(english / deutsch)
Richard Holbrooke, the man who destroyed international diplomacy, has died
1) Diana Johnstone on/über Richard Holbrooke
2) HOLBROOKE ADMIRERS: GEORGE SOROS, THACI "THE SNAKE", GEORGIAN REACTIONARIES
3) Richard Holbrooke's Deathbed Conversion (D. Swanson's Blog)
4) FLASHBACKS:
- November 2010: Ex-UN envoy slams Holbrooke's Afghanistan approach
- April 2007: "Kosovo to be independent with or without U.N."
- June 2003: Holbrooke advocates independence for Kosovo and Montenegro
5) WHO'S WHO IN THE BALKANS: RICHARD HOLBROOKE
=== 1 ===
Nachruf Richard Holbrooke
Von DIANA JOHNSTONE
Übersetzung: Cathrin Schütz
Es gehört eigentlich zum guten Ton, einen eben verstorbenen Menschen von scharfer Kritik zu verschonen. Doch Richard Holbrooke selbst hat ein Beispiel für die Verletzung dieser Etikette geliefert. Als er erfuhr, daß Slobodan Milosevic im Gefängnis verstorben war, zögerte Holbrooke nicht, ihn als mit Hitler und Stalin vergleichbares „Monster“ zu bezeichnen.
Das war grobe Undankbarkeit, denn Holbrooke hat mehr oder weniger allein Milosevic den größten Erfolg seiner Karriere zu verdanken – das Friedensabkommen von Dayton, das 1995 den Bürgerkrieg in Bosnien-Herzegowina beendete. Das ging aus Holbrookes Memoiren To End a War (Random House, 1998 und in Deutsch bei Piper „Meine Mission – Vom Krieg zum Frieden in Bosnien, d.Ü.) hervor.
Doch Holbrookes größte Begabung war es, die Wirklichkeit in ein für ihn vorteilhaftes Licht zu rücken, wobei ihm die Kollaboration der Medien gewiß war.
Der Friedensvertrag von Dayton wurde als heldenhafter Sieg des Friedens dargestellt, den der geniale Holbrooke dem sturen Milosevic abgerungen hat, welcher von den USA „an den Verhandlungstisch gebombt werden mußte“. In Wirklichkeit wußte die US-amerikanische Regierung ganz genau, daß Milosevic um Frieden in Bosnien bemüht war, um Serbien von den lähmenden Sanktionen zu befreien. Es war der bosnisch-muslimische Präsident Alija Izetbegovic, der den Krieg mit militärischer Hilfe der USA weiter führen wollte.
In Wirklichkeit haben die USA die Serben bombardiert, um Izetbegovic an den Verhandlungstisch zu bekommen. Und das Abkommen, das im Herbst 1995 erreicht wurde, unterschied sich kaum von jenem, das im März 1992 von den drei ethnischen Gruppen unter der Vermittlung der Europäischen Gemeinschaft erzielt worden war und welches den gesamten Krieg hätte verhindern können, wäre es nicht durch Izetbegovic sabotiert worden, der ermutigt vom US-Botschafter Warren Zimmermann seine Unterstützung für das Abkommen zurücknahm. Kurz gesagt, waren die USA beileibe nicht der große Friedensengel auf dem Balkan. Sie hatten zunächst die muslimische Kriegspartei darin bestärkt, für ihr Ziel eines von ihnen kontrollierten bosnischen Zentralstaat zu kämpfen, und setzten sich dann für eine geschwächte bosnische Föderation ein – nach fast vier Jahren Blutvergießen, das die Bevölkerung aller Habe und Zuversicht beraubte.
Den wahren Grund für all das hat Holbrooke in To End a War klar benannt. Es ging darum, vorzuführen, daß die Europäer unfähig waren, ihre ureigensten Angelegenheiten zu regeln und die Vereinigten Staaten die „unentbehrliche Nation“ blieben. In seinem Buch wird auch deutlich, daß die muslimischen Führer jeglicher Art von Kompromiß merkwürdig ablehnend gegenüber standen, und nur die Bereitschaft von Milosevic, Zugeständnisse zu machen, die Dayton-Verhandlungen vor dem Scheitern rettete – und Holbrooke zum Helden machte.
Holbrookes Diplomatie sollte beweisen, daß das diplomatische Vorgehen der Europäer zum Scheitern verurteilt war. Sein Sieg war eine Niederlage für die Diplomatie. Das Schauspiel der Bombardierungen im Zusammenhang mit Dayton sollte vor Augen führen, daß nur die Androhung oder Anwendung der militärischen Macht der USA Konflikte beenden konnte.
Milosevic hatte gehofft, daß seine Zugeständnisse zum Frieden und zur Aussöhnung mit den USA führen würde. Wie sich herausstellte, wurde er dafür, daß er Holbrooke den größten Erfolg seiner Karriere beschert hatte, nur mit der Bombardierung seines Landes durch die NATO von 1999 belohnt, mit dem Ziel, Serbien das Kosovo zu entreißen und Milosevics Sturz aus dem Amt vorzubereiten. Holbrooke selbst spielte dabei eine herausragende Rolle. Im Sommer 1998 posierte er plötzlich ohne Schuhe mit bewaffneten albanischen Separatisten für eine Foto-Session, die bis dahin vom State Department als „Terroristen“ geführt worden waren, und wenig später verkündete
er gegenüber Milosevic, daß sein Land bombardiert werden würde, wenn er nicht die Sicherheitskräfte aus der Provinz abzöge, was soviel bedeutete, wie das Kosovo den Terroristen zu überlassen, die Holbrooke zu Freiheitskämpfern geadelt hatte.
In seiner langen Karriere hat Holbrooke an vielen Fronten gekämpft, von Vietnam bis Afghanistan. 1977, nachdem Indonesien in Osttimor eingefallen war und begann, die Bevölkerung dieser eheamligen portugiesischen Kolonie zu massakrieren, wurde Holbrooke von und USA dorthin entsandt, angeblich um für „Menschenrechte“ einzutreten, aber in Wirklichkeit, um die Suharto- Diktatur gegen die Osttimoresen zu bewaffnen. Mal wurde die Regierung gegen die Rebellen aufgerüstet, mal Rebellen gegen die Regierung, aber was wie ein Widerspruch erscheinen mag, ist die konsequente zynische Ausnutzung und Eskalation tragischer lokaler Konflikte zur Ausdehnung der US-Weltmacht.
