later, but could offer no
comment at this time
"It?s a very hot issue," said French navy Col. Vincent
Campredon, chief spokesman for KFOR headquarters in
Pristina.
Late last week, the matter landed on the desk of U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan. His office issued a
statement supporting the Yugoslav/Macedonian treaty.
"[T]he Security Council emphasized that the
demarcation agreement must be respected by all," the
statement said. "Accordingly, the United Nations
respects it."
On Monday, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson?s
office issued similar comments.
"NATO also emphasizes its unchanged respect for the
border as agreed by [Macedonia] and [Yugoslavia] in
February 2001," the statement said. "We look forward
to building on the already close working relationship
in the border area."
Campredon said KFOR will follow the agreement and
won?t send patrols into the area the international
community now agrees belongs to Macedonia. At a press
conference Monday in Pristina, he and UNMIK
spokeswoman Susan Manuel refused to discuss the matter
further and referred reporters to the U.N. and NATO
statements.
"That?s the last word on this issue," Manuel said.
===*===
Subject: NATO Feigns Ignorance As Terrorists Plan FYROM
Offensive
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 07:20:54 -0800 (PST)
From: Rick Rozoff
-"I can't say either yes or no," spokesman to the NATO
mission in Macedonia Craig Ratcliff said.
An unnamed group of ethnic Albanian rebels allegedly
spent some 4.2 million dollars since October for a
wide range of sophisticated weapons, including light
anti-aircraft missiles SA-18 and SA-7, anti- tank
rockets and infantry weapons for some 2,000 soldiers,
Macedonian media reported Monday, quoting the British
Daily Telegraph.
-The money for the weapons was, according to the
reports, provided by the Albanian mafia selling heroin
from Afghan stocks controlled by the Osama bin Laden's
Al-Quaeda terrorist network.
NATO Has No Information on the Alleged Rebel Buildup
SKOPJE, Feb 18, 2002 -- (dpa) The North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) has no information on an
alleged ethnic Albanian rebel arms buildup in
Macedonia, NATO in Skopje said Monday.
"I can't say either yes or no," spokesman to the NATO
mission in Macedonia Craig Ratcliff said.
An unnamed group of ethnic Albanian rebels allegedly
spent some 4.2 million dollars since October for a
wide range of sophisticated weapons, including light
anti-aircraft missiles SA-18 and SA-7, anti- tank
rockets and infantry weapons for some 2,000 soldiers,
Macedonian media reported Monday, quoting the British
Daily Telegraph.
However, western intelligence sources in the
Macedonian capital said earlier that some 1,200
guerrillas were spotted training in the hills still
out of control of government security forces.
The money for the weapons was, according to the
reports, provided by the Albanian mafia selling heroin
from Afghan stocks controlled by the Osama bin Laden's
Al-Quaeda terrorist network.
(C)2002. dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur
===*===
See also:
http://www.nationalpost.com/search/
story.html?f=/stories/20020219/98481.html&qs=jennings
February 19, 2002
Taliban heroin profits arming Balkan rebels
Albanian extremists: Weapons order could equip force
of up to 2,000
Christian Jennings
The Daily Telegraph
February 22, 2002
The Balkan connection
Books says al-Qaida now active in Macedonia
By PETER WORTHINGTON -- Toronto Sun
An irony of the war against terrorism since Sept. 11 is that while the
prime enemy was Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network, not
Afghanistan's Taliban regime, it's the Taliban that has been crushed,
and not al-Qaida.
Osama and al-Qaida have become household words, yet they remain shadowy,
ill-defined, unfathomable. We are routinely told al-Qaida-trained
suicidal assassins are scattered in something like 68 countries, poised
to do dreadful things that they believe will get them into paradise,
where 72 virgins await to give them a martyr's welcome.
What most don't know, and few in the media have paid much attention to,
is the Balkan connection with al-Qaida. Much to their embarrassment now,
NATO and the Americans realize they may have unwittingly contributed to
al-Qaida fronts in Bosnia and Kosovo prior to Sept. 11.
One who knows more than most about the western-orchestrated chaos in the
Balkans is Scott Taylor, the peripatetic publisher of the military
magazine Esprit de Corps. He's been back and forth to the area
innumerable times, especially during NATO'S air war against Serbia and,
more recently, to note simmering unrest in Macedonia - where
al-Qaida-trained Albanian insurgents seek to overthrow the government.
