No comment from Germany on Kosovo spy report
REUTERSReuters North American News Service
Nov 22, 2008 10:36 EST
PRISTINA, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Germany declined to comment on on Saturday on reports that three Germans arrested on suspicion of throwing explosives at an EU office in Kosovo were intelligence officers.
The explosive charge was thrown on Nov. 14 at the International Civilian Office (ICO), the office of EU Special Representative Pieter Feith, who oversees Kosovo's governance, but caused only minor damage. The men were detained on Thursday.
A spokesman for the German foreign ministry in Berlin confirmed that three Germans had been arrested, but declined to make any further comment as an investigation was under way........
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.wiredispatch.com/news/?id=463166
Don't Forget Yugoslavia
by John Pilger
The secrets of the crushing of Yugoslavia are emerging, telling us more about how the modern world is policed. The former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia in The Hague, Carla Del Ponte, this year published her memoir, The Hunt: Me and War Criminals. Largely ignored in Britain, the book reveals unpalatable truths about the West's intervention in Kosovo, which has echoes in the Caucasus........
ENTIRE ARTICLE- http://www.antiwar.com/pilger/?articleid=13303
While the Clinton Campaign has been busy and somewhat effective at playing offense with the "experience" question, I have long doubted her claims. In this post, a former director of the Policy Planing Office of the State Department (and Clinton Impeachment defense team "quarterback"), a comedian, and Lord David Trimble all poke holes in the Hillary Clinton experience claims.
http://thepage.time.com/obama-foreign-policy-memo/
To: Interested Parties
From: Greg Craig, former director, Policy Planning Office, U.S. State Department
RE: Senator Clinton’s claim to be experienced in foreign policy: Just words?
DA: March 11, 2008
When your entire campaign is based upon a claim of experience, it is important that you have evidence to support that claim. Hillary Clinton’s argument that she has passed “the Commander- in-Chief test” is simply not supported by her record.
There is no doubt that Hillary Clinton played an important domestic policy role when she was First Lady. It is well known, for example, that she led the failed effort to pass universal health insurance. There is no reason to believe, however, that she was a key player in foreign policy at any time during the Clinton Administration. She did not sit in on National Security Council meetings. She did not have a security clearance. She did not attend meetings in the Situation Room. She did not manage any part of the national security bureaucracy, nor did she have her own national security staff. She did not do any heavy-lifting with foreign governments, whether they were friendly or not. She never managed a foreign policy crisis, and there is no evidence to suggest that she participated in the decision-making that occurred in connection with any such crisis. As far as the record shows, Senator Clinton never answered the phone either to make a decision on any pressing national security issue – not at 3 AM or at any other time of day.
When asked to describe her experience, Senator Clinton has cited a handful of international incidents where she says she played a central role. But any fair-minded and objective judge of these claims – i.e., by someone not affiliated with the Clinton campaign – would conclude that Senator Clinton’s claims of foreign policy experience are exaggerated.
Northern Ireland:
Senator Clinton has said, “I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland.” It is a gross overstatement of the facts for her to claim even partial credit for bringing peace to Northern Ireland. She did travel to Northern Ireland, it is true. First Ladies often travel to places that are a focus of U.S. foreign policy. But at no time did she play any role in the critical negotiations that ultimately produced the peace. As the Associated Press recently reported, “[S]he was not directly involved in negotiating the Good Friday peace accord.” With regard to her main claim that she helped bring women together, she did participate in a meeting with women, but, according to those who know best, she did not play a pivotal role. The person in charge of the negotiations, former Senator George Mitchell, said that “[The First Lady] was one of many people who participated in encouraging women to get involved, not the only one.”
News of Senator Clinton’s claims has raised eyebrows across the ocean. Her reference to an important meeting at the Belfast town hall was debunked. Her only appearance at the Belfast City Hall was to see Christmas lights turned on. She also attended a 50-minute meeting which, according to the Belfast Daily Telegraph’s report at the time, “[was] a little bit stilted, a little prepared at times.” Brian Feeney, an Irish author and former politician, sums it up: “The road to peace was carefully documented, and she wasn’t on it.”
Bosnia:
Senator Clinton has pointed to a March 1996 trip to Bosnia as proof that her foreign travel involved a life-risking mission into a war zone. She has described dodging sniper fire. While she did travel to Bosnia in March 1996, the visit was not a high-stakes mission to a war zone. On March 26, 1996, the New York Times reported that “Hillary Rodham Clinton charmed American troops at a U.S.O. show here, but it didn’t hurt that the singer Sheryl Crow and the comedian Sinbad were also on the stage.”
Kosovo:
Senator Clinton has said, “I negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo.” It is true that, as First Lady, she traveled to Macedonia and visited a Kosovar refugee camp. It is also true that she met with government officials while she was there. First Ladies frequently meet with government officials. Her claim to have “negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo,” however, is not true. Her trip to Macedonia took place on May 14, 1999. The borders were opened the day before, on May 13, 1999.
