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The Editor
Ottawa Citizen
Dear Sir,
The article by your correspondent James Murray
entitled "Canada Begged Bombs For Kosovo" dated October 21 is a shameful example
of the disinformation propagated by the mass media in the Nato countries and
amounts to nothing less than an apology for the war crimes committed by the
Canadian government and the Canadian Forces in the illegal, unjustified
aggression against Yugoslavia.
You state that "Yugoslavia conducted a campaign of
ethnic cleansing of Albanians native to Kosovo." This is the Nato lie
which was used to justify the aggression against Yugoslavia but has nothing
whatsoever to do with reality. As many first hand witnesses have stated, there
was no ethnic cleansing before the bombing of Kosovo started and during the
bombing most of the mass movements of refugees took place to avoid the
massive bombing campaign by the Nato forces not to avoid the actions of
Yugoslavian forces. Further proof of this is the fact that up to one third of
the refugees from Kosovo at that time which included not just Albanians but also
Serbs, Gypsies and other minorities, fled deeper into Serbia towards Belgrade
where many had relatives and could rely on the assistance of the Yugoslavian
government.
It was to prevent even further movements of
Albanians towards Belgrade, which would have given the lie to the Nato
propaganda, that the US deliberately bombed an Albanian refugee column heading
deeper into Serbia killing scores of women, children and old men.
In fact the evidence of Rade Markovic, a witness
for the prosecution at the Milosevic trial, and who was head of the Yugoslav
secret services, given just a few weeks ago, and which was also ignored by the
Nato press, was that there was no ethnic cleansing as Nato claimed and that, on
the contrary, the Yugoslav government did everything it could to prevent it. He
also stated that agents of the ICTY prosecutor tortured him in order to get him
to say the opposite but that was also ignored by the Nato press.
Your writer also states falsely that "the military
campaign began only after all diplomatic negotiations failed to bring a peaceful
resolution to the area." This is an outright lie.
It is well known, having been reported in the press
the world over, so that your reporter cannot be ignorant of the facts, that
Madeleine Albright presented a list of demands to the Yugoslav government at
Rambouillet, France during the negotiations between Yugoslavia, the US and the
representatives of the Albanian factions which included the terrorist KLA. The
Yugoslav government agreed to every one of the demands except those listed in
Appendix B to that document. Appendix B contained the demand
that Yugoslavia submit to complete occupation by Nato troops and to abandon
socialism and convert its economic system to capitalism. This outrageous diktat,
equivalent to the diktat Hitler attempted to impose on Yugoslavia in 1941, no
sovereign nation could have agreed to and it was rightly refused . The bombing
commenced a few days afterwards.
The aggression against Yugoslavia had nothing to do
with Albanians. The US could care less about them They were used to justify the
dismantling of the last socialist republic in eastern Europe and to complete the
destruction of Yugoslavia as an independent country so that the US, Britain and
Germany could increase their hegemonic control over the former socialist block
countries and so that the US could justify the building of Camp Bondsteel, the
largest base they have built since Cam Ranh Bay in the Vietnam War. The purpose
of this base is not the occupation of Kosovo but the future invasion of Russia.
That the aggression against Yugoslavia was illegal
and unjustified is further demonstrated by the fact that the US and
its puppets such as Jean Chretien, did not go to the UN Security Council.
They knew that they were planning an aggressive war not a war to enforce "human
rights", the excuse always trotted out by theses criminals to hoodwink
their own domestic populations so they will go along with their criminal
actions.They knew that the Security Council would veto any such attack because
they knew there were no facts on the ground to support it. They also knew that
any examination of the issue by the Security Council would reveal the US
involvement in supporting the terrorists of the KLA. Mr. Milosevic stated to me
last October, in relation to the attack on the world trade centre in New York
that it was the height of hypocrisy for him to be sitting in jail for
fighting terrorism in his country when he had telephoned President Bill
Clinton in 1998 and asked him to remove Osama Bin Laden from Kosovo. Bin Laden
was known to be supplying, with US assistance, men, money and materiel to the
KLA terrorists. Clinton refused the request. Now George Bush accuses his ally
Bin Laden of attacking New York and has invaded Afghanistan and killed thousands
of Afghan civilians but he is a hero and Milosevic is sitting in a prison.
