NationStates Jolt Archive

In evaluating the recent “declaration of independence” by Kosovo, a province of Serbia, and its immediate recognition as a state by the U.S., Germany, Britain and France, it is important to know three things.

First, Kosovo is not gaining independence or even minimal self-government. It will be run by an appointed High Representative and bodies appointed by the U.S., European Union and NATO. An old-style colonial viceroy and imperialist administrators will have control over foreign and domestic policy. U.S. imperialism has merely consolidated its direct control of a totally dependent colony in the heart of the Balkans.

Second, Washington’s immediate recognition of Kosovo confirms once again that U.S. imperialism will break any and every treaty or international agreement it has ever signed, including agreements it drafted and imposed by force and violence on others.

The recognition of Kosovo is in direct violation of such law—specifically U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, which the leaders of Yugoslavia were forced to sign to end the 78 days of NATO bombing of their country in 1999. Even this imposed agreement affirmed the “commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Serbia, a republic of Yugoslavia.

This week’s illegal recognition of Kosovo was condemned by Serbia, Russia, China and Spain.

Thirdly, U.S. imperialist domination does not benefit the occupied people. Kosovo after nine years of direct NATO military occupation has a staggering 60 percent unemployment rate. It has become a center of the international drug trade and of prostitution rings in Europe.

The once humming mines, mills, smelters, refining centers and railroads of this small resource-rich industrial area all sit silent. The resources of Kosovo under NATO occupation were forcibly privatized and sold to giant Western multinational corporations. Now almost the only employment is working for the U.S./NATO army of occupation or U.N. agencies.

The only major construction in Kosovo is of Camp Bondsteel, the largest U.S. base built in Europe in a generation. Halliburton, of course, got the contract. Camp Bondsteel guards the strategic oil and transportation lines of the entire region.

Over 250,000 Serbian, Romani and other nationalities have been driven out of this Serbian province since it came under U.S./NATO control. Almost a quarter of the Albanian population has been forced to leave in order to find work.


Establishing a colonial administration

Consider the plan under which Kosovo’s “independence” is to happen. Not only does it violate U.N. resolutions but it is also a total colonial structure. It is similar to the absolute power held by L. Paul Bremer in the first two years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

How did this colonial plan come about? It was proposed by the same forces responsible for the breakup of Yugoslavia and the NATO bombing and occupation of Kosovo.

In June of 2005, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan appointed former Finnish President Marti Ahtisaari as his special envoy to lead the negotiations on Kosovo’s final status. Ahtisaari is hardly a neutral arbitrator when it comes to U.S. intervention in Kosovo. He is chairman emeritus of the International Crisis Group (ICG), an organization funded by multi billionaire George Soros that promotes NATO expansion and intervention along with open markets for U.S. and E.U. investment.

The board of the ICG includes two key U.S. officials responsible for the bombing of Kosovo: Gen. Wesley Clark and Zbigniew Brzezinski. In March 2007, Ahtisaari gave his Comprehensive Proposal for Kosovo Status Settlement to the new U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

The documents setting out the new government for Kosovo are available at unosek.org/unosek/en/statusproposal.html. A summary is available on the U.S. State Department’s Web site at state.gov/p/eur/rls/fs/100058.htm

An International Civilian Representative (ICR) will be appointed by U.S. and E.U. officials to oversee Kosovo. This appointed official can overrule any measures, annul any laws and remove anyone from office in Kosovo. The ICR will have full and final control over the departments of Customs, Taxation, Treasury and Banking.

The E.U. will establish a European Security and Defense Policy Mission (ESDP) and NATO will establish an International Military Presence. Both these appointed bodies will have control over foreign policy, security, police, judiciary, all courts and prisons. They are guaranteed immediate and complete access to any activity, proceeding or document in Kosovo.

These bodies and the ICR will have final say over what crimes can be prosecuted and against whom; they can reverse or annul any decision made. The largest prison in Kosovo is at the U.S. base, Camp Bondsteel, where prisoners are held without charges, judicial overview or representation.

The recognition of Kosovo’s “independence” is just the latest step in a U.S. war of reconquest that has been relentlessly pursued for decades.

