Re: 6/29/03 - [Dobry/Elgindy] Onthecanvas.com: The Body Politic Part 2
The Body Politic
Gary Dobry
Part 2
The Clinton Administration's decision to have intervened in the Yugoslavian Civil War, to some, was a policy decision with Taus-esque histrionic reverberations. One can easily look at the Albanian Civil War from a perspective of Iran-Contra. Seemingly, Clinton's administration appears to have been oblivious to Balkan history and seemingly failed to consider the motivations of the Albanian criminal enterprise posing as a 'freedom fighter' militia, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
What we seemingly had was the United States, UN and NATO joining forces to create a nation for a faction regarded by many to be a criminal enterprise. Together, the US, UN and NATO created a strategic stronghold from which “Greater Albania” nationalists could attack the rest of Serbia, Macedonia, Western Greece and all the surrounding states.
In a paradigm where criminal enterprises can masquerade and operate as US, UN and NATO-backed "freedom fighters", a la' the Contras in Nicauragua, is it really a giant leap in logic for one to deduce that these "freedom fighters" in Kosovo were/are, in essence, de facto allies of Al-Qaeda terrorists fighting Serbs?
George W's administration told the American public that "weapons of mass destruction" and "Hussein's ties to al Qaeda" were the reasons behind the implementation of Operation Iraqi Freedom. If one turns back some pages in history to Noreiga's Panama and consider Noriega’s ties to George H's CIA, does it help us understand any better what may have been behind the invasion of Panama and removal of Noriega? Perhaps history can shed light on the invasion of Iraq and removal of Hussein?
The Council for Peace in the Balkans consisted of Trialateral Commission hawks that represented the world’s biggest banking institutions and multinational corps, ie; Zbigniew Brzezinkski, Frank Carlucci, Hodding Carter, Max Kampelman and United Nations Ambassador Jeanne Kirkpatrick ; the same Jeanne Kirkpatrick that told the world that the US “needed more Vietnams”- that the US needed to pressure all communist totalitarian nations unreceptive of change with “military force”. In a paradigm where there is the existence of a US/UN/NATO alliance aligned de facto with al Qeada terrorists fighting Serbs… where history echoes Richard Taus in regards to his claims of Iran-Contra co-conspirators and "freedom fighters" in Nicaragua… where everybody knows exactly why it was that Jeanne Kirkpatrick once said, "we needed more Vietnams"… In this paradigm - any smaller nation possessing WMD, like North Korea, can tell you exactly why Kirkpatrick said that. They can also tell you why they possess, or are attempting to obtain weapons of mass destruction. It may very well may be the only way for them to protect their national autonomy from the "fourth reich", "one world" philosophy in a paradigm where these kinds of alliances lead by example.
Jamie Dettmer of Insight investigated Macedonians claims that Bush's administration had shown little interest in pursuing uncovered links between al-Qaeda and the Albanian nationalists. Dettmer says that "Macedonian intelligence has been in regular contact with the CIA and the FBI. Both have been supplied with details of the al-Qaeda relationship with militant Albanian nationalist groups in neighboring Kosovo, which is under UN protection, and Macedonia, which was spared a civil war last year following NATO brokering a peace agreement between the majority Macedonians and minority ethnic Albanians".
When we have the US, UN and NATO supporting these "Greater Albanian" nationalists attacking the rest of Serbia, Macedonia, Western Greece and surrounding states… When we have these "nationalists", as Dettmer suggests, "closely aligned with organized crime syndicates" and whose "objective" it is is to create their very own state (Greater Albania), aren't we hearing the echoes of Richard Taus?
Jerry Seper reported in the Washington Times that the KLA had rapidly become a "political and military force in the Balkans" and that bin Laden's al-Qaeda network had both "trained and financially supported the KLA", ie; "Nationalists". State Department officials labeled the KLA a terrorist organization that financed its' operatives "with the proceeds from the heroin trade and loans from known terrorists like bin Laden". State department officials also said that the KLA used terrorist tactics to "assault Serbian and ethnic Albanian civilians in a campaign to achieve independence", on behalf of this Greater Albanian State.
Seper tells us that, "the KLA's involvement in drug smuggling as a means of raising funds for weapons is long-standing" Intelligence documents reveal that the KLA has aligned itself "with an extensive organized crime network in Albania that smuggles heroin to buyers throughout Western Europe and the United States." Seper informs us that drug agents in five countries believe that this cartel is "one of the most powerful heroin smuggling organizations in the world." Documents show us something very similar to what Taus told Congress in regards to who fought over narco-trafficking routes in the Middle East. In this case, Seper tells us that heroin and cocaine is moved "over land and sea" from Turkey through Bulgaria, Greece and Yugoslavia to Western Europe and elsewhere. This circuit is known as the Balkan Route.