Your correspondent, as all other Canadian
correspondents and all other Canadian media, also left out another important
little detail in order not to embarrass Chretien and the rest of his cabal who
lack the moral courage to stand up to the United States. The National Defence
Act forbids the use of Canadian Forces outside Canada except in two
circumstances: either an attack by a foreign power on the Nato alliance which
was not the case, or in compliance with a resolution of the Security
Council which was also not the case. Any other use of Canadian Forces overseas
is illegal. It was a violation of the National Defence Act to
attack Yugoslavia and it was a violation of the National Defence Act to
send Canadian Forces to Afghanistan. The government's lament that it had to beg
bombs from the Americans is a little like a gangster in Chicago
complaining he had to borrow bullets from Al Capone.
With the United State threatening an aggressive war
against Iraq, and with the enthusiastic licking of the American
boot by Jean Chretien and his cronies with respect to that threat to world
peace it is time for the press in this country to stop acting as mouthpieces for
these criminal actions and to start telling the people of Canada the
truth about their own government and our "allies" to the south. A
free press means an independent press, a press not afraid to speak the
truth.
Sincerely,
Christopher C. Black
Barrister
Chair, Legal Committee
International Committee To Defend Slobodan
Milosevic
Toronto, Ontario
1-905-773-4140
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--- Begin Message --- Title: MessageCanada begged U.S. for bombs in Kosovo
James Murray The Ottawa Citizen
Monday, October 21, 2002Canada was reduced to pleading with the U.S. for an "emergency" re-supply of bombs and military equipment in April 1999 to help its air force fulfil its NATO commitment during the Kosovo bombing campaign.
The startling information, which was contained in a letter Canadian air force officials sent to the deputy under-secretary of the United States air force, raises questions about Canada's ability to equip its Armed Forces to support any future allied military action against Iraq.
Due to a lack of resources, the documents reveal, the Canadian air force requested, "on a national emergency operational basis," 100 general purpose 225-kilogram bombs and 200 laser-guided bombs for its CF18s.
The letter stated the munitions could only be obtained from the United States because it was "the only known source that can provide those assets in time."
Another piece of equipment requested for Canada's military jet fighters was forward looking infra-red pods, which are used for targeting positions for precision bombing.
The document revealed that a failure by the Americans to supply the equipment could have forced the Canadian jets to withdraw from the Kosovo campaign.
"The impact of not receiving these additional assets would be to have NATO re-evaluate the role of the Canadian CF18s and another role assigned," stated the letter, which was obtained by the Citizen from the U.S. Defense department through the American Freedom of Information Act. Canadian requests to the U.S. for more equipment were made three times during a two-week period in April 1999 and within weeks of the opening of hostilities in Kosovo.
Now as the U.S. continues to threaten war against Iraq to force Saddam Hussein to disarm, Prime Minister Jean Chr�tien has stated Canada could possibly play a role in a U.S.-led war.
That could include use of Canada's CF18s which were deployed to the Gulf region during the 1991 Gulf War. However, observers of Canada's military question the readiness of the Armed Forces to get involved in a conflict with Iraq.
"We don't have much of an ammunition inventory", said John Thompson of the MacKenzie Institute, a Toronto-based, non-partisan think-tank that deals in foreign affairs and defence issues. "There is probably an expectation -- every time we expect the Americans to supply us with ammunition because we run through our inventory so fast."
Capt. Mark Gough, a spokesman for the Department of National Defence, said the military has moved to "just in time delivery" for its equipment and material requirements, "to cut down on the cost."
"It is not prudent for us to go ahead and buy up all kinds of stuff, put it in a warehouse on a what-if basis," he said.
Capt. Gough said orders are made for munitions from the country of origin when they are produced.
"We keep a smaller stock," he said. "We rely on them (the u.S.) because they produce much more."
During the 1999 air campaign against Yugoslavia and then-president Slobodan Milosevic, Canada participated in the first offensive operations ever conducted by NATO.
Canada contributed 18 CF18s based in Aviano, Italy for air operations over Yugoslavia.
At the time, Yugoslavia conducted a campaign of ethnic cleansing of Albanians native to Kosovo, the military campaign began only after all diplomatic negotiations failed to bring a peaceful resolution to the area.
The Canadian contribution to that campaign, which lasted from March 23 to June 12, consisted of 682 combat sorties over Yugoslavia at a cost to the taxpayer estimated to be $54.5 million.
During those 78 days, the air force dropped a total of 530 bombs of which 361 where laser-guided or "smart" bombs. Overall NATO flew 38,000 air sorties over Yugoslavia.
� Copyright 2002 The Ottawa Citizen--- End Message ---