Taylor wrote a book about Serbia and the Kosovo war (Inat: Images of
Serbia and the Kosovo Conflict), and this week has a new book about
Kosovo overlapping into Macedonia, which is a target in the unspoken
campaign for a Greater Albania, that involves al-Qaida and various
Muslim extremist groups.
This book, Diary of an Uncivil War, is ahead of the wave in that it
anticipates the next phase of the Balkan wars. Al-Qaida and Islamic
Jihad fighters have been active in Muslim areas of the Balkans ever
since Slobodan Milosevic began a megalomaniac campaign that resulted in
a shrinking of Serbia.
Bunked with villagers
Taylor's book is based on what he witnessed in travels in the area
during war - experiences different from those of establishment
journalists on expense accounts, with rented cars, translators and the
best hotels. Taylor bunked in with local villagers, bummed rides, took
buses, depended on locals for food.
There's authenticity in Taylor's stuff that's often missing in
conventional news reports. His adventures are one thing, and give a
flavour of the Balkans, but on a more serious level, his is a withering
reflection of western (U.S.) policy gone awry.
Today, Macedonia's independence is threatened by rebellion led by
Kosovar Albanians who fought the Serbs. The European Union, NATO and the
U.S. downplay this, but Albanian insurgents in Macedonia are well armed
and financed from abroad.
Reports suggest some 5,000 al-Qaida terrorists have been trained in
Bosnia and Kosovo. In January, the Americans announced the capture of
Algerian al-Qaida members in Sarajevo.
The fragile peace signed last August giving more power to Albanians
living in Macedonia, is crumbling. The NATO- and U.S.-armed rebel
National Liberation Army in northern Macedonia continues to harass.
Another Albanian insurgent group, the Real National Liberation Army, is
led by a mysterious figure who calls himself "The Raven," who is prone
to give interviews to journalists who publicize him and his cause.
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson has condemned "extremists on
both sides" who resort to violence, conveniently overlooking that
tactics being used against Macedonia are similar to what the allies
supported in Kosovo against Serbia.
Montenegro also fears Albanian subversion. Albanian maps that show a
"Greater Albania" that includes parts of neighbouring countries, are
ignored by our media and governments, just as they ignore the presence
of foreign Muslim extremists in the Balkans.
Some al-Qaida members have been given Bosnian citizenship.
This is pretty significant, but has largely been ignored in President
Bush's "war on terrorism."
Taylor's book, which touches on all this, is not an academic exercise or
partisan polemic, but based on first-hand experiences and findings.
Ordinary Canadian soldiers who served in the Balkans, first as UN
peacekeepers, then as NATO peacemakers, often have greater understanding
of the area than politicians, academics and policy-makers in Washington
and elsewhere.
So Taylor has a view that's closer to reality than pundits who observe
from afar - and whom history proves are wrong far more often than they
are right.
---
To contact the author:
Esprit de Corps Magazine & Books
#204 - 1066 Somerset St. W.
Ottawa, ON K1Y 4T3, Canada
Tel: (613) 725-5060
Fax: (613) 725-1019
www.espritdecorps.on.ca
===*===
> http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2002/02/24/f120.raw.html
Sunday, February 24, 2002 Back The Halifax Herald Limited
Balkans will likely re-erupt -author
By Bill Spurr / Military Reporter
A new book by Herald columnist Scott Taylor
predicts another round of violence in the
Balkans as early as this spring,
as soon as the snow melts.
In Diary of an Uncivil War, which was
released Friday, Taylor writes that observers
of the region are bracing for
an Albanian offensive following the
melting of the winter snows, an
offensive the presence of 50,000 NATO
soldiers seems unable to stop.
"The Albanians have reconstituted the army
that they were supposed to have disbanded
... which is a harbinger of a spring offensive,"
Mr. Taylor said in an interview Thursday.
There are 1,400 Canadian troops in Bosnia
and smaller groups in Kosovo and Croatia.
Only the presence of western
armies prevents war, writes Mr. Taylor.
"They're sitting on top of a powder keg in
Bosnia, there's no long-term solution,"
he said. "And if they leave, it'll
all go up tomorrow."
Adding to the tension is the fact that on
Tuesday, the UN refused to recognize the
boundary between Kosovo and
Macedonia, and Mr. Taylor, recently
returned from his 16th visit to the
area, thinks the survival of Macedonia
depends on its ability to control its
own border.
