| |
 NSPM IN ENGLISH
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Gordon N. Bardos: Revenge of the Balkans |
|
| |
Strategic shortsightedness—defined as mistaking problems and issues of secondary or tertiary importance for those of vital importance, and being unable to foresee the predictable consequences of specific actions—is becoming a chronic malaise in Washington. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ted Galen Carpenter: Kosovo precedent prevails |
|
| |
 When the United States and its key European allies ignored Russia 's protests and recognized Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia in February, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice blithely insisted that the Kosovo situation was unique and set no international precedent whatsoever. Prominent members of the foreign policy communities in Europe and the United States echoed her argument. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
The situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia has also changed radically as a result of the events of the past several days. Again, the EU is trying to benefit from the changes. In this case, however, we hear no references to the interests of the self-proclaimed states, but are instead presented with the demand to respect the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity recognized by the international law and the UN Security Council. In other words, we are invited to respect the same principles that the EU is entirely neglecting in Kosovo. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
William Pfaff: Who Is Responsible for U.S. Russian Policy? |
|
| |
The one thing it does not clarify is who is ultimately responsible for an American policy towards Russia that since the collapse of the Soviet Union has been aggressive, militarily overbearing, and threatening to the integrity of Russia, to absolutely no useful purpose. The conventional Western comment says the NATO governments have underestimated “Russia 's determination to dominate its traditional sphere of influence.” >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Doug Bandow: Playing with fire |
|
| |
As war rages between Georgia and Russia, some NATO advocates argue that peace would reign had the Western alliance offered Georgia a Membership Action Plan last spring. Actually, Georgian and Russian perceptions of potential NATO support for Georgia almost certainly radicalized both sides, making war all but certain. In practice, alliances can be destabilizing as well as stabilizing. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ted Galen Carpenter: On Thin Ice |
|
| |
The reality is that the United States has only limited leverage in this conflict. True, Washington could, for example, block Russia 's entry into the World Trade Organization, which would deny the country some important economic opportunities. But Russia has some counterleverage at its disposal. Most notably, as a major energy exporter in a world hungry for energy supplies, Russia is not likely to be “isolated,” as some overwrought American hawks demand. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Morton Abramovitz: The Bear Wakes Up |
|
| |
 The time is now ripe for NATO to also consider how it allowed a small state to be shattered and to reach a reckoning with Russia 's abusive behavior. All that requires some historical perspective, and that is difficult given the posturing, piety and self-justification permeating our public discussion. Posturing and piety are indeed an essential element of policy making in democratic countries; they are not substitutes for policy. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Djordje Vukadinovic: (N)either East - (n)or West |
|
| |
 The Serbian general public is practically undivided when it comes to opposing Kosovo's independence, and even though it is lacking a clear idea about what would be an ideal solution, it is almost as unanimous in its rejection of the full independence of its southern province as it is in the sense of injustice inflicted on Serbia by means of that independence. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Slobodan Antonic: Kosovo and the rise of Serbia 's “euroscepticism” |
|
| |
 After the fall of Slobodan Milosevic in October 2000, membership of the EU appeared to the majority of Serbian public opinion as a goal without an alternative. This was not due to the billions promised to Serbs by some European politicians in the case of the downfall of Milosevic. No, Serbia did not opt for Europe because of money. It did so because it saw Europe as its natural surroundings, and almost all of us from the Serb intelligentsia were convinced by the Westerners. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Hermann Kelly: EU's folly of recognising Kosovo has come back to haunt us |
|
| |
The rank stupidity of Ireland and the EU in recognising Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in February has now been shown for what it is: an ill thought out scheme breaking international law, creating a dangerous precedent and giving hope to every crackpot secessionist group in the world. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Gordon N. Bardos:
Russia Returns |
|
| |
 Moscow is now beginning to
augment its economic clout in the region with an increasingly vocal
political stance, most visible in Russia’s outspoken opposition to
Kosovo’s secession from Serbia. Former Russian president Vladimir
Putin has called American and EU support for Kosovo’s independence
“illegal and immoral” and many countries around the world apparently
agree. Of the forty-five countries that have recognized Kosovo so
far, apart from the United States and twenty members of the EU, the
other states that have recognized Kosovo consist of such relatively
minor international players as the Marshall Islands, San Marino and
Burkina Faso. None of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and
China) have recognized Kosovo, nor has Indonesia (the
largest Muslim country in the world), nor any Arab country.
>>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Andrei Areshev:
Complicity in Genocide
(Strategic Culture
Foundation) |
|
| |
 At the same time, Western
media are waging an information war against Russia, which is largely
similar to the one launched around Kosovo in 1998 on the eve of the
strikes on Yugoslavia. In some cases, the “objective and
independent” Western media resort to direct falsifications. For
example, footage showing the heavy bombardment of Tskhinvali by
Georgian forces is combined with a text condemning Russia’s alleged
strikes on Georgian towns. Western Internet domains are flooded with
staged photos which are meant to shift the responsibility for the
tragedy from the Georgian leaders. Journalists from leading Western
news agencies and media are working exclusively in Tbilisi whereas
no Western journalists are reporting from Tskhinvali.