Holbrooke und Milosevic wurden beide 1941 geboren. Als Milosevic 2006 starb, gab Holbrooke für die BBC eine umfassende Erklärung ab, die keine Silbe menschlicher Anteilnahme enthielt. „Dieser Mann hat den Balkan in Schutt und Asche gelegt,“ so Holbrooke.
„Er war ein Verbrecher, der vier Kriege, 300.000 Tote, 2.5 Millionen Vertriebene auf dem Gewissen hat. Manchmal haben Monster – wie Hitler und Stalin – den größten Einfluß auf die Geschichte, und so verhält es sich auch mit diesem Herrn.“
Holbrooke stellte sich selbst als der Gute dar, der um des guten Zwecks willen mit dem Bösen verhandelt hat. Bei den Verhandlungen mit Milosevic „ist einem bewußt, daß man einem Monster gegenüber sitzt, das einen schrecklichen Platz in den Geschichtsbüchern einnehmen wird und so viel Tote zu verantworten hat.“
Wer war hier das Monster? Niemals, auch nicht in Den Haag, wo Milosevic infolge unterlassener ärztlicher Behandlung starb, wurde bewiesen, daß er für die tragischen Opfer des jugoslawischen Zerfallsprozesses verantwortlich war. Holbrooke seinerseits wurde nie vor Gericht gestellt wegen all der Toten in Vietnam, Osttimor, Afghanistan, Irak und, ja, im ehemaligen Jugoslawien, die wenigstens teilweise auf das Konto der von ihm ausgeführten US-Politik gingen.
Sich selbst als moralische Instanz aufspielend, beurteilte Holbrooke den serbischen Politiker weder als Nationalisten, noch als Kommunisten, sondern einfach als Opportunisten, dem es nur um Macht und Reichtum für sich selbst ging.
In Wirklichkeit gab es nie einen Beweis dafür, daß Milosevic nach Reichtum für sich selbst gestrebt oder ihn erhalten hätte, während Holbrooke unter anderem Vizevorsitzender von Credit Suisse First Boston, Geschäftsführer von Lehman Brothers, Vizevorsitzender der Beteiligungsfirma Perseus LLC und Vorstandsmitglied der Amercian International Group (AIG) war, letzteres gerade zu der Zeit, als „die Firma“, laut Wikipedia, „hoch spekulative Kreditversicherungsgeschäfte tätigte, die den Steuerzahler Hunderte Milliarden kosten könnten, wenn verhindert werden soll, daß AIG das Finanzsystem zugrunde richtet."
Milosevic stand jahrelang vor Gericht, ohne seine Verteidigung vorbringen zu können, bis er unter beunruhigenden Umständen starb. Holbrooke war mit diesem Ende völlig zufrieden: „Ich wußte bereits, als er in Den Haag ankam, daß er nie wieder das Tageslicht erblicken würde, und ich denke, daß ihm auf eine seltsame Weise Gerechtigkeit widerfahren ist, denn er starb in seiner Zelle, und das war genau richtig.“
Es gibt noch viele weitere Beispiele für Holbrookes Lügen und seine betrügerische Manipulation des Leids auf dem Balkan sowie seiner vollkommen zynischen Ausnutzung der Tragödien in Vietnam, Osttimor, Irak und Afghanistan. Dennoch sollte seine Bedeutung nicht überschätzt werden. Moralische Monster haben nicht immer einen großen Einfluß auf die Geschichte, wenn sie lediglich glanzlose Werzeuge einer wildgewordenen bürokratischen Militärmaschine sind.
Dieser Nachruf erschien am 15.12.2010 unter dem Titel „Holbrooke or Milosevic: Who is the Greater Murderer?“ in der Onlineausgabe von Counterpunch: http://www.counterpunch.org/
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Richard Holbrooke, 1941-2010, Opportunist Extraordinary
by Diana Johnstone
It is usually considered polite to avoid sharp criticism of someone who has just died. But Richard Holbrooke himself set a striking example of the breach of such etiquette. On learning of the death in prison of Slobodan Milosevic, Holbrooke did not hesitate to describe him as a "monster" comparable to Hitler and Stalin.
This was rank ingratitude, considering that Holbrooke owed his greatest career success – the 1995 Dayton Accords that ended the civil war in Bosnia-Herzegovina – almost entirely to Milosevic. This was made quite clear in his memoir To End a War (Random House, 1998).
But Holbrooke’s greatest skill, made possible by media complicity, was to dress up reality in the costume favorable to himself.
The Dayton Peace Accords were presented as a heroic victory for peace extracted by the brilliant Holbrooke from a reluctant Milosevic, who had to be "bombed to the negotiating table" by the United States. In reality, the U.S. government was fully aware that Milosevic was eager for peace in Bosnia to free Serbia from crippling economic sanctions. It was the Bosnian Muslim leader Alija Izetbegovic who wanted to keep the war going, with U.S. military help. In reality, the U.S. bombed the Serbs in order to get Izetbegovic to the negotiating table. And the agreement reached in the autumn of 1995 was not very different from the agreement reached in March 1992 by the three ethnic groups under European Community auspices, which could have prevented the entire civil war, if it had not been sabotaged by Izetbegovic, who withdrew his agreement with the encouragement of the then U.S. ambassador Warren Zimmermann. In short, far from being the great peacemaker in the Balkans, the United States first encouraged the Muslim side to fight for its goal of a centralized Bosnia, and then sponsored a weakened federated Bosnia – after nearly four years of bloodshed which left the populations bereft and embittered.
The real purpose of all this, as Holbrooke made quite clear in To End a War, was to demonstrate that Europeans could not manage their own vital affairs and that the United States remained the "indispensable nation". His book also made it clear that the Muslim leaders were irritatingly reluctant to end war short of total victory, and that only the readiness of Milosevic to make concessions saved the Dayton talks from failure -- allowing Holbrooke to be proclaimed a hero.