The negotiations that led to the opening of the borders were accomplished by the people who ordinarily conduct negotiations with foreign governments – U.S. diplomats. President Clinton’s top envoy to the Balkans, former Ambassador Robert Gelbard, said, “I cannot recall any involvement by Senator Clinton in this issue.” Ivo Daalder worked on the Clinton Administration’s National Security Council and wrote a definitive history of the Kosovo conflict. He recalls that “she had absolutely no role in the dirty work of negotiations.”
Rwanda:
Last year, former President Clinton asserted that his wife pressed him to intervene with U.S. troops to stop the Rwandan genocide. When asked about this assertion, Hillary Clinton said it was true. There is no evidence, however, to suggest that this ever happened. Even those individuals who were advocating a much more robust U.S. effort to stop the genocide did not argue for the use of U.S. troops. No one recalls hearing that Hillary Clinton had any interest in this course of action. Based on a fair and thorough review of National Security Council deliberations during those tragic months, there is no evidence to suggest that U.S. military intervention was ever discussed. Prudence Bushnell, the Assistant Secretary of State with responsibility for Africa, has recalled that there was no consideration of U.S. military intervention.
At no time prior to her campaign for the presidency did Senator Clinton ever make the claim that she supported intervening militarily to stop the Rwandan genocide. It is noteworthy that she failed to mention this anecdote – urging President Clinton to intervene militarily in Rwanda – in her memoirs. President Clinton makes no mention of such a conversation with his wife in his memoirs. And Madeline Albright, who was Ambassador to the United Nations at the time, makes no mention of any such event in her memoirs.
Hillary Clinton did visit Rwanda in March 1998 and, during that visit, her husband apologized for America’s failure to do more to prevent the genocide.
China
Senator Clinton also points to a speech that she delivered in Beijing in 1995 as proof of her ability to answer a 3 AM crisis phone call. It is strange that Senator Clinton would base her own foreign policy experience on a speech that she gave over a decade ago, since she so frequently belittles Barack Obama’s speeches opposing the Iraq War six years ago. Let there be no doubt: she gave a good speech in Beijing, and she stood up for women’s rights. But Senator Obama’s opposition to the War in Iraq in 2002 is relevant to the question of whether he, as Commander-in-Chief, will make wise judgments about the use of military force. Senator Clinton’s speech in Beijing is not.
Senator Obama’s speech opposing the war in Iraq shows independence and courage as well as good judgment. In the speech that Senator Clinton says does not qualify him to be Commander in Chief, Obama criticized what he called “a rash war . . . a war based not on reason, but on passion, not on principle, but on politics.” In that speech, he said prophetically: “[E]ven a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences.” He predicted that a U.S. invasion of Iraq would “fan the flames of the Middle East,” and “strengthen the recruitment arm of al Qaeda.” He urged the United States first to “finish the fight with Bin Laden and al Qaeda.”
If the U.S. government had followed Barack Obama’s advice in 2002, we would have avoided one of the greatest foreign policy catastrophes in our nation’s history. Some of the most “experienced” men in national security affairs – Vice President Cheney and Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others – led this nation into that catastrophe. That lesson should teach us something about the value of judgment over experience. Longevity in Washington, D.C. does not guarantee either wisdom of judgment.
Conclusion:
The Clinton campaign’s argument is nothing more than mere assertion, dramatized in a scary television commercial with a telephone ringing in the middle of the night. There is no support for or substance in the claim that Senator Clinton has passed “the Commander-in-Chief test.” That claim – as the TV ad – consists of nothing more than making the assertion, repeating it frequently to the voters and hoping that they will believe it.
On the most critical foreign policy judgment of our generation – the War in Iraq – Senator Clinton voted in support of a resolution entitled “The Joint Resolution to Authorize the Use of U.S. Military Force Against Iraq.” As she cast that vote, she said: “This is probably the hardest decision I have ever had to make — any vote that may lead to war should be hard — but I cast it with conviction.” In this campaign, Senator Clinton has argued – remarkably – that she wasn’t actually voting for war, she was voting for diplomacy. That claim is no more credible than her other claims of foreign policy experience. The real tragedy is that we are still living with the terrible consequences of her misjudgment. The Bush Administration continues to cite that resolution as its authorization – like a blank check – to fight on with no end in sight.
Barack Obama has a very simple case. On the most important commander in chief test of our generation, he got it right, and Senator Clinton got it wrong. In truth, Senator Obama has much more foreign policy experience than either Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan had when they were elected. Senator Obama has worked to confront 21st century challenges like proliferation and genocide on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He possesses the personal attributes of a great leader – an even temperament, an open-minded approach to even the most challenging problems, a willingness to listen to all views, clarity of vision, the ability to inspire, conviction and courage.