>>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Doug Bandow:
European Disunion (The National Interest) |
|
| |
 But united the EU is not. Members took different positions
on the Iraq War, disagree violently over the desirability of
including Turkey and cannot agree on recognizing Kosovo as an
independent state. Binding America’s states together into the United
States singular as opposed to plural required a bloody interstate
conflict. Europeans instead have been united by their (laudable)
desire to avoid war. The result is no United States of Europe
singular. Left to its own devices, the EU—governed by a European
Commission and European Parliament, limited by member-state vetoes,
represented by a temporary, rotating president, and denied effective
control over members’ foreign and military policies—isn’t going to
achieve geopolitical (in contrast to economic) influence matching
that of China or Russia, let alone the United States.
>>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
James Ker-Lindsay:
A matter of justice |
|
| |
EU members must
avoid being seen to strong-arm Serbia into backing down on this
issue. Such moves will only reflect badly on the EU as a whole. For
a start, and most obviously, by trying to stop Serbia from going to
the ICJ it rather suggests that many states maintain real doubts
over the legality of their decision to recognise Kosovo. Second,
having taking an uncompromising stand on Serbia's full cooperation
with the ICTY as a precondition for membership, it would not look
good for EU members to demand that their own actions be exempt from
legal scrutiny on the grounds of political expediency.
>>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Nikolas Gvosdev:
Facing the Facts on Terror (The National Interest) |
|
| |
 For
their part, the “Sons of Iraq” have been prepared to accept
American payments to organize and to drive out from their
provinces al-Qaeda elements and “foreign fighters.” Unlike
the Baghdad government, these Sunni are quite leery of
Tehran—and want to combat its influence in Iraq. But this is
not out of any sense of solidarity with the “war on
terror”—it is to regain the initiative and to at least
establish Sunni self-rule in those parts of Iraq where they
form the majority. And neither Shia nor Sunni in Iraq are
prepared to broaden their anti–al-Qaeda stand by coming out
against Arab Islamist groups which oppose Israel. Iraqis may
come out to fight against al-Qaeda, but don’t expect
meaningful action or even denunciations of groups such as
Hezbollah, whose star has risen high among both Sunni and
Shia since the 2006 conflict with Israel.
>>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Newsmaker: Interwiew with Richard Holbrooke (22.07.96) |
|
| |
RICHARD HOLBROOKE: Well, let me give you an example. Karadzic cannot appear in public. He can't give radio or TV or press interviews. If he violates these things, if they start running around with large posters of him like Big Brother behind Mrs. Plasic, who is now the acting temporary president of Serbska, behind her Big Brother posters of Karadzic, those are violations. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Mick Hume: Who's dressing up Karadzic? |
|
| |
 It seemed strangely fitting that Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was found in an elaborate disguise when he was finally arrested, accused of genocide. Many in the international community have spent more than a decade dressing up this unexceptional local nationalist leader as a Hitlerian monster. Perhaps it was also appropriate that he had apparently spent his years in hiding since the civil war in the former Yugoslavia practising as an alternative therapist. >>full text
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Simon Jenkins: The concept of international justice will be on trial, too |
|
| |
What the court really achieved in the case of Milosevic and the 44 other Serbs brought to trial must be moot. He died in captivity, but the process did much to stir fury among the Serbs that Croats and Kosovans - who could be no less cruel in their ethnic cleansing - had got off lightly at The Hague. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Risto Karajkov: UN Report: Balkans Safer Than Thought |
|
| |
The Balkans is safer than thought. This is the basic message from a recently published reportby the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The report made global headlines as some of its arguments run counter to common wisdom – that the Balkans is a gloomy and risky place. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Dragan Petrovic: “AVNOJ–border” in post soviet areas - relationship between Russia and Ukraine |
|
| |
 Relationships between Russia and Ukraine are now in situation when it becomes necessary to redefining their bases. In the focus is agreement about stay of Russian Black Sea fleet at Krim peninsula, and “The Great Agreement” about cooperation between Russia and Ukraine . New Ukrainian government formed in the end of 2007 (as opposed to previous government) has worse attitude to inhabitants of eastern part of country and pro-Russian population of Ukraine and to officially Moscow too. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Declaration od establishing the Assembly of the community of municipalities of the Autonomous province of Kosovo i Metohija |
|
| |
By our own free will we gathered here in Kosovska Mitrovica on St.Vidus Day, June 28, 2008 in order to establish the Assembly of the Community of Municipalities of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, in line with Article 12 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and Article 88 and 89 of the Law on Local Self-Government, which hereby inherits the Community of Serbian Municipalities and Settlements of Kosovo and Metohija, and to proclaim... >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Frances Maria Peacock: From pre-determined status to a new limbo - Why Kosovo's status has not been resolved |
|
| |
The Ahtisaari Plan cannot be a permanent solution, as Kosovo's life in a state of limbo is unsustainable and must be brought to an end. It does not solve anything simply by changing the characteristics of the limbo. Kosovo needs a proper status that can become permanent, and allow it to prosper and lead a peaceful existence. This is why a return to negotiations is necessary. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Faheem Hussain: NATO, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Pakistan: What is NATO Doing in Afghanistan? |
|
| |
What is NATO doing in Afghanistan? What are the true aims of NATO intervention in the region? These are the questions that I mean to address in this article. To understand what is happening in Afghanistan one has to go back to the attack on Yugoslavia by NATO forces in February 1999. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Extracts from interview Minister Samardzic gave to Reuters |