The functional role of the Holbrooke’s diplomacy was to prove that diplomacy, as carried out by Europeans, was bound to fail. His victory was a defeat for diplomacy. The spectacle of bombing plus Dayton was designed to show that only the threat or application of U.S. military might could end conflicts.
Milosevic had hoped that his concessions would lead to peace and reconciliation with the United States. As it happened, his only reward for handing Holbrooke the victory of his career was to have his country bombed by NATO in 1999 in order to wrest from Serbia the province of Kosovo and prepare Milosevic’s own fall from office. Holbrooke played a prominent role in this scenario, suddently posing shoeless in a tent in the summer of 1998 for a photo op seated among armed Albanian secessionists which up to then had been characterized by the State Department as "terrorists", and shortly thereafter announcing to Milosevic that Serbia would be bombed unless he withdrew security forces from the province, in effect giving it to the ex-terrorists transformed by the Holbrooke blessing into freedom fighters.
In his long career from Vietnam to Afghanistan, Holbrooke was active on many fronts. In 1977, after Indonesia invaded East Timor and set about massacring the people of that former Portuguese colony, Holbrooke was dispatched by the United States supposedly to promote "human rights" but in reality to help arm the Suharto dictatorship against the East Timorese. Sometimes the government is armed against rebels, sometimes rebels are armed against the government, but despite appearances of contradiction, what is consistent throughout is the cynical exploitation and exacerbation of tragic local conflicts to extend U.S. imperial power throughout the world.
Holbrooke and Milosevic were born in the same year, 1941. When Milosevic died in 2006, Holbrooke gave a long statement to the BBC without a single syllable of human kindness. "This man wrecked the Balkans," said Holbrooke.
"He was a war criminal who caused four wars, over 300,000 deaths, 2.5million homeless. Sometimes monsters make the biggest impacts on history - Hitler and Stalin - and such is the case with this gentleman."
Holbrooke presented himself as goodness dealing with evil for a worthy cause. When negotiating with Milosevic, "you're conscious of the fact that you're sitting across the table from a monster whose role in history will be terrible and who has caused so many deaths."
Who was the monster? Nobody, including at the Hague tribunal where he died for lack of medical treatment, has ever actually proved that Milosevic was responsible for the tragic deaths in the wars of Yugoslav disintegration. But Holbrooke was never put on trial for all the deaths in Vietnam, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq and, yes, former Yugoslavia, which resulted at least in part from the U.S. policies he carried out.
From his self-proclaimed moral heights, Holbrooke judged the Serbian leader as an opportunist without political convictions, neither communist nor nationalist, but simply "an opportunist who sought power and wealth for himself."
In reality, there has never been any proof that Milosevic sought or obtained wealth for himself, whereas Holbrooke was, among many other things, a vice chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston, managing director of Lehman Brothers, vice chairman of the private equity firm Perseus LLC, and a member of the board of directors of AIG, the American International Group, at a time when, according to Wikipedia, "the firm engaged in wildly speculative credit default insurance schemes that may cost the taxpayer hundreds of billions to prevent AIG from bringing down the entire financial system."
Milosevic was on trial for years without ever being to present his defense before he died under troubling circumstances. Holbrooke found that outcome perfectly satisfying: "I knew as soon as he reached The Hague that he'd never see daylight again and I think that justice was served in a weird way because he died in his cell, and that was the right thing to do."
There are many other instances of lies and deceptions in Holbrooke’s manipulation of Balkan woes, as well as his totally cynical exploitation of the tragedies of Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan. But still, his importance should not be overstated. Moral monsters do not always make a great impact on history, when they are merely the vain instruments of a bureaucratic military machine running amok.
=== 2 ===
HOLBROOKE ADMIRERS: GEORGE SOROS, THACI "THE SNAKE", GEORGIAN REACTIONARIES
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Holbrooke and Soros
Posted by: "Tim Fenton"
Date: Tue Dec 14, 2010 3:35 pm ((PST))
Amongst a lot of gushing, sycophantic and hollow praise for Holbrooke, BBC Radio 4's flagship news programme, Today, this morning had the Britain's former ambassador in Kabul, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, examine Holbrooke's impact on US foreign policy. Listen to this clip where he inadvertently reveals (if you didn't know) that George Soros was an important friend of this arch war criminal:
http://www.yugofile.org.uk/mp3s/20101214_today_holbrooke_soros.mp3
Date: Tue Dec 14, 2010 3:35 pm ((PST))
Amongst a lot of gushing, sycophantic and hollow praise for Holbrooke, BBC Radio 4's flagship news programme, Today, this morning had the Britain's former ambassador in Kabul, Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, examine Holbrooke's impact on US foreign policy. Listen to this clip where he inadvertently reveals (if you didn't know) that George Soros was an important friend of this arch war criminal:
http://www.yugofile.org.uk/mp3s/20101214_today_holbrooke_soros.mp3
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http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/europe/news/article_1605579.php/Kosovar-leader-says-people-lost-a-friend-in-Holbrooke
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - December 14, 2010
Kosovar leader says people lost 'a friend' in Holbrooke
Pristina: Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Hashim Thaci on Tuesday expressed condolences to the US on the death of diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who was 'a friend' of the people of Kosovo.
Thaci, whose Democratic Party won Sunday's snap elections, sent a telegram to President Barack Obama saying that 'For citizens of Kosovo, the death of Richard Holbrooke is a loss of a friend, of a voice that protected the interest of the Republic of Kosovo.'
Holbrooke was a staunch supporter of Kosovo Albanians in their fight against Belgrade's rule in the late 1990s.
The conflict in Kosovo spurred US into leading NATO in its intervention against Serbia in 1999, eventually paving the way to the secession of the province in 2008.
Thaci's remarks came amid a so far muted response in the Balkan region to the news of Holbrooke's death.
In Sarajevo, one reaction came from the international community's representative in Bosnia, Valentin Inzko, who credited Holbrooke for the Dayton peace accord.
In Belgrade, Serbian state television RTS only quoted Peter Robinson, a lawyer in The Hague for former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, as saying that Karadzic felt 'sorrow and regret' over the news of Holbrooke's death.
On trial facing genocide charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Karadzic has claimed that Holbrooke in 1996 had promised him immunity from prosecution for his actions during the Bosnian war.