Divide and rule

The Balkans has been a vibrant patchwork of many oppressed nationalities, cultures and religions. The Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia, formed after World War II, contained six republics, none of which had a majority. Yugoslavia was born with a heritage of antagonisms that had been endlessly exploited by the Ottoman Turks, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and interference by British and French imperialism, followed by Nazi German and Italian Fascist occupation in World War II.

The Jewish and Serbian peoples suffered the greatest losses in that war. A powerful communist-led resistance movement made up of all the nationalities, which had suffered in different ways, was forged against Nazi occupation and all outside intervention. After the liberation, all the nationalities cooperated and compromised in building the new socialist federation.

In 45 years the Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia developed from an impoverished, underdeveloped, feuding region into a stable country with an industrial base, full literacy and health care for the whole population.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, the Pentagon immediately laid plans for the aggressive expansion of NATO into the East. Divide and rule became U.S. policy throughout the entire region. Everywhere right-wing, pro-capitalist forces were financed and encouraged. As the Soviet Union was broken up into separate, weakened, unstable and feuding republics, the Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia tried to resist this reactionary wave.

In 1991, while world attention was focused on the devastating U.S. bombing of Iraq, Washington encouraged, financed and armed right-wing separatist movements in the Croatian, Slovenian and Bosnian republics of the Yugoslav Federation. In violation of international agreements Germany and the U.S. gave quick recognition to these secessionist movements and approved the creation of several capitalist ministates.

At the same time U.S. finance capital imposed severe economic sanctions on Yugoslavia to bankrupt its economy. Washington then promoted NATO as the only force able to bring stability to the region.

The arming and financing of the right-wing UCK movement in the Serbian province of Kosovo began in this same period. Kosovo was not a distinct republic within the Yugoslav Federation but a province in the Serbian Republic. Historically, it had been a center of Serbian national identity, but with a growing Albanian population.

Washington initiated a wild propaganda campaign claiming that Serbia was carrying out a campaign of massive genocide against the Albanian majority in Kosovo. The Western media was full of stories of mass graves and brutal rapes. U.S. officials claimed that from 100,000 up to 500,000 Albanians had been massacred.

U.S./NATO officials under the Clinton administration issued an outrageous ultimatum that Serbia immediately accept military occupation and surrender all sovereignty or face NATO bombardment of its cities, towns and infrastructure. When, at a negotiation session in Rambouillet, France, the Serbian Parliament voted to refuse NATO’s demands, the bombing began.

In 78 days the Pentagon dropped 35,000 cluster bombs, used thousands of rounds of radioactive depleted-uranium rounds, along with bunker busters and cruise missiles. The bombing destroyed more than 480 schools, 33 hospitals, numerous health clinics, 60 bridges, along with industrial, chemical and heating plants, and the electrical grid. Kosovo, the region that Washington was supposedly determined to liberate, received the greatest destruction.

Finally on June 3, 1999, Yugoslavia was forced to agree to a ceasefire and the occupation of Kosovo.

Expecting to find bodies everywhere, forensic teams from 17 NATO countries organized by the Hague Tribunal on War Crimes searched occupied Kosovo all summer of 1999 but found a total of only 2,108 bodies, of all nationalities. Some had been killed by NATO bombing and some in the war between the UCK and the Serbian police and military. They found not one mass grave and could produce no evidence of massacres or of “genocide.”

This stunning rebuttal of the imperialist propaganda comes from a report released by the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Carla Del Ponte. It was covered, but without fanfare, in the New York Times of Nov. 11, 1999.

The wild propaganda of genocide and tales of mass graves were as false as the later claims that Iraq had and was preparing to use “weapons of mass destruction.”

Through war, assassinations, coups and economic strangulation, Washington has succeeded for now in imposing neoliberal economic policies on all of the six former Yugoslav republics and breaking them into unstable and impoverished mini states.

The very instability and wrenching poverty that imperialism has brought to the region will in the long run be the seeds of its undoing. The history of the achievements made when Yugoslavia enjoyed real independence and sovereignty through unity and socialist development will assert itself in the future.