Mr. Taylor said the Americans are taking a
anti-Macedonia stand, and are taking
care to ensure the safety of Albanians.
He quotes an American general in Kosovo
as saying any interference from the
Macedonians will result in the U.S.
crushing their army "like a pop can."
Aside from a significant military presence
in the area, Canada also has a large
Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian
population, totalling perhaps
three-quarters of a million people.
"After (the Second World War), there was a
tremendous influx, and since the (Balkan)
war began we have been one of the
two major countries to take in refugees
from there, (along with Australia),"
said Mr. Taylor.
He also writes that many westerners have an
over-simplified view of the conflict
in the war-torn Balkans, in which
Serbians are considered evil and the
other factions good.
He said during the war many western
reporters compared Serbian soldiers
to Nazi storm troopers and are now
ignoring legitimate arguments being
made by former Serbian president
Slobodan Milosevic at his war crimes trial.
"I think he's already pronounced guilty,"
said Mr. Taylor, who pointed out that
as recently as 1996, the U.S. was a
staunch supporter of the Milosevic regime.
===*===
The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, February 22, 2002
U.S. backed Albanian rebels with al-Qaeda links, book says:
Author predicts renewed Balkan war
By Bruce Garvey
The Balkans will likely be plunged into a new round of war as
early as this spring, with fighting centred in Macedonia, according
to a new book by Ottawa military writer Scott Taylor.
Diary of an Uncivil War warns that despite concessions made by the
Macedonian government, ethnic Albanians and their guerrilla army,
made up of Kosovo Liberation Army fighters, are preparing for a
major offensive in the region. The wildcard will be whether the U.S.
government backs away from its support of the Albanians in their
quest to take control of parts of the region they claim as theirs,
Mr. Taylor writes.
"While everyone is bracing for an Albanian offensive following the
melting of the winter snows, what remains unclear is whether the
U.S. will continue to support the guerrillas," Mr. Taylor writes.
"Secretary of State Colin Powell has indicated that the U.S. will
scale back its military presence in the Balkans. But it will not be
easy for the Americans to disengage themselves from the mess they
created without setting off another round of factional violence."
The ethnic Albanians and their guerrilla army are intent on carving
out what they call "Greater Albania" -- an area that includes 90,000
square kilometres of Kosovo, Greece, Macedonia, Bosnia, Serbia and
Montenegro.
Mr. Taylor has covered the fighting and political situation in the
Balkans over the past several years for the Citizen. Diary of an
Uncivil War, published by Esprit de Corps books, has just been
released in stores.
A news report this week from Macedonia includes warnings from
western intelligence officials that former KLA guerrillas and
Albanian extremists have used profits from a Taliban drug-smuggling
ring to re-arm themselves. The money has been used to buy
surface-to-air missiles that give the Albanians the ability to shoot
down Macedonian helicopter gunships, one of that force's main
deterrents against the guerrillas.
Mr. Taylor's book chronicles his first-hand observations of
fighting in Macedonia, Kosovo and Serbia over three years. It also
outlines the strong support by former U.S. president Bill Clinton's
government for the KLA, despite the links the guerrilla group has to
extremist Muslim organizations such as Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.
Mr. Taylor writes that the U.S. military has supplied the group
with equipment and advisers, including former senior U.S. army
officers, who have been training the Albanian guerrillas.
In some cases, the U.S. support has been blatant. In August 2001
U.S. troops were to disarm 500 KLA guerrillas and transport them to
camps in Kosovo. Instead, they transported the men, still armed, to
a location inside Macedonia near an ethnic Albanian stronghold.
There the guerrillas promptly resumed their attacks.
But the Clinton administration's unofficial policy of supporting
the ethnic Albanians and KLA has backfired and has only created
instability in the region, Mr. Taylor argues.
The current crisis in Macedonia began last March, when Albanian
guerrillas staged attacks from inside NATO-occupied Kosovo, using
weapons that NATO was supposed to have confiscated, Mr. Taylor
reports.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. also highlight the folly
of Mr. Clinton's policies in the Balkans. Over the past decade,
mujahedeen fighters, and in particular Mr. bin Laden's followers,
have fought in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo, and have benefited from
the U.S. military support. Previously, Macedonian intelligence
officials had tried to warn western governments that Arab and Afghan
volunteers form the backbone of organizations such as the KLA.
An exclusive excerpt from Diary of an Uncivil War by Scott Taylor
will appear tomorrow (Saturday, Feb 23, 2002) in the Ottawa Citizen.