Robinson said Karadzic was hoping to get Holbrooke to testify at the ICTY proceedings.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur - December 14, 2010
Kosovar leader says people lost 'a friend' in Holbrooke
Pristina: Kosovo caretaker Prime Minister Hashim Thaci on Tuesday expressed condolences to the US on the death of diplomat Richard Holbrooke, who was 'a friend' of the people of Kosovo.
Thaci, whose Democratic Party won Sunday's snap elections, sent a telegram to President Barack Obama saying that 'For citizens of Kosovo, the death of Richard Holbrooke is a loss of a friend, of a voice that protected the interest of the Republic of Kosovo.'
Holbrooke was a staunch supporter of Kosovo Albanians in their fight against Belgrade's rule in the late 1990s.
The conflict in Kosovo spurred US into leading NATO in its intervention against Serbia in 1999, eventually paving the way to the secession of the province in 2008.
Thaci's remarks came amid a so far muted response in the Balkan region to the news of Holbrooke's death.
In Sarajevo, one reaction came from the international community's representative in Bosnia, Valentin Inzko, who credited Holbrooke for the Dayton peace accord.
In Belgrade, Serbian state television RTS only quoted Peter Robinson, a lawyer in The Hague for former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, as saying that Karadzic felt 'sorrow and regret' over the news of Holbrooke's death.
On trial facing genocide charges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Karadzic has claimed that Holbrooke in 1996 had promised him immunity from prosecution for his actions during the Bosnian war.
Robinson said Karadzic was hoping to get Holbrooke to testify at the ICTY proceedings.
---
http://rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=39678&pg=1&im=main&ct=0&wth=
Rustavi 2 - December 16, 2010
Richard Hollbrooke posthumously awarded with Saint George’s Victory Order
As per the decree of the President of Georgia, Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been posthumously awarded with the Saint George’s Victory Order.
The statement published on the official website of the Administration says: ‘Due to the decision made by the President of Georgia, United States Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke is awarded with Saint George`s Victory Order posthumously for promoting peace and democracy throughout the world, for his personal contribution to strengthening Georgian-U.S. relations, for his special support provided to Georgia’.
The U.S. diplomat died at the age of 69.
Rustavi 2 - December 16, 2010
Richard Hollbrooke posthumously awarded with Saint George’s Victory Order
As per the decree of the President of Georgia, Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been posthumously awarded with the Saint George’s Victory Order.
The statement published on the official website of the Administration says: ‘Due to the decision made by the President of Georgia, United States Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke is awarded with Saint George`s Victory Order posthumously for promoting peace and democracy throughout the world, for his personal contribution to strengthening Georgian-U.S. relations, for his special support provided to Georgia’.
The U.S. diplomat died at the age of 69.
=== 3 ===
http://davidswanson.org/content/richard-holbrookes-deathbed-conversion
David Swanson's Blog - December 14, 2010
Richard Holbrooke's Deathbed Conversion
For all the talk of strategic counterinsurgency that oozes out of Washington, and all the manuals explaining that 80% of our investment in a nation-building operation should be civilian, we've been investing about 3% of our efforts in Afghanistan into a civilian project the leader of which has described it as a way to support the military. That leader was, until he died yesterday, Richard Holbrooke.
Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing earlier this year what in the world he was doing and toward what end in Afghanistan, Holbrooke repeatedly failed to produce an answer. That could explain his deathbed conversion and his final words to his surgeon: "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan." As if his doctor could do what he refused to play any role in.
Before any more makers of war break their own hearts and beg for forgiveness, they should follow the examples of people like Ann Wright and Matthew Hoh and get out of this dirty business themselves while they have some life left in them.
This short excerpt from War Is A Lie is relevant here:
When, in 1995, Croatia had slaughtered or “ethnically cleansed” Serbs with Washington’s blessing, driving 150,000 people from their homes, we weren’t supposed to notice, much less drop bombs to prevent it. The bombing was saved for Milosevic, who — we were told in 1999 — refused to negotiate peace and therefore had to be bombed. We were not told that the United States was insisting on an agreement that no nation in the world would voluntarily agree to, one giving NATO complete freedom to occupy all of Yugoslavia with absolute immunity from laws for all of its personnel.
In the June 14, 1999, issue of The Nation, George Kenney, a former State Department Yugoslavia desk officer, reported:
“An unimpeachable press source who regularly travels with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told this [writer] that, swearing reporters to deep-background confi dentiality at the Rambouillet talks, a senior State Department official had bragged that the United States ‘deliberately set the bar higher than the Serbs could accept.’ The Serbs needed, according to the official, a little bombing to see reason.”
Jim Jatras, a foreign policy aide to Senate Republicans, reported in a May 18, 1999, speech at the Cato Institute in Washington that he had it “on good authority” that a “senior Administration official told media at Rambouillet, under embargo” the following: “We intentionally set the bar too high for the Serbs to comply. They need some bombing, and that’s what they are going to get.”
In interviews with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), both Kenney and Jatras asserted that these were actual quotes transcribed by reporters who spoke with a U.S. official.
Negotiating for the impossible, and falsely accusing the other side of noncooperation, is a handy way to launch a “defensive” war. Behind that scheme in 1999 was special U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke.
***
And here's something Sam Husseini wrote in December 2008:
Shortly before the bombing of Yugoslavia began in late March 1999, Richard Holbrooke met with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. By his own account, Holbrooke delivered the final ultimatum to Milosevic -- that if Yugoslavia didn't agree to the Rambouillet text, NATO would begin bombing.
The Rambouillet text called for a defacto occupation of Yugoslavia. On major U.S. media, after the bombing of Yugoslavia began, Holbrooke claimed that what was called for in the Rambouillet text, despite Serbian protests, "isn't an occupation". Several weeks later, when confronted by a journalist familiar with the Rambouillet text, Holbrooke claimed: "I never said that". This was a lie, it was also a tacit admission that the Rambouillet text did call for an occupation (why else would Holbrooke deny saying it when he had?) So the U.S. demanded that Yugoslavia submit to occupation or be bombed -- and Holbrooke lied about this crucial fact when questioned about the cause of the war.
