Kosovo Blowback Reaches America *By Srdja Trifkovic* *Chronicles Magazine** *– May 9, 2007
http://www.chroniclesmagazine.org/?p=37 The story: four Albanian Muslims from Kosovo, plus a Turk and a Jordanian, are arrested for conspiring to attack Fort Dix, a military base in New Jersey, with AK47s and "to kill as many soldiers as possible" (U.S. Attorney's Office). The Mainstream Media spin: "Four of them were born in the former Yugoslavia" (The New York Times<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/08/us/08cnd-dix.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin>); "One of the suspects was born in Jordan, another in Turkey… [t]he rest are believed to be from the former Yugoslavia" (CNN<http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/05/08/fortdix.plot/index.html>); "Four of the men were born in the former Yugoslavia, one in Jordan and one in Turkey" (MSNBC <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18549005/>); "One of the suspects was born in Turkey and four in the former Yugoslavia" (AP), *und so weiter*… The names of the four "Yugoslavs" are Dritan Duka, Eljvir Duka, Shain Duka (three brothers, all of them in the United States illegally), and Agron Abdullahu. Those are Albanian names, of course, but not one in a hundred Americans knows that. In fact, grasping that they *are* Albanians and knowing that "ethnic Albanian" plus "Muslim from the former Yugoslavia" equals "Kosovo," is the privilege of experts. It is but one of many Balkan equations that mainstream media editors are determined to keep hidden from their consumers. That there is nothing in the federal complaint about the "Yugoslav" suspects' origins is almost certainly the result of political interference. White House spokesman Tony Snow was quick to assure us<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18549005/>there is "no direct evidence" that the men arrested in the Fort Dix plot have ties to international terrorism. His meta-message is clear: The Administration knows it cannot keep the Albanian identity of four "Yugoslav" suspects concealed for ever, but it wants to pre-empt any suspicion that an independent KosovA would be a black hole of jihad-terrorism in the heart of Europe. Hastily denying the group's link to al-Qaeda and other global networks is a political necessity for the proponents of Kosovo's independence, not necessarily the reality. Having been assured *ad nauseam* over the years by successive U.S. administrations that Kosovo's Albanians are not really serious about their Islam, that even when they desecrate Christian churches and joyously rip crosses from their cupolas they do it for nationalist rather than jihadist reasons, the powers-that-be are doing their utmost to ensure that the public remains anesthetized. Asking when and how Albanian "secularists" became Islamic radicals is a no-no. Being so audacious as to wonder what this transformation bodes for a new, independent Muslim state in the heart of Europe is simply not on. Asking questions about major KLA figures' documented links to jihad terrorism (including to Osama bin Laden personally) is *polizeilich verboten*. In the meantime, cadres, cash and ordnance linked to jihadist outrages all over Europe have been traced back to Kosovo, including the bombings in Madrid (March 2004) and London (July 2005), and a rocket attack on the U.S. embassy in Athens last year. In New Jersey in May 2007, Kosovo blowback has finally reached America. It is now essential to unmask the web of lies and distortions that has guided U.S. policy in the Balkans for years. The first step is to demand an explanation why and how Muslim Albanian terrorists from Kosovo were able to plan an operation here in the U.S. Why indeed: didn't the U.S. military fight the Serbs for 78 days in 1999 so that they could have their ethnically clrean, Serbenfrei statelet? As a Washingtonian insider points out, *For almost a decade the U.S. government (or more precisely a handful of State Department bureaucrats and a few Congressmen) have placed the U.S. firmly on the side of the KLA and have helped created a haven for their operations. Even worse, KLA supporters in the United States have operated with virtual impunity, collecting money and weapons to support KLA operations not only in Kosovo, but in neighboring areas of southern Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, and northern Greece.* He reminds us that in 2004 Dutch television broadcast a documentary of Kosovo Albanian Muslims legally buying weapons in the U.S. and shipping them to Kosovo is support of their "liberation war" in violation of numerous U.S. laws, including the Neutrality Act: "The documentary then showed the same Albanians at a fundraiser in New York writing hefty checks to American politicians of both parties. There is no public indication that any action was taken by federal or state law enforcement agencies." But like the Bourbons of yore, KosovA enthusiasts inside the Beltway learn nothing and forget nothing. At last Tuesday's open hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, titled "The Outlook for the Independence of Kosova" (*sic*!), the Committee's Chairman, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), declared<http://www.amnation.com/vfr/archives/007727.html> *urbi et orbi*: *"Just a reminder to the predominantly Muslim-led governments in this world that here is yet another example that the United States leads the way for the creation of a predominantly Muslim country in the very heart of Europe. This should be noted by both responsible leaders of Islamic governments, such as Indonesia, and also for jihadists of all color and hue. [**sic**!] The United States' principles are universal, and in this instance, the United States stands foursquare for the creation of an overwhelmingly Muslim country in the very heart of Europe."* On that same occasion Ms. Rice's No. 2, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, reiterated<http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-04-17-voa68.cfm>the U.S. position that immediate independence without standards or compromise is a must lest the Albanians get nasty: "the prospects for violence would be greater if we waited, because 92 to 94 percent of the people who now live in Kosovo are Albanian Muslims. They have been waiting a long, long time." *Albanian Muslims*, mind. Not Albanians, not "Kosovars," not "Yugoslavs." As Julia Gorin pointed out <http://www.juliagorin.com/wordpress/?p=789>, Mr. Burns also didn't miss the opportunity to invoke the usual Nazi imagery in reference to the Serbs, while praising the Kosovo prime minister Agim Ceku, an indicted Serb-slaughterer, as "impressive" and "worthy." That's the broad picture, dear reader, and a bunch of overexcitable, non-al-Qaeda-connected "Yugoslavs" from New Jersey will not be allowed to disturb it. - Show quoted text - And yes, Mr. Lantos's "jihadists of all color and hue" *are* taking note. *3. 'Albanian' vs. 