|
| |
 Minister for Kosovo-Metohia Slobodan Saramrdžić spoke to the Thomson Reuters news agency today. ?he topics were current situation in Kosovo, the EULEX mission and reconfiguration of the UNMIK, the UN role, the constitution of Serbian local bodies in Kosovo and Belgrade's position on negotiations about final status of Kosovo. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ian Bancroft: Nationhood beckons |
|
| |
It is clear that the Bonn powers are a now an untenable and obsolete way of reforming Bosnia and Herzegovina' s political dynamics. With the expected signing of an SAA on June 16 providing the platform for more extensive European engagement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the PIC should now move to close the OHR "in the shortest possible time". >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ivor Roberts: A nation that is still divided over Europe |
|
| |
"Serbia turns West" said the headlines. But a closer reading of the electoral arithmetic could equally well have supported a headline " Serbia looks East". In truth the reality is that Serbia is deeply divided as to which way to turn: whether to embrace a (Western) European future or to turn its back on that future as a result of perceived Western perfidy in conniving at the removal of Kosovo from Serbia. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Obrad Kesic: What do the Serbian Election Results Mean? |
|
| |
 If you read western newspapers or listen to reports in the electronic media concerning the results of Sunday's elections in Serbia, then you may be forgiven for thinking that the outcome clarifies the political situation in that country and that the “pro-Western” and “pro-European Union” parties had won a decisive victory against the “ultranationalists” or simply the “nationalists.” Unfortunately, the political situation is as murky as it was before the elections and in fact, despite a significant success at the polls, the coalition gathered around President Boris Tadic (and the proud defenders of Serbia 's march into the EU) could find themselves in the opposition benches in parliament and at the losing end of coalition-forming mathematics. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Bogdana Koljevic: Without winners and lossers: Serbia's may elections |
|
| |
 Despite the very good placement of “For European Serbia“ coalition, it comes out of these elections only as a relative winner. In order to be able to form a government it needs the backup of the socialists, whose political program is actually much closer to other political parties, especially DSS. In some aspects their program is even more radical then the program of the Radical Party. In a situation without any clear winners and losers – apart from the socialists, without whom no government can be formed – it remains to be seen who comes up first with the necessary majority in the parliament. The stakes are higher, however, that it might be the radicals, with the Democratic Party of Serbia and the Socialists. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Djordje Vukadinovic: Don't Rule Out a Radical-Socialist Government in Serbia |
|
| |
Theoretically, it might be possible for the Socialists to regenerate their party and acquire new and different voters in a new government with the Democrats, but it is still not a very likely scenario, since being in power in a transition country can hardly be a steppingstone for a better rating and gaining new voters. That is why, in the end, it is more likely that the Socialist Party will try to form a coalition with Kostunica and the Radicals, even though there is then the question of whether the Democratic Party and Tadic would accept such an outcome, or whether they would try to prevent it by all means, which would push Serbia into a political crisis and trigger clashes. Although I don't believe that scenario will ha appen, one must bear in mind that such a denouement remains entirely possible. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Tomislav Nikolic: Serbia goes to the polls |
|
| |
The Radicals' economic policy is based on the free market and Serbia 's potential as the key economy of the Danubian and west Balkan region. Eight years after the end of the rule of Slobodan Milosevic, there has yet to be a push for the restoration of communist-expropriated property. Our party will insist on redress and other overdue free-market reforms that will create more favorable conditions for foreign direct investment. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Aleksandar Pavković: Serbia's elections |
|
| |
If you were to take politicians' election speeches literally – something one should never do, anywhere – you would think that Serbia is, once again, fighting for its independence and unity. Serbia's unity, they thunder, is threatened by the secession of its province of Kosovo. All major parties in Serbia agree that the US and EU member states' recognition of Kosovo is an outrageous assault on Serbia; yet all parties also agree that the Serbia should join the EU. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Barbara Delcourt: Between the eccentric and the absurd |
|
| |
In fact, most of the EU states and the US have recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state while, at the same time, they have referred to the implementation of the plan of Martti Ahtisaari which, in fact, neutralises the sovereignty and independence of the state. This plan was never accepted by the UN Security Council, and thus is not legally binding. Nevertheless, the US and France consider that its dispositions are legally binding for the Kosovo authorities. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
NSPM ANALIZE Godina III, Broj 5-6 (22.04.2008) |
|
| |
 Slobodan Durmanović: Bosnia and Herzegovina between Brussels interventionism and Internal compromise
Milorad Ekmečić: Historical and strategic foundations of Republic of Srpska
Rajko Kuzmanović: Creation of the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina
Petar Kunić: Entity structure and the functionality of Bosnia and Herzegovina... >>full text
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Peter Sain ley Berry:
We should stop trying to intervene in Serbia's elections
(EU Observer) |
|
| |
 The purpose, of course, is to help Mr Tadic's election campaign. For
all
that, this is blatant interference in the internal electoral affairs
of an
independent state. It is bribery, there is no other word for it, and
it is
reprehensible. Not for nothing was Mr Kostunica moved, reportedly,
to
describe this as 'an act against the state.'
The EU has form in this. Two months ago in an attempt to ensure Mr
Tadic won
Serbia's Presidential election, it promised just such an agreement.
I wrote
then that this sort of behaviour was wrong. It continues to be wrong.