Here are the specifics:The Rambouillet text of Feb. 23, 1999, a month before NATO began bombing, contained provisions that provided for NATO to basically occupy the entire Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), not just Kosovo. Excerpts from Appendix (B) (I attempted to draw attention to this at the time when I became aware of it.):
7. NATO personnel shall be immune from any form of arrest, investigation, or detention by the authorities in the FRY.
8. NATO personnel shall enjoy... free and unrestricted passage and unimpeded access throughout the FRY including associated airspace and territorial waters.
11. NATO is granted the use of airports, roads, rails and ports without payment...
15. [NATO shall have] the right to use all of the electromagnetic spectrum...
On April 6, 1999, about two weeks after the bombing began, Holbrooke appeared on the Charlie Rose show and was asked about what started the war. (Video is here, approximate times in the interview are provided):
[3:45] "The 81 pages of the Rambouillet agreement, which the Serbs rejected, contain all the elements of a really solid interim solution. ... Although Rambouillet itself was rejected, the principles embodied in the Rambouillet agreement make a hell of a lot of sense. ..."
[13:00] "The [Yugoslavian government] decision was to trigger the bombing of their own country instead of accepting this very reasonable political offer." ...
[14:00] Asked how to explain the actions of the Serbs, Holbrooke claims the Serbs said: "The choice you've given us is to have our sacred soil violated by an invading force. I said this isn't an invasion, it isn't an occupation, it's an international peacekeeping force that will save the Serb minority in Kosovo. ..."
[15:00] "We walked the last mile for peace."
[17:00] "The bombing must continue and must intensify until the Yugoslav leadership realizes they have to change their positions."
On April 23, 1999, journalist Jeremy Scahill of Democracy Now questioned Richard Holbrooke as he was leaving the Overseas Press Club's 60th anniversary dinner:
Holbrooke: "One question."
Jeremy Scahill: "You've said, since you gave the ultimatum to President Milosevic, that the Rambouillet accords do not call for the occupation of Yugoslavia. In --"
Holbrooke: "I never said that. That's the end of that. You got the wrong person and the wrong quote. That's your question."
Scahill: "Do the Rambouillet accords ... Are the the Rambouillet accords a call for the occupation of Yugoslavia -- how do you reconcile that with Appendix B?"
Holbrooke: "I was not at Rambouillet. You'll have to address it to the people --"
Scahill: "You delivered the ultimatum, you're familiar with with the text --"
Holbrooke: "I did not discuss that detail with him. That's your question."
Scahill: "You haven't answered the question though."
Holbrooke: "I have answered the question. Good night." (See the April 23, 1999 Democracy Now, especially beginning at 29:00.)
It's tempting for many to think that the current Bush administration and the 2003 invasion of Iraq are totally unique. They're not, the methods of the U.S. government lying its way into a war are long standing and many of the culprits are still very much part of the political structure.
David Swanson's Blog - December 14, 2010
Richard Holbrooke's Deathbed Conversion
For all the talk of strategic counterinsurgency that oozes out of Washington, and all the manuals explaining that 80% of our investment in a nation-building operation should be civilian, we've been investing about 3% of our efforts in Afghanistan into a civilian project the leader of which has described it as a way to support the military. That leader was, until he died yesterday, Richard Holbrooke.
Asked at a U.S. Senate hearing earlier this year what in the world he was doing and toward what end in Afghanistan, Holbrooke repeatedly failed to produce an answer. That could explain his deathbed conversion and his final words to his surgeon: "You've got to stop this war in Afghanistan." As if his doctor could do what he refused to play any role in.
Before any more makers of war break their own hearts and beg for forgiveness, they should follow the examples of people like Ann Wright and Matthew Hoh and get out of this dirty business themselves while they have some life left in them.
This short excerpt from War Is A Lie is relevant here:
When, in 1995, Croatia had slaughtered or “ethnically cleansed” Serbs with Washington’s blessing, driving 150,000 people from their homes, we weren’t supposed to notice, much less drop bombs to prevent it. The bombing was saved for Milosevic, who — we were told in 1999 — refused to negotiate peace and therefore had to be bombed. We were not told that the United States was insisting on an agreement that no nation in the world would voluntarily agree to, one giving NATO complete freedom to occupy all of Yugoslavia with absolute immunity from laws for all of its personnel.
In the June 14, 1999, issue of The Nation, George Kenney, a former State Department Yugoslavia desk officer, reported:
“An unimpeachable press source who regularly travels with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told this [writer] that, swearing reporters to deep-background confi dentiality at the Rambouillet talks, a senior State Department official had bragged that the United States ‘deliberately set the bar higher than the Serbs could accept.’ The Serbs needed, according to the official, a little bombing to see reason.”
Jim Jatras, a foreign policy aide to Senate Republicans, reported in a May 18, 1999, speech at the Cato Institute in Washington that he had it “on good authority” that a “senior Administration official told media at Rambouillet, under embargo” the following: “We intentionally set the bar too high for the Serbs to comply. They need some bombing, and that’s what they are going to get.”
In interviews with FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), both Kenney and Jatras asserted that these were actual quotes transcribed by reporters who spoke with a U.S. official.
Negotiating for the impossible, and falsely accusing the other side of noncooperation, is a handy way to launch a “defensive” war. Behind that scheme in 1999 was special U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke.
***
And here's something Sam Husseini wrote in December 2008:
Shortly before the bombing of Yugoslavia began in late March 1999, Richard Holbrooke met with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. By his own account, Holbrooke delivered the final ultimatum to Milosevic -- that if Yugoslavia didn't agree to the Rambouillet text, NATO would begin bombing.
The Rambouillet text called for a defacto occupation of Yugoslavia. On major U.S. media, after the bombing of Yugoslavia began, Holbrooke claimed that what was called for in the Rambouillet text, despite Serbian protests, "isn't an occupation". Several weeks later, when confronted by a journalist familiar with the Rambouillet text, Holbrooke claimed: "I never said that". This was a lie, it was also a tacit admission that the Rambouillet text did call for an occupation (why else would Holbrooke deny saying it when he had?) So the U.S. demanded that Yugoslavia submit to occupation or be bombed -- and Holbrooke lied about this crucial fact when questioned about the cause of the war.