(Courtesy of Sara Flounders and Workers World)


Interestingly, I find myself in agreement with this analysis, and I believe a major part of the victory of savage neoliberal imperialism is that's unknown, these widespread privatizations wholesale of entire countries is not known.

Oh just let me find the link directly, I did however list in it where I got this article.

...source? Although I fundamentally agree with you on this issue, I'd like to see where you got this information before I go bandying about with it against all the anti-Christian forces at work in the EU and NATO.

(I think it comes down to an issue of Christian versus Muslim again...except this time Clinton intervened on the Muslim's behalf, leaving Christian Serbia out to hang.)

Serves those Albanians right, their music sucks and they can't be trusted.

That may have been true twenty years ago, but Milosevic abandoned any rights Serbia has to Kosovo.

Serves those Albanians right, their music sucks and they can't be trusted.

Are you kidding, Albania music is great!

Here is some:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkh1SshCdkw

This week’s illegal recognition of Kosovo was condemned by Serbia, Russia, China and Spain.

Serbia's condemnation is obvious, as is Russia's and China's, and Spain's makes sense if you understand the history of its subjugation of Catalonian independence movements.

I fail to see what point you were making here.

Some of your other points, however, were valid, if your conclusion a bit overreaching.

so what your saying is the Kosovan peoples should shrug off any ideas of self determination because it has high unemployment and a large degree of privatization

why? its not like Yugoslavia/Serbia hasn't been a NATO/WTO/IMF bitch for years now

(Courtesy of Sara Flounders and Workers World)

you could of said that from the start and saved me the pointless reading :p

Interestingly, I find myself in agreement with this analysis, and I believe a major part of the victory of savage neoliberal imperialism is that's unknown, these widespread privatizations wholesale of entire countries is not known.

however privatisation is not just an outside force, government officials will purposefully run services into the ground leaving the citizens to swallow even privatisation (under the myth of government being less inefficient)

why? because it shifts the blame of course! for instance if a major health scandal breaks out in a public hospital the government is going to get hell

however when the private sector fucks up suddenly it becomes a case of the markets (and the theory that the non-existent competition will do better because they don't like to make cuts unlike everyone else)

Andaras I fully agree with what you have said, and I thank you for saying it. Now I see where you are coming from. There's just a minor thing I would like to add: remember when you said that imperialising an entire country was something new? You might want to research on Dutch Ceylon.

Oh yeah, if anyone finds the results of Milosevic's suicidal actions that killed hundreds of thousands of people, please let me know. Thanks.

International law...dont believe the hype

In evaluating the recent “declaration of independence” by Kosovo, a province of Serbia, and its immediate recognition as a state by the U.S., Germany, Britain and France, it is important to know three things.Yes...

First, Kosovo is not gaining independence or even minimal self-government. It will be run by an appointed High Representative and bodies appointed by the U.S., European Union and NATO. An old-style colonial viceroy and imperialist administrators will have control over foreign and domestic policy. U.S. imperialism has merely consolidated its direct control of a totally dependent colony in the heart of the Balkans.Incorrect. Kosovo has self-government already, in accordance with Resolution 1244 and the Rambouillet accords.

Second, Washington’s immediate recognition of Kosovo confirms once again that U.S. imperialism will break any and every treaty or international agreement it has ever signed, including agreements it drafted and imposed by force and violence on others.Blah, blah, blah.

The recognition of Kosovo is in direct violation of such law—specifically U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244, which the leaders of Yugoslavia were forced to sign to end the 78 days of NATO bombing of their country in 1999. Even this imposed agreement affirmed the “commitment of all Member States to the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Serbia, a republic of Yugoslavia.Interestingly enough, Resoultion 1244 also says this:
11. Decides that the main responsibilities of the international civil
presence will include:
...
(e) Facilitating a political process designed to determine Kosovo’s future
status, taking into account the Rambouillet accords (S/1999/648);Resolution 1244 (http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/172/89/PDF/N9917289.pdf?OpenElement)

This week’s illegal recognition of Kosovo was condemned by Serbia, Russia, China and Spain.Untrue. China has expressed "grave concern" and called for more negotiations and I have yet to read about outright condemnation from a representative of Spain.

