Rambouillet Revisited
How Holbrooke Lied His Way Into a War
By SAM HUSSEINI
Despite being passed over for Secretary of State, Richard Holbrooke is reportedly still being considered for a prominent position in the incoming Obama administration.
Shortly before the bombing of Yugoslavia began in late March 1999, Holbrooke met with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. By his own account, Holbrooke delivered the final ultimatum to Milosevic -- that if Yugoslavia didn't agree to the Rambouillet text, NATO would begin bombing.
The Rambouillet text called for a defacto occupation of Yugoslavia. On major U.S. media, after the bombing of Yugoslavia began, Holbrooke claimed that what was called for in the Rambouillet text, despite Serbian protests, "isn't an occupation". Several weeks later, when confronted by a journalist familiar with the Rambouillet text, Holbrooke claimed: "I never said that". This was a lie, it was also a tacit admission that the Rambouillet text did call for an occupation (why else would Holbrooke deny saying it when he had?) So the U.S. demanded that Yugoslavia submit to occupation or be bombed -- and Holbrooke lied about this crucial fact when questioned about the cause of the war........
ENTIREC ARTICLE - http://www.counterpunch.org/husseini12092008.html
Superpower Swoop
What Russia and America are really doing in Georgia and who set the trap? Vladimir Putin and his thuggish FSB pals or Dick Cheney and his equally unflappable neocon friends?
by Misha Glenny
Georgia’s decision to seize large parts of Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, on the evening of 7 August was a disastrous political miscalculation, even in an era that is increasingly defined by spectacularly poor judgement.
Within three days of the assault, Russian forces had responded by in effect neutralising Georgia’s military capacity, which President Mikhail Saakashvili’s government in Tbilisi had spent several years and considerable sums of money building up..........
ENTIRE ARTICLE- http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/16/11026/
The Precedent Was Set In The Balkans
by Peter Erlinder
In April 1999, just after the United States and NATO launched their air war to punish Yugoslavia for sending troops into Kosovo, its independence-minded province, the Star Tribune published my op-ed piece under the headline “NATO action unwisely undercuts U.N.” The article warned that the well-established principles of national sovereignty, upon which the U.N. Charter and international law are based, were too important to be set aside when it suits powerful nations, no matter how well-intended..........
ENTIRE ARTICLE- http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/16/11028/
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
Despite the state flag being a variant of the former flag of Serbia and Montenegro punctuated with a Confederate Battle Flag canton, Mississippi overwhelmingly supported Obama tonight in their democratic primary.
The Mississippi primary exit polling of democrats offers an interesting insight into the mindset of the state's electorate.
Way to go Magnolia State !
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.
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.
Recently, I have come across an interesting story by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), EU positive on Balkan entry bids. The European Union is seeking to expand its membership to include western Balkan countries, which are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia. The main focal point will be the dilemma question that comes with membership. I will also focus on some of the recent and historic events in these countries as it relates to their entry bids. As a note, you may also be interested in reading my two posts related to the Balkans, The Kosovo Question and The Future of Kosovo.
This past Wednesday, the eight Democratic Presidential candidates squared off in their seventh debate at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. It was broadcasted on MSNBC with Tim Russert as moderator. The eight candidates who participated were Senator Barack Obama (IL), Senator Joe Biden (DE), Senator Hillary Clinton (NY), Senator Chris Dodd (CT), former Senator John Edwards (NC), former Senator Mike Gravel (AK), Representative Dennis Kucinich (OH), and former Governor Bill Richardson (NM). I will, as usual, analyze on the foreign policy issues of the debate.
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.
Yesterday, the Democratic Presidential hopefuls participated in the ABC Iowa Debates. It was part of a special edition of This Week, moderated by George Stephanopoulos. The presidential candidates present at this debate were Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd, and Mike Gravel. The issues debated included experience, prayer, education, and other issues. I will analyze what I felt were noteworthy moments concerning U.S. foreign policy issues and my critique of the debate and Barack Obama’s performance.
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.