Here are the specifics:The Rambouillet text of Feb. 23, 1999, a month before NATO began bombing, contained provisions that provided for NATO to basically occupy the entire Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), not just Kosovo. Excerpts from Appendix (B) (I attempted to draw attention to this at the time when I became aware of it.):
7. NATO personnel shall be immune from any form of arrest, investigation, or detention by the authorities in the FRY.
8. NATO personnel shall enjoy... free and unrestricted passage and unimpeded access throughout the FRY including associated airspace and territorial waters.
11. NATO is granted the use of airports, roads, rails and ports without payment...
15. [NATO shall have] the right to use all of the electromagnetic spectrum...
On April 6, 1999, about two weeks after the bombing began, Holbrooke appeared on the Charlie Rose show and was asked about what started the war. (Video is here, approximate times in the interview are provided):
[3:45] "The 81 pages of the Rambouillet agreement, which the Serbs rejected, contain all the elements of a really solid interim solution. ... Although Rambouillet itself was rejected, the principles embodied in the Rambouillet agreement make a hell of a lot of sense. ..."
[13:00] "The [Yugoslavian government] decision was to trigger the bombing of their own country instead of accepting this very reasonable political offer." ...
[14:00] Asked how to explain the actions of the Serbs, Holbrooke claims the Serbs said: "The choice you've given us is to have our sacred soil violated by an invading force. I said this isn't an invasion, it isn't an occupation, it's an international peacekeeping force that will save the Serb minority in Kosovo. ..."
[15:00] "We walked the last mile for peace."
[17:00] "The bombing must continue and must intensify until the Yugoslav leadership realizes they have to change their positions."
On April 23, 1999, journalist Jeremy Scahill of Democracy Now questioned Richard Holbrooke as he was leaving the Overseas Press Club's 60th anniversary dinner:
Holbrooke: "One question."
Jeremy Scahill: "You've said, since you gave the ultimatum to President Milosevic, that the Rambouillet accords do not call for the occupation of Yugoslavia. In --"
Holbrooke: "I never said that. That's the end of that. You got the wrong person and the wrong quote. That's your question."
Scahill: "Do the Rambouillet accords ... Are the the Rambouillet accords a call for the occupation of Yugoslavia -- how do you reconcile that with Appendix B?"
Holbrooke: "I was not at Rambouillet. You'll have to address it to the people --"
Scahill: "You delivered the ultimatum, you're familiar with with the text --"
Holbrooke: "I did not discuss that detail with him. That's your question."
Scahill: "You haven't answered the question though."
Holbrooke: "I have answered the question. Good night." (See the April 23, 1999 Democracy Now, especially beginning at 29:00.)
It's tempting for many to think that the current Bush administration and the 2003 invasion of Iraq are totally unique. They're not, the methods of the U.S. government lying its way into a war are long standing and many of the culprits are still very much part of the political structure.
=== 4 ===
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/world-article.php?yyyy=2010&mm=11&dd=25&nav_id=71118
Danas - November 25, 2010
Ex-UN envoy slams Holbrooke's Afghanistan approach
BELGRADE: America's special representative for Afghanistan is implementing wrong, "Bosnian" methods in Afghanistan, says a former UN envoy.
Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, who served as special UN envoy in Kabul until March 2010, told Belgrade's Danas newspaper that he unsuccessfully tried to spur Washington to sack Holbrooke.
"Even though the (1995) Dayton negotiations were a precondition for peace in Bosnia-Herezgovina, Richard Holbrooke used intimidation methods during that process, and he is attempting to do the same in Afghanistan now," Eide noted.
The diplomat stated that Washington had "clearly made a mistake" when they appointed Holbrooke, describing him as a person who stands in the way of improved relations between the Afghan authorities and the international community.
"A person who implements such tactics gains lifelong enemies, considering that Afghanis, like people in the Balkans, are very proud. It's a pity that Holbrooke, who interfered in the election process in Afghanistan and who is attempting to bully the citizens of that country, still holds his position," said Eide.
The Norwegian diplomat also told the daily that he personally unsuccessfully tried to influence the U.S. State Department to sack their Afghanistan envoy.
Asked to appraise the current situation in Afghanistan, Eide said that it is "clear that neither NATO nor the Taliban can win", and that further military escalation represents "the wrong path".
"I believe that the only solution is a political dialogue with the rebels. First, a temporary ceasefire should be declared in some areas, since the existing strategy, that has been almost entirely militarized, is not working. In other words, unless different methods are used, there will be no success," Eide concluded.
Danas - November 25, 2010
Ex-UN envoy slams Holbrooke's Afghanistan approach
BELGRADE: America's special representative for Afghanistan is implementing wrong, "Bosnian" methods in Afghanistan, says a former UN envoy.
Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide, who served as special UN envoy in Kabul until March 2010, told Belgrade's Danas newspaper that he unsuccessfully tried to spur Washington to sack Holbrooke.
"Even though the (1995) Dayton negotiations were a precondition for peace in Bosnia-Herezgovina, Richard Holbrooke used intimidation methods during that process, and he is attempting to do the same in Afghanistan now," Eide noted.
The diplomat stated that Washington had "clearly made a mistake" when they appointed Holbrooke, describing him as a person who stands in the way of improved relations between the Afghan authorities and the international community.
"A person who implements such tactics gains lifelong enemies, considering that Afghanis, like people in the Balkans, are very proud. It's a pity that Holbrooke, who interfered in the election process in Afghanistan and who is attempting to bully the citizens of that country, still holds his position," said Eide.
The Norwegian diplomat also told the daily that he personally unsuccessfully tried to influence the U.S. State Department to sack their Afghanistan envoy.
Asked to appraise the current situation in Afghanistan, Eide said that it is "clear that neither NATO nor the Taliban can win", and that further military escalation represents "the wrong path".
"I believe that the only solution is a political dialogue with the rebels. First, a temporary ceasefire should be declared in some areas, since the existing strategy, that has been almost entirely militarized, is not working. In other words, unless different methods are used, there will be no success," Eide concluded.
---
http://www.focus- fen.net/? id=n111191
Focus News Agency (Bulgaria) - April 29, 2007
Kosovo to be independent with or without U.N.
