So Far, Unpleasant Answers To The Kosovo Question
By Linda A. Prussen-Razzano
Tlrazz@cyberramp.net
Featured Rightgrrl April 1999
March 29, 1999
The closer I look into the Kosovo matter, the less I like what I see.
American reporters would like for us to believe that there is 'genocide" taking place in Kosovo, that Milosevic is a modern day Hitler, and that millions are dying needlessly; hence, NATO's continued involvement.
Reading strategic agency reports and European new reports, however, paints a different picture of the Kosovo situation.
The Federation of American Scientists reports that the current Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UKC) formed sometime during 1992. Kosovars, concerned over the lack of results from non-violent protests, began launching violent offenses against Serbian police in 1995. What began as a rag-tag group of rebels, operating with limited arms, has swelled to an estimated 20,000 trained guerillas armed with assault rifles, anti-aircraft machinery, and mortars.
Serbian authorities insist that the KLA ranks also contain some 1,000 professionally trained soldiers from Saudi Arabian, Afghanistan, Albania, and other areas surrounding the Balkans. They are reportedly in possession of high-tech weapons of war produced by China and Singapore.
Further, in a March 24, 1999 breaking story by Roger Boyes and Eske Wright of the London Times, Europol is currently investigating "growing evidence that drug money is funding the KLA's leap from obscurity to power." News reports indicate that Sweden, Bavaria, Germany, and Switzerland are all investigating a "heroin-for-arms" connection tied directly to the KLA. Czech police reportedly found documents which link a convicted heroin dealer turned prison-escapee, a Kosovo Albanian referred to as "Doboshi", to KLA arms purchases.
In a special report by Steve Rodan for the World Tribune, authorities throughout Europe are also entertaining the idea that the Kosovo conflict is fueled, in part, by Iranian Muslims, international terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, and Pakistan extremists. The Christian/Muslim element of the on-going conflict is rarely broached in American news; it should be. While we Americans may enjoy a peaceful existence with our neighbors, regardless of religious ideologies, in hot spots around the world such consideration is a distant dream. Being a Christian in a Muslim world can get you killed; the same is true for unfortunate Muslims who find themselves in a predominantly Christian land.
Is the KLA completely clean and innocent? No doubt some soldiers are motivated by the quest for freedom, but recent reports suggest others will win at any cost. Is Milosevic a maniacal animal? Perhaps, but the 2,000 deaths resulting from a civil war is not, by any means, on the scale of Hitler. Is "ethnic cleansing" acceptable in any place, at any time? Unequivocally, no! Nevertheless, our bombing has not "helped" the matter in any way; it has exacerbated the plight of the truly innocent Kosovar Albanians, who are feeling their homes by the hundreds of thousands. It has accelerated the "ethnic cleansing" we so vehemently sought to hamper.
There is no doubt that this situation was badly mishandled. During the last round of "negotiations", Albright was out of her element. The United States attempted to foist on both the Kosovar Albanians and the Serbs an agreement neither party would accept. Now, in an effort to cover their mistakes, this Administration is attempting to portray the KFL as a group of righteous freedom fighters and the insurrection as a noble cause. They paint Milosevic as an evil, manipulative Satan who must be stopped because, simply, it is our "moral duty" to do it.
How ironic, that despite years of repeated cries for intervention by Senators and Congressman alike, we should only find the situation "desperate" now. I encourage people to review Senate Resolution 257IS, Senate Resolution 216, Senate Resolution 3221, SCON96IS1S, and Senate Resolution 300IS (which, by the way, was co-sponsored by then Senator Gore). We knew about the potential threat some 10 years ago; the situation took on dramatically serious undertones by 1995.
What was our President doing in 1995, 1996, etc.? Oh, yes, there were all those White House coffees to attend with convicted drug smugglers and Communist Chinese sympathizers. Then there were all those illegal funds needed to beat the Republicans in the 1996 elections. Let's not forget the imperative transfer of sensitive nuclear missile launch technology to China, and the upheaval in the Justice Department. Oh, and of course, there was Monica.
The business of the American people, right? Upholding our "moral duty", right?
Gee, I don't like those answers, either.
This article copyright © 1999 by Linda A. Prussen-Razzano and may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of its author. All rights reserved.