>>full
text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Srdja Trifkovic: The E.U.'s Double Game in the Balkans |
|
| |
 In theory the European Union is horrified at the prospect of the Radical Party of Serbia (Srpska radikalna stranka, SRS) becoming not only the strongest party in the country's parliament—which it already is—but also the majority partner in a new ruling coalition after the general election on May 11. In practice, the EU officials in Brussels and in Kosovo are acting as if this is the outcome they earnestly desire. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
NED: National Endowment for Devouring Countries |
|
| |
One of the American foundations which featured prominently in every color-coded “revolution” and every enforced regime change throughout the world during the past three decades, the allegedly non-government National Endowment for Democracy (NED), is currently charged of supporting at least three present day projects for dismantling the state sovereignty in Myanmar, China's Tibet and the continued devouring of Serbian state, through the northern region of Vojvodina. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Robert Skidelsky: The Kosovo effect (The Guardian) |
|
| |
Not the least damaging consequence of the Bush doctrine is that it dispenses with the need for public proof of aggressive intent. The Iraq invasion was justified by the same use of fraudulent evidence as was displayed in Kosovo. On balance, I believe that I was right to oppose the Kosovo war. It was a regressive answer to a genuine international problem: how to hold together multi-ethnic, multi-religious states in a reasonably civilised way. Since 1999, Kosovans have rejected Serbian offers of autonomy, because they were confident of American support for independence. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Nikolas Gvosdev: Reagan Plagiarized |
|
| |
It is important to remember that Reagan had no difficulty with America coexisting with nondemocratic or even noncapitalist nations—provided that such nations did not threaten the prosperity or stability of the United States and its allies. He believed that, over time—and as long as no other power sought to use force to control a country's freedom to choose—a nondemocratic, noncapitalist country would discover for itself the virtues of a free-market, liberal-democratic system. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Slobodan Samardzic: Serbia rejects separation |
|
| |
Violating Serbia 's territorial integrity and international law, the United States and some European countries extended recognition and demanded that the Serbian government and Serbs in Kosovo respect the "border" created through our territory. They further insist on acceptance of the illegitimate "authority" in Pristina and deployment of a European Union mission ("EULEX"), despite absence of any legal ground, including United Nations Security Council authorization. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Documents: Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo (pdf) |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ted Galen Carpenter: The Babysitter's Club |
|
| |
The NATO summit in Bucharest produced a split decision on expanding the alliance. Opposition from Germany , France and other key long-time members thwarted the Bush administration's goal of offering a Membership Action Plan (the first stage of preparing a country for admission to NATO) to Georgia and Ukraine . Several leading NATO powers realized that adding those countries to the alliance would provoke Russia and further damage the West's already-tense relationship with Moscow. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Thomas E. Graham: The Friend of My Enemy |
|
| |
First, conclusion of the 123 Agreement [an agreement that clears the way for cooperation on civilian nuclear projects]. The agreement was initialed last summer, with final signature pending required reports from U.S. agencies on Russia 's nuclear policies. Not surprisingly, those reports have become caught up in the ongoing debate inside the administration over Russia 's nuclear cooperation with Iran . The same forces that opposed closer cooperation with Russia in the first term are fighting a rearguard action now. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Scott Taylor: NATO is preparing a "blitzkrieg" |
|
| |
You say that NATO is in a hurry to seal the "blitzkrieg" on Mitrovica. If they run into unexpected problems, it could become prolonged? You, yourself, say that the Russians are inclined to spoil their plans.
- Well, Russia maintains the strong position that only 34 countries have recognized Kosovo, and the rest have not. The general meeting of the UN is in September, and if NATO doesn't succeed now with its plans, there is a chance for Serbia that the talks will resume about the partitioning of Kosovo. It will hurt the U.S. position - if Serbia brings up a cooperative resolution and shows that she still pays pensions to people in Kosovo. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Dimitrij Rupel and Bernard Kouschner: New focus on the Western Balkans |
|
| |
 We are revealing no secret by saying that Serbia was at the centre of attention at Brdo. As one of our colleagues said on Saturday, we all want for Serbia the same that Slovenia – once Serbia 's fellow republic in former Yugoslavia, now presiding the EU – had achieved. The Stabilization and Association Agreement with Serbia was initialled last November and now waits to be signed. Undoubtedly, Serbia needs to meet its international and moral obligations in order to join the EU family. We understand that Serbia on the eve of elections is uncertain about its future and lukewarm about Europe. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Djordje Vukadinovich: Casting A Bone |
|
| |
And so Serbia will have to hold elections once again. Including the constitution referendum, it is going to be, believe it or not, fifth “momentous” and “historic” vote in less than a year and a half. It's going to be the fifth successive vote in which Serbian voters will be called to vote for “better living” and “Kosovo's remaining in Serbia”. And both Kosovo and better living seem to be getting away. It is said that elections are maturity tests and schools of democracy. But in old and stable democracies these tests have a fixed schedule, usually every four years. After all, even in politically unstable countries like Italy, there have never been so many elections in such a short time. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Slobodan Antonić: Six Little Reasons |
|
| |
Those are the six “little” witnesses of NATO crimes, six “little” reasons why Serbia has to demand an explanation from NATO leaders. The explanation is simple. At the Tašmajdan park, there is a monument to children killed in the NATO bombing. (It is falling apart – of a statue of a girl with butterfly wings, only the wings remain. Perhaps some day the Belgrade authorities will set aside some funds to restore the monument; if they don't have enough, they should say something – the people will pitch in.) >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Robert M. Hayden: Outside View: Bush's failed Kosovo policy |
|
| |
Kosovo can be settled if the Bush administration returns to the United
Nations and engages in honest negotiation with the Serbs and the Russians.