Seper's Washington Times article quotes the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration stating that drug smuggling organizations composed of Kosovo's ethnic Albanians were considered "second only to Turkish gangs as the predominant heroin smugglers along the Balkan Route". Greek Interpol representatives have called Kosovo's ethnic Albanians "the primary sources of supply for cocaine and heroin in that country."
The KLA, according to France's Geopolitical Observatory of Drugs, was also a "key player in the rapidly expanding drugs-for-arms business and helped transport $2 billion in drugs a year into Western Europe." Seper reported that German drug agents said, "$1.5 billion in drug profits is laundered annually by Kosovo smugglers, through as many as 200 private banks or currency-exchange offices.".
Daniel McGrory and James Doran reported in Reality Macedonia that clues to how bin Laden was financing his terrorist ops were "revealed in a terrorist trial in New York". McGrory and Doran claim that, buried within hundreds of pages of testimony, regarding four men accused of bombing US Embassies in East Africa, was evidence of how bin Laden’s terrorist network was "using bogus relief organizations to raise millions". They reported that, "from a refugee centre in Brooklyn to a mosque in a commuter suburb of San Diego", bin Laden's supporters were, "operating a web of tax-deductible religious charities to collect money and then siphon it to Islamic fundamentalist groups around the world."
Insight's Jamie Dettmer says that al-Qaeda is believed to have financed the Albanian seperatists and, in doing so, al Qaeda has "established strong ties" to Albanian Mafia leaders and KLA financiers/fund-raisers. Aren't these "Albanian Seperatists" the same Albanian faction of "Nationalists" backed by a US/UN/NATO alliance?
Fatos Klosi, the head of Albanian intelligence, claims a, "major network of bin Laden supporters was established in 1998 in Albania under the cover of various Muslim charities". Ths network, according to Klosi, "served as a springboard for operations in Europe" and as part of a war on terrorism, the Bosnian government ordered investigations into foreign humanitarian agencies.
One charity the Bosnian government investigated and subsequently raided was Benevolentia International Foundation. They seized weapons, plans for making bombs and fake passports from the "founation's" offices. The United States froze the assets of Benevolence International which had it's head offices in Illinois and New Jersey.
In Part One it was noted that James Baker's law firm was representing co-defendants of Osama bin Laden, The Saud Royal Family, in a civil suit filed by the heirs, victims and survivors of the 911 bombings. Benevolence International is also named in the same lawsuit as being a financier of 911:
"On or about March 19, 2002, law enforcement authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina searched eight locations affiliated with BIF, including BIF’s offices in that country. The documents recovered included documents establishing direct communication between Enaam Arnaout and Osama bin Laden and others in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. The documents included a disk found at BIF’s office in Bosnia which included scanned images of these documents"
The US Government shut down Benevolence's ops in the US, as they did Global Relief and the Holy Land Foundation, accusing all three charities of "supporting terrorism". The Holy Land Foundation was the first targeted, closely followed by the raids on the offices of Global Relief and Benevolence . Their assets, as noted in Part One, have been frozen much to the chagrin of the Muslim community and political factions like Sami Al-Arian's IAP, the CAIR, MPAC, AMC and others.
Holy Land Foundation attorney and Bush Advisor, George Salem went to George W, without much success, on behalf of Holy Land. Salem was also featured prominently in a photo op, as noted in Part One, with George W's Energy Secretary, the former Republican Senator Spencer Abraham.
George Salem appears to believe that George W's appointment of the former Senator Abraham as his administration's Energy Secretary makes Spencer Abraham a politico with "increased Arab American clout" and "good access" to George W's White House.
Spencer Abraham has Middle Eastern roots that trace back to Lebanon. His grandfather, also a Lebanese immigrant, worked in the coal mines of West Virginia before moving to Michigan where he worked as an auto worker and store owner. Spencer's father was an auto worker as well who opened-up his own small business in Lansing.
Spencer attended Michigan State University as an undergrad and went on to study law at Harvard Law School. Abraham also served George H's Administration, as Deputy Chief of Staff to Vice President Dan Quayle, before his stint as a US Senator.
Julie Deardorff, a staff writer for the Chicago Tribune reported in a 1999 article about another individual who may have also felt Spencer Abraham was a man with "clout", Amr 'Tony' Elgindy. Deardorff reported that when the "U.S. Embassy in Macedonia would not issue visas" for two Kosovar Albanian Refugees, a certain "California Commodities trader, Tony Elgindy" went to then Senator Spencer Abraham, and others, "asking for help". Deardorff reported that "about a week later" a call was received "from the U.S. Embassy" informing them that the refugees would be accepted into the US "immediately" and "several other Kosovar Albanians" would be accepted at a "later date".