===*===
GRAVISSIMO AFFRONTO DIPLOMATICO: USA E KFOR
NON RICONOSCONO L'ACCORDO JUGOSLAVO-MACEDONE SUI CONFINI!!!
YUGOSLAV PRESIDENT ASKS KOFI ANNAN TO EXERT HIS INFLUENCE ON KFOR AND
UNMIK
BELGRADE, Feb. 21 (Beta) - Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica asked
UN general secretary Kofi Annan on Feb. 21 to exert his influence on the
high representatives of KFOR and UNMIK in Kosovo and Metohija to observe
the articles of the Agreement on the Yugoslav-Macedonian border.
"Your Excellency, with grave concern and surprise I received the
statements of KFOR and UNMIK high representatives in Kosovo and Metohija
doubting the legality of the Agreement," reads the letter Kostunica sent
to Annan.
"I would like to ask you to... exert influence on UNMIK and KFOR
representatives in Kosovo and Metohija to observe the articles of the
ratified Agreement on the Yugoslav-Macedonian border and abstain from
similar public statements in the future, because it is clear that they
do not serve the efforts of the international community to strengthen
regional stability but, on the contrary, serve the efforts of those who
advocate unacceptable solutions," added Kostunica.
Kostunica says the Agreement, concluded on Feb. 23, 2001, has been
welcomed by all international factors, including the EU and the US and
the participants of the Summit of state presidents and prime ministers
of southeastern Europe held in Skopje on Feb. 23, 2001.
MACEDONIAN GOVERNMENT STUNNED, WILL SEND DEMARCHE TO UNITED NATIONS
SKOPJE, Feb. 21 (Tanjug) - Macedonian government is stunned by KFOR Gen.
Keith Huber's statement, which is supported by UMNIK, as well, saying
that the Kosovo part of Macedonian-Yugoslav border line is illegal.
The Macedonian Interior Ministry has announced it would send a demarche
to the United Nations and NATO, both KFOR and UNMIK being under their
wing.
The Ministry said that the demarche would focus on the Security Council
Resolution 1244 on Kosovo, which is obligatory for everyone, including
the UN mission, and which does not give KFOR and UNMIK officials the
right to define the document in a way that intensifies the tensions in
the region and questions the Yugoslav and Macedonian sovereignty.
The Ministry views Huber's statement as harmful and unacceptable, and
points out that it is beyond KFOR and UNMIK's mandate, and that it is in
contradiction with efforts aimed at establishing lasting peace in the
region.
The Ministry also reminded of the fact that the agreement on border
lines, which had been signed by Yugoslav and Macedonian representatives
a year ago, had been welcomed by NATO Secretary General George
Robertson, EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten, and then
Stability Pact head Bodo Hombach, who had attended the signing of the
document, as well as by top international officials, including those
from the UN and the European Union.
Skopje demands that NATO and the UN give their stand on the
Yugoslav-Macedonian border line, which, according to the statement, was
ascertained in keeping with all international regulations.
AGREEMENT ON BORDER UNCONTESTABLE FOR STATE DEPARTMENT
SKOPJE, Feb. 21 (Tanjug) - The UN Security Council requested on March
12 last year that everyone respects the agreement on the demarcation of
the border between Macedonia and Yugoslavia, signed on February 23,
2001, and the government of the United States supported, just as does
now, the State Department said Thursday through the intermediary of the
Voice of America in the Macedonian language.
The statement added that the United States has a long-term policy of
support to the territorial integrity of states in the region to which
also belongs Macedonia, and to consult with the UN on issues relating to
Kosovo, bearing in mind the accord on the demarcation of borders.
The official US stand was made known following the statement of US Gen.
Huber, with KFOR, and the spokesman for the UN Civilian Mission in
Kosovo-Metohija (UNMIK), Andrea Agnelli, that the accord on the border
between Yugoslavia and Macedonia was not valid for them and that they
will abide by it.
STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN AGREES WITH US GENERAL ON YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN
BORDER
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Tanjug) - State Department Spokesman Richard
Boucher has agreed with a statement by the commander of the US forces in
Kosovo that the border agreement between Macedonia and Yugoslavia is not
valid.
Asked whether he agreed with General Keith Huber and UNMIK that they do
not recognize this agreement, Boucher replied positively. "I believe I
agree with this, but I do not know the circumstances," Boucher said.
