Wow! Two letters in The Washington Post! One by Jim Jatras and the other by Yugo Kovach! Stella
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202 238_pf.html <http://www.washingtonpost.com/?nav=pf> washingtonpost.com ? '); } //--> <http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v8/35a3/3/0/%2a/h%3B115581445%3B0-0%3B1 %3B11526049%3B4307-300/250%3B21647507/21665397/1%3B%3B%7Eaopt%3D2/1/1c0069/1 %3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp:/clk.atdmt.com/M0N/go/wpnxxssc0680000138m0n/direct;wi.3 00;hi.250/01/> <http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v8/35a3/3/0/%2a/h%3B115581445%3B0-0%3B1 %3B11526049%3B4307-300/250%3B21647507/21665397/1%3B%3B%7Eaopt%3D2/1/1c0069/1 %3B%7Esscs%3D%3fhttp:/clk.atdmt.com/M0N/go/wpnxxssc0680000138m0n/direct;wi.3 00;hi.250/01/> Looking for a Solution in Kosovo Friday, August 3, 2007; A14 In less than a week, The Post ran two opinion pieces urging the Bush administration to create, in effect, a new "coalition of the willing" to circumvent the U.N. Security Council and detach Kosovo from Serbia ["Kosovo Redux," editorial, July 28; "Standing With Kosovo Again," op-ed, July 23]. Such calls seem inconsistent with widespread criticism, mainly from self-styled progressives, of the Bush administration's "unilateralism" on Iraq, rejection of the Kyoto global warming treaty, withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and refusal to join the International Criminal Court or the anti-land-mine convention. No one doubts that resolving the future of Kosovo is important to stability in the Balkan region and the future of the people who live there, regardless of ethnicity or religion. But a stable and just settlement that balances the Albanians' desire for self-rule and Serbia's territorial integrity can only result from negotiations in accordance with international legality under the U.N. Charter. The difficulty of that task is no basis for trashing accepted mechanisms for global peace and security just because some in Washington -- whether "progressive" or "conservative" -- insist on getting their way. JAMES GEORGE JATRAS Director American Council for Kosovo Washington ยท The Post blamed Russia for the impasse over Kosovo, but Moscow is abiding by international norms and respecting Security Council Resolution 1244, which ended NATO's bombing by reaffirming Kosovo as an integral part of Serbia ["Kosovo Redux"]. The blame lies with those who initiated the bombing; they claim it was necessary to stop ethnic cleansing. If there had been any cleansing before NATO's bombing, it eluded the 2,000 international observers who had the run of the province. The observers were ordered to leave when NATO opted for war. It was the bombing that triggered the exodus, with the province's Albanians fleeing into Albania and Macedonia, and a similar proportion of Serbs into inner Serbia. Only after NATO's occupation of Kosovo did cleansing unarguably take place, and Albanians were the perpetrators. Then NATO was powerless to stop the organized and murderous anti-Serb riots of March 2004. Moreover, NATO was weak in its failed attempt to persuade the province's Albanians to allow the return of those they expelled and to stop harassing those Serbs who evaded eviction. An independent Kosovo will lead to a state fit only for Albanians. Independence would reward ethnic cleansing. So much for Gen. Wesley Clark's comment during NATO's bombing of Serbia that "there is no place in modern Europe for ethnically pure states. That's a 19th-century idea, and we are trying to transition into the 21st century." YUGO KOVACH Twickenham, England
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