BRUSSELS - Kosovo will be independent with or without
a United Nations resolution, and Russia should back an
agreement to protect the Kosovo Serb minority, the
United States said on Saturday.
Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried said it was
possible the latest Russian criticism of U.N. mediator
Marti Ahtisaari's plan for the final status of the
breakaway Serbian province meant Moscow intended to
block a resolution.
"We hope that Russia understands that Kosovo is going
to be independent one way or another," Fried told
Reuters in an interview at a Brussels Forum on
transatlantic relations.
"It will either be done in a controlled, supervised
way that provides for the well-being of the Serbian
people, or it will take place in an uncontrolled way
and the Kosovo Serbs will suffer the most, which would
be terrible."
Moscow has repeatedly said it will not accept a
solution which is unacceptable to Serbia, which is
adamantly opposed to any form of independence for
Kosovo.
A U.N. Security Council fact-finding mission, which
visited Kosovo at Russia's suggestion, wrapped up its
visit on Saturday saying they would deliberate on the
proposal for its independence without setting
deadlines.
"Deciding on important issues should never be hostage
to predetermined deadlines," Belgian ambassador and
mission head Johan Verbeke told a news conference in
Pristina.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, proposes
supervised independence with a strong role for an
international presence to protect minority rights.
Fried acknowledged the European Union could be split
over whether or not to recognize Kosovo if there was
no U.N. resolution and Kosovo's overwhelming Albanian
majority declared independence unilaterally.
"I see absolutely no advantage to doing this any other
way than through a Security Council resolution. I see
merely disadvantages," Fried said. "The alternatives
are all worse.
"A divided Europe is a bad thing in general and a
terrible thing in this particular case."
....
Kosovo has been an international protectorate since
NATO waged an air war in 1999 to drive out Serbian
forces...
Some 90 percent of the province's 2 million population
are Albanians.
"Kosovo is in the list of problems that do not improve
with age and neglect. The situation there is not
inherently stable," said Fried.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Richard
Holbrooke told the Brussels Forum the next few weeks
would be a fundamental test of Russian President
Vladimir Putin's view of his role in the world.
"If he vetoes the Ahtisaari plan in the Security
Council, there will be a unilateral declaration of
independence by Kosovo. The United States will
recognize them, I hope the same day ....Some of the EU
will, some won't," Holbrooke said.
"There will probably be violence on the ground and it
will be Russia's fault."
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told the Forum he
expected a period of "diplomatic trench warfare" over
Kosovo at the United Nations and suggested the EU
should take the lead in seeking a compromise solution,
which would take time.
Asked about Holbrooke's scenario of unilateral
independence, he said: "That is playing with fire."
Focus News Agency (Bulgaria) - April 29, 2007
Kosovo to be independent with or without U.N.
BRUSSELS - Kosovo will be independent with or without
a United Nations resolution, and Russia should back an
agreement to protect the Kosovo Serb minority, the
United States said on Saturday.
Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried said it was
possible the latest Russian criticism of U.N. mediator
Marti Ahtisaari's plan for the final status of the
breakaway Serbian province meant Moscow intended to
block a resolution.
"We hope that Russia understands that Kosovo is going
to be independent one way or another," Fried told
Reuters in an interview at a Brussels Forum on
transatlantic relations.
"It will either be done in a controlled, supervised
way that provides for the well-being of the Serbian
people, or it will take place in an uncontrolled way
and the Kosovo Serbs will suffer the most, which would
be terrible."
Moscow has repeatedly said it will not accept a
solution which is unacceptable to Serbia, which is
adamantly opposed to any form of independence for
Kosovo.
A U.N. Security Council fact-finding mission, which
visited Kosovo at Russia's suggestion, wrapped up its
visit on Saturday saying they would deliberate on the
proposal for its independence without setting
deadlines.
"Deciding on important issues should never be hostage
to predetermined deadlines," Belgian ambassador and
mission head Johan Verbeke told a news conference in
Pristina.
Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president, proposes
supervised independence with a strong role for an
international presence to protect minority rights.
Fried acknowledged the European Union could be split
over whether or not to recognize Kosovo if there was
no U.N. resolution and Kosovo's overwhelming Albanian
majority declared independence unilaterally.
"I see absolutely no advantage to doing this any other
way than through a Security Council resolution. I see
merely disadvantages," Fried said. "The alternatives
are all worse.
"A divided Europe is a bad thing in general and a
terrible thing in this particular case."
....
Kosovo has been an international protectorate since
NATO waged an air war in 1999 to drive out Serbian
forces...
Some 90 percent of the province's 2 million population
are Albanians.
"Kosovo is in the list of problems that do not improve
with age and neglect. The situation there is not
inherently stable," said Fried.
Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Richard
Holbrooke told the Brussels Forum the next few weeks
would be a fundamental test of Russian President
Vladimir Putin's view of his role in the world.
"If he vetoes the Ahtisaari plan in the Security
Council, there will be a unilateral declaration of
independence by Kosovo. The United States will
recognize them, I hope the same day ....Some of the EU
will, some won't," Holbrooke said.
"There will probably be violence on the ground and it
will be Russia's fault."
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told the Forum he
expected a period of "diplomatic trench warfare" over
Kosovo at the United Nations and suggested the EU
should take the lead in seeking a compromise solution,
which would take time.
Asked about Holbrooke's scenario of unilateral
independence, he said: "That is playing with fire."
---
http://www.realitymacedonia.org.mk/web/news_page.asp?nid=2667
Reality Macedonia - July 14, 2003
Richard Holbrooke: 'Full Independence' For Kosovo, Montenegro
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cd/Qkosovo-serbia-montenegro.RQm-_DlC.html
Kosovo, Montenegro should be independent: former US
envoy
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, July 12 (AFP) - The
UN-administered southern Serbian province of Kosovo
should be fully independent, former US ambassador to
the United Nations Richard Holbrooke said in an
interview published Saturday.
"The correct outcome is clear to me - it's full
independence for Kosovo," Holbrooke told Kosovo's
leading daily newspaper "Koha Ditore".
