Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- AFI Research & Armed Forces Intelligence http://www.geocities.com/afi_research/AFIindex.html NATO's divisive influence on the Balkans In the euphoria that followed the collapse of Soviet communism in 1991, certain Western countries, in particular Helmut Kohl's Germany, openly encouraged the break-up of the Yugoslav Federation, indeed starting a process that has lead to a massive and divisive NATO involvement in the Balkans that has now cost the Western nations tens of billions of dollars and seen the bloody disintegration of a relatively prosperous Yugoslavia into a number of weak and impoverished nations. Croatia and Bosnia, in particular have gained a sort of political freedom, but at the cost of countless lives, the misery of being refugees in your own land, the destruction of much of the nations infrastructure and the continuing depredations of widespread poverty, while Serbia has been devastated for trying to maintain the sovereignty of its own country and now in a move that brings dread to the experienced Balkan watcher, NATO has through its abject unwillingness to deal effectively with widespread Albanian terrorism and gang-warfare, extended its baleful influence to Macedonia. Ten long years of NATO involvement has brought unmitigated disaster to the Balkans and its wilful behaviour has been more akin to the arsonist who having kindled the fire returns in a fireman's uniform to control the blaze. NATO, like it or not has become the defining influence on the new Europe and it is by and large an unhappy one. The Balkans have been damned by NATO intentions, whether described as humanitarian aid or peacekeeping operations. Well, the road to hell was paved by good intentions. These pathetic laments that issue from NATO headquarters or from Bonn/Berlin, London and Washington DC every time a short-term peacekeeping operation turns into a long-term military commitment must appear increasingly at odds with the truth to the people of the Balkan nations. How can the destruction of a nation beloved by generations of tourists, the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, millions more turned into refugees,while the towns and countryside are laid waste and with much of the blame resting in decisions taken a decade ago in foreign capitals, be considered 'humanitarian', let alone peace-keeping? Without doubt, individual NATO units have performed some stirling work trying to douse the fires, but who lit them? and who by inept diplomacy, political expediency and much covert action, pushed nation after nation into those fires? First Croatia and Bosnia, then Serbia & Kosovo, and now poor Macedonia. If this is NATO's idea of bringing aid & comfort to the war-torn, then many a nation will be fervently hoping to be left alone to die in peace. Dr James Hawker Notes from the front-line As NATO troops enter yet another potential Balkan minefield with the intention of disarming the local Albanian separatists, like some macabre auction the NLA offer up 2500 weapons, the Macedonian Government demand 8000, while NATO itself would probably call it 'an outstanding example of its positive role for peace' if it were to collected a mere 5000. The Balkans are actually awash with military small arms, probably as many as 400,000 are in circulation and large quantities could be quickly made available to the NLA from their co-religionists in Albania and Kosovo. So NATO, unless it intends this operation to become yet another long-term deployment, is simply kidding itself and the Western press, if it thinks 5000 or even 10,000 weapons will make the slightest difference. Unless disarming the NLA is backed up with verifiable demobilization and rehabilitation of the separatists, with genuine social and political change in Macedonia and a settlement agreeable to all sides in this conflict, a resurgent and embittered Albanian community could be rearmed within a week. Richard M. Bennett ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