'Yugoslav'*** *The Washington Times** – May 9, 2007* http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20070508-092120-7699r.htm As news emerged yesterday of a thwarted terrorist attack on New Jersey's Fort Dix Army base, a familiar transformation occurred. First the accused were "Yugoslav." Then they were "Albanian and Middle Eastern." Next, the terms changed. They were "described by U.S. federal prosecutors as 'Islamic militants.' " Finally, they were self-described "jihadists" who watch Osama bin Laden videos, intending to murder as many American military personnel as possible. Three are illegal-alien Albanians, a fourth is an Albanian of unspecified status, the fifth a Jordan-born naturalized U.S. citizen and the sixth a Turkish-born legal resident. This is quite a transformation. We don't mean to be unduly harsh regarding media coverage in a fast-changing story like this one. Surely some leeway is warranted when the facts are up in the air, and a news organization's first priority is to get it right and get it right first. One day's worth of confusion is not so terrible in the grand scheme of things. But when a fact -- "Albanian" -- emerges, report it. The public has a right to know. The sanitization of language is at war with the public's right to an understanding of the facts. We can't ignore it. "Yugoslav" is a sanitizer. Radio listeners and consumers of Internet news nationwide yesterday heard "Yugoslav" but clearly wondered: "Is this Islamist terrorism?" They were not wrong to wonder. Early in this story, the Albanian connection emerged in some outlets, but "Yugoslav," a term we associate with Slobodan Milosevic or Josip Tito more than Islamist violence, persisted. The connotations of "Albanian" begin with the fact that 70 percent of Albanians are Muslim. Now, combine "Albanian" with the allegation of a thwarted assault-rifle attack on Fort Dix. This suggests a working hypothesis. The hypothesis: An attack by Islamist terrorists may just have been thwarted. It has nothing to do with anti-fascist partisans or Communist apparatchiks. Our news organizations seem now to be acting upon the desire to avoid fueling that speculation as long as possible. We're not clear why, except for their biases, or perhaps their worry of offending people. Thus they conclude with quotes like this one, which appeared at the end of CBS's dispatch yesterday: " 'If these people did something, then they deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law,' said Sohail Mohammed, a lawyer who represented many of the detainees. 'But when the government says 'Islamic militants,' it sends a message to the public that Islam and militancy are synonymous.' " No, it doesn't, and news organizations should not end stories with such spurious claims. The government can and should say "Islamic militants" if in fact there is credible evidence that the accused are Islamic militants. In this case, federal prosecutors have the recordings of an informant to illustrate it. The American people are smart enough to figure it out. They need this information when it is available. As long as our news organizations fail to report the facts they know to be true, they are failing to do their job. They should not engage in "perception management." *4. *Plot illustrates Balkans' role as Islamist foothold *By Bill Gertz* *The Washington Times** *– May 9, 2007 http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070508-110153-5728r.htm The six foreign-born Muslims accused of planning a shooting attack at the U.S. military base included four ethnic Albanians, and U.S. officials say their arrests highlight how Islamist groups are using the Balkans region to help in recruiting and financing terrorism. Prosecutors described the men as "radical Islamists," with four coming from the province of Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia, where the ethnic Albanian population of Muslims fought one of the several wars that grew out of the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Suspect Agron Abdullahu, who faces only weapons violations in the case, was described in court papers as a "sniper in Kosovo." U.S. officials said the Islamists were motivated by al Qaeda sympathies and that ringleader Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer, who was born in Jordan, had copies of the wills of two September 11 terrorists on his laptop computer. The other suspect in the group -- accused of seeking to kill hundreds of soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J. -- was born in Turkey. U.S. officials said intelligence reports from the Balkans have identified a support structure for several terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, among the Muslim communities in Albania and in the former Yugoslavia, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia. "When it comes to extremists, we're talking about very, very small pockets in Albania, as well as among the ethnic Albanian populations in Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and other parts of the Balkans," said one official with access to intelligence reports. The official pointed out that the Albanian government has been supportive of U.S. efforts to counter Islamic terrorist activities, including curbing logistics and financial aid, and working to prevent terrorists from receiving training and weapons. But a Congressional Research Service report produced in 2005 said instability in Albania during the 1990s gave al Qaeda a "foothold" there. "Poor internal security, lax border controls, and high rates of crime produced an environment conducive to terrorist activity," said the report by CRS specialist Steven Woehrel. "Some foreign Islamic extremists used Albania as a safe haven and gained Albanian citizenship." Balkan Muslims also have been targets of al Qaeda recruitment efforts because they have an easier time blending in or evading U.S. and European security measures and border controls, which often are geared to identifying Middle Eastern extremists. The State Department's latest annual report on international terrorism said the Albanian government has taken steps to stop terrorism financing but noted that "government and police forces faced substantial challenges to fully enforce border security and combat organized crime and corruption." The Albanian government identified seven financial holdings by terrorist groups last year that were frozen. Israeli government sources have said that agents for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as well as the Shi'ite Hezbollah, have been actively buying weapons from organized-crime groups in the Balkans. Bosnia also has a large Muslim community that in the past has provided a base of support for al Qaeda and other terrorists. After the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords, most Islamic radicals, who were helping Bosnia's Muslims fend off the Orthodox Christian Serbs, left the Balkans, but some remained behind. "It is estimated that several hundred former fighters stayed behind in Bosnia after the war and became Bosnian citizens by marrying Bosnian women," the CRS report said. "Some al Qaeda operatives in Bosnia reportedly had connections to members of Bosnia's intelligence service." European intelligence agencies estimate that as many as