More fundamentally, stability in the international system can only be
restored when the United States once again honors the fundamental principles
of international law that it violated by attacking Iraq in 2003, and in
recognizing Kosovo in 2008. >>full text
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Nikolas Gvosdev: Moving NATO Forward |
|
| |
NATO's Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is a man with a problem. Actually, several overlapping ones. The NATO mission in Afghanistan, which was supposed to demonstrate the alliance's ability to transcend its cold-war limitations and to highlight NATO's capabilities to both effectively fight a ground war and engage in post-conflict reconstruction, is faltering. Instead of bringing the alliance together in service of a common cause, Afghanistan is exposing that the vaunted “transformation” NATO has supposedly been engaged in has largely been for show. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Aleksandar Mitić: Kosovo: Lessons learned |
|
| |
 Kosovo's recent unilateral separation from Serbia set off a firestorm of reaction from Belgrade and its allies, notably Moscow. Serbia withdrew its ambassadors from countries that jumped to recognize Kosovo's independence, while angry protesters sacked and burned the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade.
Meantime, there has been debate about what this means for other regional tension zones, where ethnic groups may use Kosovo as a textbook for their own independence impulses. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Gordon N. Bardos: Hillary's Balkan “Experience” |
|
| |
Hillary Clinton's claim to be the most qualified Democrat to run for president is largely based on her self-proclaimed foreign-policy “experience.” Much of this experience would logically come from her days in the White House when events in the Balkans were the focus of so much U.S. attention. As her husband said in January 1993, Bosnia was “the most frustrating and complex foreign policy issue in the world” that he had to deal with at the time. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Sara Flounders: Washington gets a new colony in the Balkans |
|
| |
First, Kosovo is not gaining independence or even minimal self-government. It will be run by an appointed High Representative and bodies appointed by the U.S., European Union and NATO. An old-style colonial viceroy and imperialist administrators will have control over foreign and domestic policy. U.S. Imperialism has merely consolidated its direct control of a totally dependent colony in the heart of the Balkans. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Charles A. Kupchan: Recognizing Kosovo Least Bad Option for United States |
|
| |
If you include countries that have stated their intent to do so, and are working the recognition through a legal or parliamentary procedure, you get roughly thirty-two, thirty-three countries thus far. And then there are another twenty or so that have said that they are in the midst of deliberations, and they are making up their minds about whether to recognize the state. And then another twenty that have actually come out and said: “We oppose the separation of Kosovo from Serbia; we will not recognize the new state.” There are many, many countries that simply have said nothing. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
William Montgomery: A foundation of sand |
|
| |
 In fact, as I write this column, I am staring at a "mouse pad" for my computer that we sent out by the hundreds with exactly that flag-waving image. It was a time of hope and optimism. I thought of all the work done by so many Serbs, beginning with Zoran Djindjić, to re-connect Serbia with Europe and to lead the country and its citizens to a better life. And it seemed to me that all of this effort was literally going up in smoke. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ian Bancroft: Serbia's next move |
|
| |
The Serbian government has collapsed in the face of widening divisions over the country's future ties with the EU. A parliamentary resolution tabled by the Serb Radical party (SRS), the largest party in the Serbian parliament, and publicly supported by Prime Minister Kostunica, calling on the EU to "clearly and unequivocally" confirm Serbia's territorial integrity before further accession negotiations begin has further split an already dysfunctional governing coalition. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
“The interests of the United States are obviously different from those of Europe. We are increasingly coming to the conclusion that the events in the Balkans developed in such a way so that Washington could establish a dominant presence in the region, which was not the case after 1945. We should not lose sight of the fact that it was precisely Germany that started this unfortunate game, championing ethnically-based national states in the region. We should remember that Germany was the first to recognize Slovenia and Croatia. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Maloy Krishna Dhar: Why India must oppose Kosovo's independence |
|
| |
It is time for India to stridently oppose unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, while under UN administration. India should openly support Russia and China in the UN and ask Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to explain to the world body as to how the US and allies could bury the UN mandate and agree to the creation of another nation on ethno-religious considerations. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Seumas Milne: A system to enforce imperial power will only be resisted |
|
| |
It might have been expected that the catastrophe of Iraq and the bloody failure of Afghanistan would have at least dampened the enthusiasm among western politicians for invading other people's countries in the name of democracy and human rights. But the signs are instead of a determined drive to rehabilitate the idea of liberal interventionism so comprehensively discredited in the killing fields of Fallujah and Samarra . First there was the appointment of the committed interventionist Bernard Kouchner as French foreign minister. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Wu Yun: The Real Lesson for China |
|
| |
But what can be concluded with certainty from the Kosovo case is all other measures short of the military one that Serbia vowed to use to prevent Kosovo from becoming independent did not work. If there is one single lesson that China can learn from the Kosovo case, it is this. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Vojin Joksimovich: Undersecretary Burns Should Be Personally Responsible |
|
| |
 In the aftermath of the U.S. recognition of unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo Albanians and subsequent violence targeting the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, Undersecretary for Political Affairs in the State Department Nicholas Burns said had Serbia had a “fundamental responsibility” to protect U.S. diplomats and citizens, adding that Washington would hold Serbian Prime Minister (PM) Vojislav Kostunica and his government “personally responsible” for assaults on U.S. interests. He went on “What happened yesterday in Belgrade was absolutely reprehensible. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Vuk Jeremić: One Nation, Indivisible |
|
| |
 If we can find a creative way to step back from the abyss that is Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, we could not only salvage the credibility of the international system, but even strengthen it through a re-commitment to its basic principles. Some will say that it's too late to put the genie back in the bottle. I don't believe that's true, because it's never too late to forge a prosperous future for all stakeholders to share. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Paul Craig Roberts: Will American Empire End Before It Ends the World? |
