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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: henry8th who wrote (3110)	4/9/1999 8:01:00 PM
From: George Papadopoulos	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 17770

From newsgroup: The Clinton Administration, in the persons of the President, Al Gore, Madeleine Albright, William Cohen, Sandy Berger, and Richard Holbrooke, have once again demonstrated that incompetence coupled with arrogance and deceit is a deadly foreign policy combination. Kosovo is an integral part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. As mandated by the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and more recently by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1199, to which both the U.S. and Yugoslavia are bound, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Yugoslavia must be respected. As a sovereign nation, Yugoslavia has every right to respond to neutralize an armed insurrection by the Kosovo Liberation Army to wrest control of Kosovo. But no, the Clinton Administration's "gang of 6" apparently does not feel bound by international law, treaties, or historical precedent. This incredible arrogance is clearly demonstrated by the actions they have taken throughout this crisis. To wit: (1) Showing complete disregard for Yugoslavia's right to tend to its own internal national interests, ignoring every atrocity committed by the KLA against Serbian police and civilians, and turning a blind eye to the Iranian-sponsored smuggling of mujahadeen mercenaries and arms across the Yugoslav-Albanian border to the KLA. (2) Presenting a "peace plan" to Yugoslavia at Rambouillet which would have given total political control of Kosovo to ethnic Albanians and a 28,000-strong NATO force, prohibited Yugoslavia from being able to exercise police powers, and, after three years, allowed the Albanian majority in Kosovo (NOT all the citizens of Yugoslavia) to vote on the issue of independence. What sovereign nation on earth would ever submit to such demands? But no matter, the "gang of 6" gave the Serbs two choices: sign the plan exactly as written or be bombed. (3) Casting aside 50 years of NATO precedent as a defensive alliance, turning NATO's military might into an offensive force to wage war against the Serbian people. Even more egregiously, they took this step without a declaration of war from Congress or a resolution of the U.N. Security Council, and contrary to the advice of virtually the entire Pentagon. Then, when the bombing injured or killed innocent Serbian people and caused ethnic Albanians to flee en masse, the Clinton Administration has resorted to lies and deceit to absolve themselves of blame and cover up the fact that they devised no strategy to cope with the consequences of their actions. Specifically, I refer to the following examples: (1) On the 28 March Sunday talk shows, Madeleine Albright actually had the nerve to claim that the Serbs had already begun an "offensive" against the Albanians before the bombing began and that it would have intensified as it has whether or not NATO had bombed. (2) Continuing to accuse the Serbs of committing "genocide" and "war crimes", with absolutely no proof other than the claims of Albanian refugees. According to the Washington Times, 31 March, "most [Albanian] residents of the provincial capital [Pristina] say they are leaving of their own accord and are not being forced out at gunpoint." Simply put, they are terrified by the bombing. Also on 31 March, German television has reported that many Albanian refugees have been paid to tell the media about supposed "massacres" carried out by the Serbs. 3) Continuing to claim that NATO is only bombing military targets when every night on television Americans can see apartment buildings and hospitals in Yugoslavia burning and other reports cite bomb damage to a civilian airport, a school, and several Serbian Orthodox monasteries. And now, striking bridges and government buildings in downtown Belgrade. The Administration's arrogance and deceit can not hide the fact that they have caused a humanitarian crisis of immense proportion, greatly increased instability in the entire region, and forced the Serbian people to rally behind Slobodan Milosevic, effectively ending any hopes for democratic reforms in Yugoslavia for the foreseeable future. The best hope for ending this crisis is direct negotiation among all the involved parties, without coercion, and respect for international law and approved treaties. Let us pray that God will drive the gang of six out of Washington with bolts of lightening if necessary.