And Barack Obama does not use false charges and exaggerated claims to play politics with national security.
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Clinton_s_Foreign_Policy_Experience_Just_Words
I still want to know about what "experience" Mrs Clinton is talking about? When asked the question about what specific experience she has in responding to a crisis at 3 in the morning, she can't give one solid example. She always says, there are a lot of them... What? Are you kidding me? I think Obama should challenge Mrs Clinton in this crucial question everyday...
I also wonder where was Mrs Clinton when her husband received a phone call from Romeo Dallaire in Rwanda to in order to prevent one of the worst genocide in recent history? I guess was to sleepy or not interested in those poor africans. And what did she do specifically to avoid another genocide in Kosovo? In fact, Mrs Clinton takes credit only for what was good during her husband presidency but she won't take responsibility for some disaster in managing crisis during the Clinton days in office..
Come on!
Now that Kosovo is automomous what is the UN going to do to ensure peace and anti-separitist views??????
Recent events have strained ties even more than President Bush's presidency with the declared independence of Kosovo. The US and EU were quick to acknowledge this independence and many nations of the world are expressing concern if not blatant contempt. The US, according to Wilson's 14 points, is forced by precedent to give a people autonomous control over their own land if they are a majority. Kosovo is 95% ethnic albanian so they breaking off from Serbia is, in their people's opinion, the obvious choice. The problem arises with the fact that the balkans are a melting pot for violence and different cultures. Kosovo is considered to be the birthplace of Serbia and they will fight to keep it under their control. This independence will undermine any peace in the Balkans until either a compromise or military action is taken.
This action has primarily stressed US relations with Russia and the sentiment is becoming neo-Cold war the longer it is not addressed. Many US businesses are looking to invest these days in the ever expanding Russian economy. The Russian economy has grown rapidly in the past decade and now boasts growth rates much larger than the US and will continue to expand as more countries invest in Russia in order to reap the benefits of an expanding economy. Cold war sentiments are not in our best interest and our foreign policy must change to maintain relations with countries such as, but not limited to, Russia.
How long did it take for President Bush to react to the attack on 9/11?
How long did it take for President Bush to react to Hurricane Katrina?
How long will it take before he personally has something to say about Kosovo?
That's water under the bridge now.
It underscores to me in these days and times, we need a pro-active leader not just a reactive leader who keeps a cool head and thinks through solutions thoroughly, and reacts in a timely fashion. We have been conditioned by this Administration to settle for mediocrity in so many arenas. Although some people say Senator Obama is "too young," I think the clear judgment, energy and vitality he brings will be refreshing considering the lethargic responses of our current administration to real emergencies, and gung-ho response to false emergencies.
Friends,
There have been a number of posts here and elsewhere agonizing about Kosovo and its meaning. Barack's statement on this topic more or less hits the right note: this was the last and inevitable chapter in the breakup of Yugoslavia that began in 1990-91, and furthermore, integration in the EU is the Serbs' and Albanians' best hope for a peaceful and prosperous future. Barack also refers to Kosovo as being a "special" case that cannot serve as "precedent" for others. This point is not so much wrong as irrelevant and impossible to defend.
The following statement is from Barack Obama on independence of Kosovo:
Statement by Barack Obama on the Independence of KosovoChicago, IL | February 17, 2008
Chicago, IL - Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the independence of Kosovo and its implications for Serbia.
To an American it is perhaps difficult to understand why so much fuss is made internationally over Kosovo, this tiny dot on the map. In truth, I’m having a hard time keeping up with the ever changing turn of events in this region myself. But essentially the story begins thousands of years ago when a small group of people decided they had enough in common to call themselves a people. They began constructing a language only they understood and developed social rituals that only had meaning to them. They eventually began to call themselves Albanians and for millennia they have been carelessly tossed between other groups of people who were larger in both population and conquered land.
The part we now call Kosovo, has in some form or another, belonged to the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire, Austria and of course the Empire /principality /Kingdom /Republic of Serbia During all these centuries the Albanian people has been shuttled back and forth across the continent, been ushered in and out of various religious contexts and expected to fight for countless of warlords of other nationalities. In short, it is hard work being an Albanian.
The United Nations deadline to figure out the future of Kosovo has come to an end on December 10. The European Union has failed to produce an agreement. So, the question now is, what happens next? As a note, you may want to read Dr. Mark Elrod’s Countdown on Kosovo.
Over the past several months, the agreement over the future of Kosovo has stalled. The United Nations (U.N.) has administered Kosovo, since the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) campaign, which drove out the Serbian Army. The discussion concerns whether Kosovo should be granted independence from Serbia and what would be the best solution.
This week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss issues ranging from missile defense to discussing the future status of Kosovo. Although the development of a missile defense system is a hot topic, I would like to discuss the latter, since it has not been given considerable attention since the NATO campaign in 1999.