|
| |
The hypocrisy of US government officials is boundless. On February 18, the US government inflamed Serbians by recognizing Muslim separatists in Kosovo, a historic province of Serbia, as an independent country. Two hundred thousand Serbs marched in protest and the US embassy in Belgrade was damaged. Is this surprising? No, not unless you are an official in the American Empire. The notorious Empire Neocon Counsel, Azlmay Khalilzad, Bush's representative to the UN, declared: "I'm outraged by the mob attack." >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Michael Levitin: What to About the KLA? |
|
| |
"We fought for freedom and independence of Kosovo. But now a new EU mission is on its way in to replace the UN one. You can give it the name independence, but independence it is not," he said. "Independence is when you have an army, when you have a seat at the UN, when you have guarantees of your security." At the end of the day it is "an Albania for all Albanians"- that eventual fusion of Kosovo with Albania and parts of Montenegro and Macedonia-that the KLA hardliners seek. And judging by Klinaku's cool, almost sinister tone, the willingness of Kosovo's retired rebels to return to battle isn't such a far-off fantasy. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
James George Jatras: 'Independent' Kosovo: A threat, not a country |
|
| |
With a stoke of his pen, President Bush, by heeding the State Department's
bad advice to recognize a supposedly independent Kosovo, has triggered the
perfect international storm: shattering the principle of the territorial
integrity of sovereign nations, encouraging violent separatists worldwide,
provoking a needless confrontation with Russia and other countries, boosting
the jihad terrorist and organized crime threat to Europe and America, and
creating conditions for a human rights and religious freedom nightmare. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Vuk Jeremić: Remarks Before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament |
|
| |
I am ashamed as a European. As someone who knows in his heart that what has been done to Serbia is a fundamental violation of the very nature of not just the international system, but of the values that hold up the European construction.I am ashamed, because if recognizing this act of ethnically-motivated secession from a democratic, European state is not wrong, then nothing is wrong. I am ashamed, because I see how the bedrock of values that make us who we are is being trampled underfoot. Because I see how my fellow Europeans are trying to construct the future on a foundation of sand and rubble. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Patrick J. Buchanan: Does Balkanization Beckon Anew? |
|
| |
By intervening in a civil war to aid the secession of an ancient province, to create a new nation that has never before existed and to erect it along ethnic, religious, and tribal lines, we have established a dangerous precedent. Muslim and Albanian extremists are already talking of a Greater Albania, consisting of Albania, Kosovo, and the Albanian-Muslim sectors of Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedonia. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Ian Banckroft: The end of multilateralism? |
|
| |
 Setting aside the prime doctrines that have underpinned the international order since the second world war provides the most dangerous precedent of recognising Kosovo's independence. Undermining both sovereign equality and the principle of the inviolability of borders collapses the crucial distinction between international law and politics, with detrimental implications for global peace and security. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Diana Johnstone: NATO's Kosovo kolony |
|
| |
Across this last weekend, the Western propaganda machine was working overtime, celebrating the latest NATO miracle: the transformation of Serbian Kosovo into Albanian Kosova. A shameless land grab by the United States, which used the Kosovo problem to install an enormous military base (Camp Bondsteel) on other people's strategically located land, is transformed by the power of the media into an edifying legend of "national liberation". >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Justin Raimondo: The neocon-liberal popular front, from Serbia to Iraq |
|
| |
As it turned out, there was no "genocide" – the International Tribunal itself reported that just over 2,000 bodies were recovered from postwar Kosovo, including Serbs, Roma, and Kosovars, all victims of the vicious civil war in which we intervened on the side of the latter. The whole fantastic story of another " holocaust " in the middle of Europe was a fraud. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
The present-day hectic activities in the Brussels corridors are nothing but a blind to conceal the movements of the chief architect of the Kosovo settlement problem, that makes its office in other places than the EU headquarters, the roomy studies of Washington's White House. The U.S. administration had written all the roles Europeans had to play long before the foreign ministers of the 27 EU member-states gathered for their first 2008 session under Slovenia's Chairmanship. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Michael C. Polt: Time for an independent Serbia |
|
| |
 Highly unlikely to achieve any Russian support, the United States and Europe must accompany both independence processes without Moscow. It will continue to be a thankless and expensive task. But the completion of Europe is serious business. We owe it to our Serbian and Albanian friends to allow no further continuances and to liberate them both, because they simply cannot do it for themselves. They deserve so much better than they are currently getting. >>full text
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Jan Benkroft: The EU's greatest dilemma |
|
| |
As ever-more EU countries express their deepening concern over recognising Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence and deploying an EU mission to replace that of the UN mission in Kosovo (Unmik), both without UN security council authorisation, Europe must urgently re-evaluate how these decisions will impact the development of a common foreign and security policy (CFSP) to meet the challenges of the 21st century and an enlarged EU of 27. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Council Conclusions on Western Balkans |
|
| |
The Council adopted the following conclusions: "Serbia The Council agreed on the text of the invitation at annex." Visa facilitation and readmission agreements The Council welcomed the entry into force of the visa facilitation and readmission agreements with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 1 January 2008. They will foster more people-to-people contacts and increase the economic ties between the EU and the region. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Bogdana Koljević: Voices from Afar: Serbia Votes |
|
| |
On January 20, 2008, Serbia held presidential elections. While it was expected that no one candidate would win enough votes in the first round (and there weren't surprises in how the first round votes were distributed among the candidates), the turnout was unexpectedly high—62 percent (4.1 million voters). This again demonstrated the high degree of interest in politics among Serbs and testifies to the democratic credentials of the country—it was a free and fair vote with all political forces represented. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Austin Bay: From Kosovo war to Cold War? |
|
| |
The Kosovo war isn't over. At the moment, Serbian ballots take precedence over bullets; democratic electoral politics are a blessing in Serbia and Kosovo, just like they are in Iraq.
