STOP NATO: �NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Get a low APR NextCard Visa in 30 seconds! 1. Fill in the brief application 2. Receive approval decision within 30 seconds 3. Get rates as low as 2.99% Intro or 9.99% Ongoing APR and no annual fee! Apply NOW! http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/NextCard ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Powell testifies before Senate on Balkans peacekeepers WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Senate Wednesday U.S. peacekeeping troops in the Balkans may eventually help in disarming fighters in Macedonia "but we have not made a commitment yet." Testifying before the Foreign Relations Committee, Powell said some NATO allies had decided to establish disarmament points in the conflict-scarred country to collect weapons once ethnic Albanian militants agree to turn in their arms if peace terms with the government are worked out. He said the NATO troops would not be "going after the people," but merely setting up sites to recover weapons. Powell said some 700 U.S. peacekeepers handling logistics in Macedonia and several hundred others patrolling the border from the Kosovo side might become involved. In response to the chairman, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., Powell said it was a decision "we don't need to make yet." Biden, who took an active role in urging the Clinton administration to use force to protect ethnic Albanians in Kosovo from Serbian "ethnic cleansing," told Powell "we cannot temporize" in making decisions about Macedonia. In reply, Powell said the Bush administration was pressing the government in Skopje to "deal with the aspiration and hopes of the Albanian minority" by bolstering their rights and participation in Macedonia society. That is the only way, Powell said, to keep moderate ethnic Albanians from joining "the extremists." During the hearing, Sen. Jesse Helms, senior Republican on the committee, criticized President Bush for "an excessively personal endorsement" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Helms said he was "raising my eyebrows" over Bush's assertion that Putin was "trustworthy," "a remarkable leader" and a man with whom "we share common values." Helms read a long list of complaints about Putin's leadership. He said the Russian press had felt the "jackboot of repression," arms-control treaty obligations were being violated and dangerous weapons technologies transferred to "rogue states." "For these reasons," Helms said, "Mr. Putin was far from deserving the powerful political prestige and influence that comes from an excessively personal endorsement by the president of the United States." In fact, the North Carolina senator said, "Prematurely personalizing this relationship only undercuts the incentives he has to reorient Russia's domestic and foreign policy goals." At the outset, Biden praised Bush's actions in Europe and said he was "very heartened" by the talks Bush held with European leaders on issues of substance. At the same time, Biden said he supports "limited" NATO military involvement in Macedonia. He said the few hundred American peacekeeping troops already there need protection, and by moving in more NATO forces now, there would not be a need for many more later. "I would think we would want to protect them," Biden said. Biden took over the chair of the committee from Helms when Democrats regained control of the Senate with the defection of Republican Sen. James Jeffords of Vermont, who became an independent. http://www.picayuneitem.com/display/inn_news/15usnato.txt Miroslav Antic, http://www.antic.org/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