YUGOSLAV-MACEDONIAN BORDER TREATY NOT REGISTERED WITH UN
SKOPJE, Feb. 24 (Beta) - The UN missions of Macedonia and Yugoslavia
have not registered a border treaty signed in Skopje in February,
diplomatic sources in Skopje told BETA.
"Both missions, the Macedonian and Yugoslav, did not follow regular
procedure after the treaty was signed -- submitting it to the UN
secretary's office in New York and receiving confirmation that the
document has been registered and placed in the world organization's
archives," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source added that Macedonian Foreign Minister Slobodan Casule would
visit New York on Feb. 25 to file a written statement and settle the
matter. "The Macedonian foreign minister will not participate in
tomorrow's session of the UN Security Council, as some in Skopje have
alleged, because Kosovo and not Macedonia is on the agenda," the unnamed
diplomat added.
CASULE: PERMANENT MEMBERS OF UN SECURITY COUNCIL RECOGNIZE BORDER
AGREEMENT
SKOPJE, Feb. 25 (Beta) - Macedonian Foreign Minister, Slobodan Casule,
said on the evening of Feb. 25, that the ambassadors of the five
permanent members of the U.N. Security Council had accepted the
Macedonian-Yugoslav border agreement as valid, and that it must be
observed by all U.N. members.
Casule told Macedonian television from a U.N. session in New York that
the Security Council suggested that the border be secured immediately,
"especially the part with Kosovo, so that citizens who have fields on
Macedonian territory be legally able to access and cultivate them."
"I said that Macedonia was ready to take up the operation of securing
the border on its side, and that it remained for Yugoslavia and the U.N.
to agree on their engagement concerning securing the border on their
terrain," (along the border with Kosovo) he added.
Macedonian ambassador to the U.N. Srdan Kerim told the A1 television
station that the Macedonian and Yugoslav missions to the U.N. made a
"technical admission/omission" by not enclosing a topographic map with
the agreement. He said that this will be done on Feb. 26.
The agreement on the border between Yugoslavia and Macedonia was signed
in Skopje last February by Yugoslav minister of foreign affairs Goran
Svilanovic and Kerim, who was then head Macedonian diplomat.
UNMIK, KFOR TO RESPECT YUGOSLAV - MACEDONIAN BORDER TREATY
SKOPJE, Feb. 25 (Beta) - UNMIK and KFOR officials announced on Feb. 25
that they would accept a border treaty signed by Yugoslavia and
Macedonia in Skopje last February.
UNMIK spokeswoman Susan Manuel said that a UN declaration recognizing
the treaty had eliminated any dilemma that may have existed regarding
its validity, adding that the UN Mission in Kosovo would respect the
agreement.KFOR representatives said that they had been sticking to the
treaty for more than a year, adding that border patrols were being
carried out based on its provisions.
However, Kosovo Albanians are against the treaty because it gives almost
2,500 hectares of Kosovo territory to Macedonia. The Alliance for the
Future of Kosovo said on Feb. 25 that it is against the border treaty,
adding that the people of Kosovo are against having a part of the
province ceded to Macedonia. Riza Smakaj, chairman of the Association of
Independent Lawyers of Kosovo, criticized the U.N. and KFOR for
accepting the treaty and called the entire matter a scandal.
===*===
> http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=6976
Stars And Stripes
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
General's comments about disputed Balkans border area
set off diplomatic furor
-Then last week, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Keith Huber
reportedly told the Macedonian news media the
agreement was illegal because Yugoslavian President
Vojislav Kostunica lacked authority to make deals
regarding Kosovo.
By Steve Liewer, Kosovo bureau
European edition, Tuesday, February 26, 2002
PRISTINA, Kosovo - The U.S. general in charge of Task
Force Falcon kicked up a diplomatic furor last week
after he was quoted as saying he would send U.S.
troops to protect Kosovar Albanians who farm a
disputed border region claimed by Macedonia.
At stake is about 2,500 acres of farmland near Vitina,
about five miles southeast of Camp Bondsteel. U.S.
troops regularly patrol near the area.
In February 2001, Macedonia and Yugoslavia signed an
agreement settling several land disputes along their
mutual border, including lands in Kosovo. As part of
the agreement, the disputed 2,500 acres was turned
over to Macedonia, which was part of the Yugoslav
federation until it declared independence in 1991. At
the time the United Nations, NATO and the European
Union praised the agreement.