But make no mistake: Sunday's first-round 2008 presidential vote in Serbia was another battle in the Kosovo War, and it will not be the last. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
President Vladimir Putin's newly appointed envoy to NATO emphasized Moscow's opposition to Kosovo's independence bid Thursday, but said Russia would not send peacekeepers to the Serbian province. Former nationalist lawmaker Dmitry Rogozin also suggested ex-Soviet republics Georgia and Ukraine have no hope of joining NATO soon and called for further revision of a European arms treaty that is a sharp bone of contention between Russia and the Western alliance. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Kosovo's Future - Correspondence between Dimitri K. Simes and Frank G. Wisner |
|
| |
 Dimitri K. Simes' article “The Consequences of Inflexibility” appeared in the December 27, 2007 edition of the International Herald Tribune and is reprinted with permission. Ambassador Wisner sent his response to our offices as a part of a mass mailing and makes clear in the text that he was seeking wider distribution, making it a public document. In view of Ambassador Wisner's key role representing the United States in talks in the so-called Troika (the United States , the European Union, and Russia ) on the future status of Kosovo, we thought our readers would be interested in the exchange. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
The Serbs' great "crime" was not reading the script. Out of all the groups in the former Yugoslavia, the Serbs, whose population was spread across the country, had most to lose from the country's disintegration. At a meeting at The Hague in October 1991, the leaders of the six constituent republics were presented with a paper entitled "The End of Yugoslavia from the International Scene" by European Community "arbitrators". Only one of them - the Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic - refused to sign his country's death certificate. " Yugoslavia was not created by the consensus of six men and cannot be dissolved by the consensus of six men," he declared. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Daniel Serwer: Exorcising Balkan ghosts (Daily Times) |
|
| |
 Serbia, which traded violent nationalism for non-violent nationalism when Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown eight years ago, has done all it can to impede resolution of these issues, with strong support from Vladimir Putin's Russia. Serbia wants as much independence as possible for the Serb Republic , while asserting its own sovereignty over Kosovo. Serbs governed only by Serbs on their own territory is still Serbia 's goal.
The United States and the European Union are committed to a different vision: democratic transition and integration of all of the Balkans into NATO and eventually the EU. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Dan Bilefsky: U.S. and Germany Plan to Recognize Kosovo (New York Times) |
|
| |
The United States and Germany have agreed to recognize Kosovo after it declares independence and to urge the rest of Europe to follow suit, say senior European Union diplomats close to negotiations over Kosovo's future. In a recent conversation about Kosovo, a Serbian province that has been under United Nations administration since 1999, President Bush and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany agreed it was vital to recognize Kosovo to stabilize the western Balkans, European officials said Wednesday evening. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Brooke Leonard: Calamity over Kosovo? |
|
| |
 With Kosovo's declaration of independence looming on the horizon, the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign Relations held a timely, on-the-record discussion, “Independence in Kosovo?: Managing the Consequences.” Moderator Paul B. Stares, director of the Center, invited panelists to discuss the implications of Kosovo's independence in the Balkan region, the ramifications of its recognition for world politics and measures that might be taken now to prevent major outbreaks of violence and fallouts in international politics. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Elena Guskova: Does Russia Have an Action Plan for the Balkans? |
|
| |
 The negotiations process in 2007 between Belgrade and Pristina has ended. Its results are reported to UN General Secrtetary. Until December 19, 2007, when the member-states of the Security Council must solve the complicated issue of whether Kosovo is granted independence or a continuation of negotiations is recommended to either side. There is almost no time left. Kosovo's independence is for Americans a settled issue. Washington expected that to happen as early as the end of 2006. Russia was allegedly to blame for “the delay.” >>full text
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Vojin Joksimovich: Part II: 2008 Kosovo secession |
|
| |
 The EU/U.S./Russia troika report was submitted to the UN Secretary General ahead of the December 10 schedule. Even I had an access to the report on December 8. The report contains no more than 20 pages. The summary contains only two paragraphs. The first one asserts that the negotiations were conducted within the framework of UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and the “Guiding Principles” of the Contact Group. “The parties discussed a wide range of options, such as full independence, supervised independence, territorial partition, substantial autonomy, confederal arrangements even a status silent agreement to disagree.” >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Vojin Joksimovich: Kosovo Secessions: 2006--No, 2007--No, 2008—Uncertain |
|
| |
Pierre Marti, a Belgian economist, convinced me that the term independence used by the Western governments and the mainstream media should be dropped in favor of secession. He wrote: “ Independence is not something that can be merely proclaimed; it is something that can and must only be achieved...The Albanian minority of Serbia may proclaim the secession of Kosovo and Metohija; however, it will not achieve independence at any time in foreseeable future. First, the Albanian minority of Serbia is not a sovereign people: It is an irredentist diaspora of the Republic of Albania, honoring that country's flag, national day, and a political vision of a greater Albania. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Nikolas Gvosdev: Democracy in Serbia and Kosovo issue |