The veteran diplomat, who served as the US envoy to
the UN during Bill Clinton's presidency, was one of
the architects of the 1995 Dayton accords which ended
the war in Bosnia and drew up a ceasefire between
Belgrade and pro-independence ethnic Albanians in the
Kosovo war in 1998.
Holbrooke told the daily that the province, under UN
administration since the end of the war in 1999,
should be an "independent state with UN membership."
He suggested the status of Kosovo should be decided at
an international conference "between Pristina and
Belgrade with the support and assistance of the United
States", the European Union, Russia and the United
Nations.
Holbrooke also said the loose union of Serbia and
Montenegro that replaced rump Yugoslavia in February,
"cannot continue to exist as a single international
entity."
"Montenegro does not listen to Belgrade, they don't
even use the same currency. It's time for us to
recognize the reality: Montenegro should become an
independent country just as Kosovo should," Holbrooke
told the daily.
Kosovo has been under UN and NATO control since June
1999 after a military campaign by NATO brought an end
to a crackdown by Serb forces on the ethnic Albanian
majority seeking independence from Belgrade.
The province is legally part of Serbia and Montenegro,
but its future political status is yet to be decided.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of
the population of the province, seek full
independence, while the minority Serbs and Belgrade
want the province to remain part of Serbia.
---
http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1429_W_918835,00.html
Deutsche Welle - July 13, 2003
Holbrooke calls for independent Kosovo
The former American UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke
has called for independence for the predominately
Moslem Serb province of Kosovo. Holbrooke is quoted in
the newspaper Koha Ditore in Pristina saying lasting
peace required a separation from Serbia. Kosovo, which
is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has been administered
by the U.N. since 1999. Holbrooke stressed, however,
that the Serb minority there would need special
protection. The U.S. diplomat negotiated the Dayton
peace agreement in 1995 which ended the war in Bosnia.
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=23705&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta - June 12, 2003
Holbrook advocates independence for Kosovo
PRISTINA -- Saturday - Richard Holbrook, the former US
ambassador and negotiator prior to the bombing of
Yugoslavia in 1999, said in comments published today
that independence for Kosovo and membership of the
United Nations is the only way to bring lasting peace
to the region.
In an interview with Pristina daily Koha Ditore,
Holbrook said that four years had passed since the end
of the conflict and in that Kosovo had developed its
own independent character with the support of the
international community. "Now its time to move to the
second phase," he claimed.
The former US ambassador to the UN said the Security
Council would not rule on the final status of Kosovo.
Instead, the future of the province should be decided
by international mediation that will unfold between
Pristina and Belgrade with the support and presence of
America, the European Union and the UN, he explained.
Holbrook added that, for him, the rights result is
clear - "the total independence of Kosovo."
Reality Macedonia - July 14, 2003
Richard Holbrooke: 'Full Independence' For Kosovo, Montenegro
http://www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/cd/Qkosovo-serbia-montenegro.RQm-_DlC.html
Kosovo, Montenegro should be independent: former US
envoy
PRISTINA, Serbia-Montenegro, July 12 (AFP) - The
UN-administered southern Serbian province of Kosovo
should be fully independent, former US ambassador to
the United Nations Richard Holbrooke said in an
interview published Saturday.
"The correct outcome is clear to me - it's full
independence for Kosovo," Holbrooke told Kosovo's
leading daily newspaper "Koha Ditore".
The veteran diplomat, who served as the US envoy to
the UN during Bill Clinton's presidency, was one of
the architects of the 1995 Dayton accords which ended
the war in Bosnia and drew up a ceasefire between
Belgrade and pro-independence ethnic Albanians in the
Kosovo war in 1998.
Holbrooke told the daily that the province, under UN
administration since the end of the war in 1999,
should be an "independent state with UN membership."
He suggested the status of Kosovo should be decided at
an international conference "between Pristina and
Belgrade with the support and assistance of the United
States", the European Union, Russia and the United
Nations.
Holbrooke also said the loose union of Serbia and
Montenegro that replaced rump Yugoslavia in February,
"cannot continue to exist as a single international
entity."
"Montenegro does not listen to Belgrade, they don't
even use the same currency. It's time for us to
recognize the reality: Montenegro should become an
independent country just as Kosovo should," Holbrooke
told the daily.
Kosovo has been under UN and NATO control since June
1999 after a military campaign by NATO brought an end
to a crackdown by Serb forces on the ethnic Albanian
majority seeking independence from Belgrade.
The province is legally part of Serbia and Montenegro,
but its future political status is yet to be decided.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of
the population of the province, seek full
independence, while the minority Serbs and Belgrade
want the province to remain part of Serbia.
---
http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1429_W_918835,00.html
Deutsche Welle - July 13, 2003
Holbrooke calls for independent Kosovo
The former American UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke
has called for independence for the predominately
Moslem Serb province of Kosovo. Holbrooke is quoted in
the newspaper Koha Ditore in Pristina saying lasting
peace required a separation from Serbia. Kosovo, which
is 90 percent ethnic Albanian, has been administered
by the U.N. since 1999. Holbrooke stressed, however,
that the Serb minority there would need special
protection. The U.S. diplomat negotiated the Dayton
peace agreement in 1995 which ended the war in Bosnia.
---
http://www.b92.net/english/news/index.php?&nav_category=&nav_id=23705&order=priority&style=headlines
Beta - June 12, 2003
Holbrook advocates independence for Kosovo
PRISTINA -- Saturday - Richard Holbrook, the former US
ambassador and negotiator prior to the bombing of
Yugoslavia in 1999, said in comments published today
that independence for Kosovo and membership of the
United Nations is the only way to bring lasting peace
to the region.
In an interview with Pristina daily Koha Ditore,
Holbrook said that four years had passed since the end
of the conflict and in that Kosovo had developed its
own independent character with the support of the
international community. "Now its time to move to the
second phase," he claimed.
The former US ambassador to the UN said the Security
Council would not rule on the final status of Kosovo.
Instead, the future of the province should be decided
by international mediation that will unfold between
Pristina and Belgrade with the support and presence of
America, the European Union and the UN, he explained.
Holbrook added that, for him, the rights result is
clear - "the total independence of Kosovo."
=== 5 ===
WHO'S WHO IN THE BALKANS
Reprinted from
chronicles
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