Then last week, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Keith Huber
reportedly told the Macedonian news media the
agreement was illegal because Yugoslavian President
Vojislav Kostunica lacked authority to make deals
regarding Kosovo.
The Yugoslav province has been run as a U.N.
protectorate since the summer of 1999. A spokeswoman
for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo supported
Huber?s statement.
His comments earned criticism in both Belgrade and
Skopje.
Some Macedonians viewed the statement as tacit support
for Albanian rebels in Macedonia who would like to
break away, according to analysts for the London-based
Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
Shortly after the agreement was signed last year, a
rash of border disputes in and around the area broke
out. At one point, a company of U.S. troops with the
82nd Airborne Division, which already was in Kosovo,
deployed to the border to move ethnic Albanian rebels
off the line. A brief gunfire ensued in the town of
Mijak on March 7.
Eventually, the border battle in that area subsided,
but fresh fighting broke out to the west along the
border, especially around the city of Tetovo.
News media in Yugoslavia, Macedonia and Kosovo have
been buzzing with news of the dispute for almost a
week. The Kosovo newspaper Zeri quoted a Macedonian
army spokesman as saying his troops would shoot any
settlers or KFOR soldiers who trespassed.
A Task Force Falcon spokesman said Huber will issue a
statement on the matter later, but could offer no
comment at this time
"It?s a very hot issue," said French navy Col. Vincent
Campredon, chief spokesman for KFOR headquarters in
Pristina.
Late last week, the matter landed on the desk of U.N.
Secretary General Kofi Annan. His office issued a
statement supporting the Yugoslav/Macedonian treaty.
"[T]he Security Council emphasized that the
demarcation agreement must be respected by all," the
statement said. "Accordingly, the United Nations
respects it."
On Monday, NATO Secretary-General George Robertson?s
office issued similar comments.
"NATO also emphasizes its unchanged respect for the
border as agreed by [Macedonia] and [Yugoslavia] in
February 2001," the statement said. "We look forward
to building on the already close working relationship
in the border area."
Campredon said KFOR will follow the agreement and
won?t send patrols into the area the international
community now agrees belongs to Macedonia. At a press
conference Monday in Pristina, he and UNMIK
spokeswoman Susan Manuel refused to discuss the matter
further and referred reporters to the U.N. and NATO
statements.
"That?s the last word on this issue," Manuel said.
===*===
Subject: NATO Feigns Ignorance As Terrorists Plan FYROM
Offensive
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2002 07:20:54 -0800 (PST)
From: Rick Rozoff
-"I can't say either yes or no," spokesman to the NATO
mission in Macedonia Craig Ratcliff said.
An unnamed group of ethnic Albanian rebels allegedly
spent some 4.2 million dollars since October for a
wide range of sophisticated weapons, including light
anti-aircraft missiles SA-18 and SA-7, anti- tank
rockets and infantry weapons for some 2,000 soldiers,
Macedonian media reported Monday, quoting the British
Daily Telegraph.
-The money for the weapons was, according to the
reports, provided by the Albanian mafia selling heroin
from Afghan stocks controlled by the Osama bin Laden's
Al-Quaeda terrorist network.
NATO Has No Information on the Alleged Rebel Buildup
SKOPJE, Feb 18, 2002 -- (dpa) The North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) has no information on an
alleged ethnic Albanian rebel arms buildup in
Macedonia, NATO in Skopje said Monday.
"I can't say either yes or no," spokesman to the NATO
mission in Macedonia Craig Ratcliff said.
An unnamed group of ethnic Albanian rebels allegedly
spent some 4.2 million dollars since October for a
wide range of sophisticated weapons, including light
anti-aircraft missiles SA-18 and SA-7, anti- tank
rockets and infantry weapons for some 2,000 soldiers,
Macedonian media reported Monday, quoting the British
Daily Telegraph.
However, western intelligence sources in the
Macedonian capital said earlier that some 1,200
guerrillas were spotted training in the hills still
out of control of government security forces.
The money for the weapons was, according to the
reports, provided by the Albanian mafia selling heroin
from Afghan stocks controlled by the Osama bin Laden's
Al-Quaeda terrorist network.
(C)2002. dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur
===*===
See also:
http://www.nationalpost.com/search/
story.html?f=/stories/20020219/98481.html&qs=jennings
February 19, 2002
Taliban heroin profits arming Balkan rebels
Albanian extremists: Weapons order could equip force
of up to 2,000
Christian Jennings
The Daily Telegraph