|
| |
Future diplomatic historians looking back at U.S. policy toward Kosovo are going to be puzzled. In almost every other case where a new democratic state has faced a question of ethnic separatism, Washington has always opted for a compromise solution: ensuring territorial integrity of the country as a whole while promoting maximum autonomy for the disaffected regions in question. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Obrad Kesić: Getting to a Common Serbia: The State of Serbian Political Divisions and the Possibility for Building Consensus |
|
| |
Serbia is a country with deep divisions between its people and throughout society. These divisions are economic, social, political, ethnic, religious, and ideological. At times Serbia appears to be a country at war with itself. Tolerance, compromise and understanding have especially been hard to come by in Serbia 's messy and fractional political arena, where the battle over power is often dominated by historic images, stereotypes, and deeply felt feelings of victim hood. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Steven E. Meyer: Serbia: Democratization, External Pressure, and NATO |
|
| |
 Serbia has struggled to build a democratic society, governed by a democratic state, ever since the fall of Milosevic in 2000. Serbia's difficult history, especially the damaging legacy of Milosevic, the still unresolved issue of Kosovo-Metohija, internal political divisions and upheaval, the charge that Serbia is harboring indicted war criminals, and, perhaps most of all, the country's negative image in the West have combined to make the journey to democracy difficult and, at times, even torturous. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Gordon N. Bardos: Serbia's Democratic Transition: A Comparative Perspective |
|
| |
In retrospect, what happened in Belgrade on October 5 th, 2000 seems like a minor miracle. That most of Serbia 's notoriously quarreling opposition leaders could drop their differences long enough to unite in their efforts to defeat Slobodan Milošević at the polls was difficult to imagine; Milošević himself certainly did not expect it. That a regime at the center of a decade of bloodshed in the Balkans would be toppled almost bloodlessly was difficult to imagine as well. Most remarkable of all, perhaps, is that despite the disadvantages, setbacks and wrong turns Serbia has made and had to confront since 1945 there is any democracy to speak of in the country at all. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Doug Bandow: Creating Crisis: Another War in the Balkans? |
|
| |
The Bush administration has badly botched U.S. foreign policy. But the administration isn't finished: Another potential crisis looms in Kosovo. The latest negotiating round over Kosovo's final status has finished. The ethnic Albanians plan to declare independence from Serbia. Chaos and conflict could follow. In 1998 the territory, the historic heartland of Serbia , was suffering through a bitter guerrilla campaign directed against the ruling Serbs. It was an awful civil war, but one like many others around the globe and of no policy interest to the U.S. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Djordje Vukadinović: Kosovo Rubicon |
|
| |
 Kosovo crisis has already proven as a true tomb for numerous, allegedly reliable political assessments and prognoses. Let's remember how many times and with how much sureness it has been published that it would all be finished before the end of 2006! Then again in January, March, May, June, September, and December 2007. How much talks were there about the session of the Security Council where a "new resolution, based on Marty Ahtisary's proposal" would be adopted? That is why today even the persons familiar with Serbian political circumstances usually do not dare make development prognoses after 10 December. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Slobodan Antonić: Kosovo as an asymetrical condominium |
|
| |
Condominium is division of sovereignty over a territory by two States. The author presents a model whereby the Kosovo issue could be resolved by the establishment of a condominium over Kosovo by Serbia and EU. It would be called asymmetrical condominium because EU is not a State. Serbia and EU would jointly appoint a high representative in Kosovo. The citizens of Kosovo might opt to have a Serbian citizenship along with the citizenship of the condominium. They could also choose to be a part of the Serbian education, health-care or social system and pay taxes to Serbia . Serbia and Kosovo would be joining EU separately. Kosovo's final status would be resolved before Kosovo joins EU. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Dušan Proroković: Neutral Serbia |
|
| |
 Advocating a new war against the entire world; the return of Serbia to the 1990s; abandoning the European path; inevitability of new political and diplomatic isolation and economic and trade sanctions; sending a wrong message on Serbia ... These are just some of the allegations leveled against the Democratic Party of Serbia, headed by the current Prime Minister of Serbia Vojislav Koštunica. These allegations are triggered in the wake of the party's adoption of a new program in which a reference is made to the commitment of Serbia 's future military neutrality. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Dejan Vuk Stanković: Kosovo and Serbian political scene |
|
| |
 Serbian political scene at the end of 2007 is characterized with two major events – the outcome of Kosovo-Metohian crisis and forthcoming election. The approaching 10 December, designated among the prevailing portion of the international community as D Day for the resolution of the Kosovo-Metohian problem and most probable date of election (the period from the first week of January until March 2008) undoubtedly suggests that the course of the coming campaign and prospects of some presidential candidates would be directly connected to their attitudes and positions during the resolving of Kosovo-Metohian crisis. >>full text |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
 | | |
2.jpg)