In June of 2000, Amr Elgindy posted on an on-line message board that he had traveled to Macedonia "with two individuals" he had "met on the internet". He posted that these two individuals had "relatives who lived in Kosovo and had become refugees". Mr. Elgindy solicted, and claims he collected, "$14k" from other on-line message board posters as charitable contributions to the "Mother Thereza Humanitarian Organization (MTHO) of Skopje".
Elgindy posted on the message boards, where he had solicited funds for MTHO, that he had "never met either of these individuals" prior to their depature. Even so, Elgindy went on to tell the message board posters that he was "made an agent of the Mother Thereza Humanitarian Organization" so he could "handle and disburse the funds raised for the refugees" and "provide instructions for direct donations to MTHO."
Without citing former Senator Spencer Abraham in his posts, like the Chicago Tribune's Julie Deardorff had in her article, Elgindy told the message boarders of the "many friends stateside" that helped to "bring back the very first two Kosovo refugees to the United States". He also informed the message boarders that he was "invited to testify in Washington DC before members of Congress and their staffs." Elgindy echoed Deardorff''s reporting in the Chicago Tribune regarding more Kosovar Albanian refugees being accepted into the US at a "later date". In Deardorff's article she reported that "Pat Walsh, the head of consular services" at the "US embassy" provided this approval confirmation. Elgindy posted to his message board minions that the number of refugees being accepted into the US was "20,000".
Upon his return to San Diego, Elgindy posted, he was "busy with the Hoti family..." and, that he was informed that the MTHO's tax ID number "wasn't valid". Instead of returning the charitable donations to the message board donors who could no longer write-off the contributions as tax deductions, Elgindy opted to post letters from some of the "good people" to whom the "money went". One of the letters was signed by Rexhep Hoti. Hoti, in the letter Elgindy cut, pasted and posted to his fellow message boarders, Rexhep Hoti wrote:
"...Mr. Elgindy helped us, every month, to pay the rent and other every day needs..."
Rexhep Hoti was political advisor to Prime Minister Bajram Rexhepi of the Democratic Party of Kosovo. Agence France-Presse praised Rexhepi, considered a moderate, for his efforts to ease tensions among ethnic Albanians and minority Serbs but, to many, it appears more so that the KLA simply morphed under UN supervision into a so-called Kosovo Protection Force. Their mandate? "To help in civil emergencies and natural disasters". But, Intelligence expressed concern that the organization continued on, business as usual, "controlling the province's drug, illegal arms and white-slavery trade, in addition to continuing its campaign of terrorism and intimidation against Kosovo's non-Albanian population."
Bajram Rexhepi, a physician and former member of the KLA, was installed into office resulting from a deal brokered by U.S. officials in January, 2002. Nebojsa Covic, who is vice-president of the Serbia government claims that Rexhepi "beheaded a 19-year-old Yugoslav army recruit during the guerrilla war that raged in Kosovo from 1998-99", a charge that Rexhepi has denied. Rexhep Hoti’s home was raided by Serbian police allegedly in connection with arms possession.
Reuters reported that Rexhep Hoti told European Union leaders, at a summit meeting in Greece, that "active involvement of Washington was badly needed in the Balkan region". Hoti, according to Reuters, went on to say that "the United States must continue to play a major role".
Michel Chossudovsky, a professor of Economics at the University of Ottawa, suggests, in echoes of Richard Taus, what the United State’s role might be. Chossudovsky suggests that global media heralded the US, UN and NATO backing of the Kosovo Protection Force as a "humanitarian peace-keeping mission" while NATO was ruthlessly bombing Belgrade and Pristina. Chossudovsky suggests that this "goes far beyond the breach of international law". He says that "while Slobodan Milosevic has been demonized and portrayed as a remorseless dictator, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is upheld as a self-respecting nationalist movement struggling for the rights of ethnic Albanians". The "truth of the matter", says Chossudovsky, is that "the KLA is sustained by organized crime with the tacit approval of the United States and its allies".
* Part 3 coming
* Footnote: Shades of Taus? FBI Agent Robert Wright claims that he was prevented from pursuing counterterrorism leads, particularly in the area of terrorism financing, that might have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks. A story came out of Washington DC (6/13/03) over the Associated Press newswire reporting that three senior senators were raising questions about the FBI's decision to conduct a fourth internal investigation of Robert Wright, an agent who aired concerns about the bureau's counterterrorism investigations.
"...Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, Republican from Utah, and Senators Patrick Leahy, Democrat from Vermont, and Charles Grassley, Republican from Iowa, said in a letter to FBI Director Robert Mueller that the FBI seems quick to launch such probes when agents speak out publicly. The FBI's Office of Professional Responsibility has already conducted three investigations of FBI agent Robert Wright, who has claimed during news conferences and television appearances that he was ordered to drop terrorism investigations in the Chicago area by FBI intelligence officials..."
You can contact Gary Dobry at: knockoutart@aol.com
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