Thirdly, U.S. imperialist domination does not benefit the occupied people. Kosovo after nine years of direct NATO military occupation has a staggering 60 percent unemployment rate. It has become a center of the international drug trade and of prostitution rings in Europe.Maybe Kosovo hasn't been ruled by the US?

The once humming mines, mills, smelters, refining centers and railroads of this small resource-rich industrial area all sit silent. The resources of Kosovo under NATO occupation were forcibly privatized and sold to giant Western multinational corporations. Now almost the only employment is working for the U.S./NATO army of occupation or U.N. agencies.

The only major construction in Kosovo is of Camp Bondsteel, the largest U.S. base built in Europe in a generation. Halliburton, of course, got the contract. Camp Bondsteel guards the strategic oil and transportation lines of the entire region.Proof?

Over 250,000 Serbian, Romani and other nationalities have been driven out of this Serbian province since it came under U.S./NATO control. Almost a quarter of the Albanian population has been forced to leave in order to find work.Evidence of causality?

Interestingly, I find myself in agreement with this analysis, and I believe a major part of the victory of savage neoliberal imperialism is that's unknown, these widespread privatizations wholesale of entire countries is not known.It fails. Primarily due to faulty accusations and jumping to conclusions, in addition to the failure to mention the decidedly "imperialist" stance and motivation of the Russians.

Ethnic makeup of Kosovo according to the Statistical Office of Kosovo.

92% Albanians
4% Serbs
2% Bosniaks and Gorans
1% Roma
1% Turks

however privatisation is not just an outside force, government officials will purposefully run services into the ground leaving the citizens to swallow even privatisation (under the myth of government being less inefficient)

why? because it shifts the blame of course! for instance if a major health scandal breaks out in a public hospital the government is going to get hell

however when the private sector fucks up suddenly it becomes a case of the markets (and the theory that the non-existent competition will do better because they don't like to make cuts unlike everyone else)

Is that not crime of treason ?

Is that not crime of treason ?

no that would involve siding with a hostile nation and taken actions against the host nation

not that it matter or that silly things like treasons can be accurately defined in a post-feudal world

Well it is an action against their own nation and when they do it for multinational or better yet national company of other state for privatisation it is for other nation (s) and it could be dangerous for economy and citizens

Yes...

Incorrect. Kosovo has self-government already, in accordance with Resolution 1244 and the Rambouillet accords.

Blah, blah, blah.

Interestingly enough, Resoultion 1244 also says this:
Resolution 1244 (http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/172/89/PDF/N9917289.pdf?OpenElement)

Untrue. China has expressed "grave concern" and called for more negotiations and I have yet to read about outright condemnation from a representative of Spain.

Maybe Kosovo hasn't been ruled by the US?

Proof?
Evidence of causality?

It fails. Primarily due to faulty accusations and jumping to conclusions, in addition to the failure to mention the decidedly "imperialist" stance and motivation of the Russians.

Good post!

*hands you a cookie*

It's a step in the right direction, however small.

Well it is an action against their own nation and when they do it for multinational or better yet national company of other state for privatisation it is for other nation (s) and it could be dangerous for economy and citizens

they don't do it for the multinationals though, its done purely as a game of blame shifting

which is all domestic politics really is

It's a step in the right direction, however small.


*looks at sig* er...are you seriously supporting imperialism?

I think it's absolutely fascinating, the link that some have developed between Slavic nationalism and Marxism.

Further, it would seem that the only people who are actually supporting imperialism, colonialism and occupation are the Serbs, the Russians and the Spanish.

I think it's absolutely fascinating, the link that some have developed between Slavic nationalism and Marxism.

It has nothing to do with Slavic nationalism. It's just the WWP being as crazy as it usually is.

It has nothing to do with Slavic nationalism. It's just the WWP being as crazy as it usually is.

Well, that's certainly true, but I've long held the thesis that Soviet and post-Soviet Marxism-Leninism was severely tainted by a bad case of Russian nationalism and traditional Russian imperialism. I'm half convinced that this is the strain of Marxism that Andaras Prime has picked up on, and that's why he (somewhat mysteriously, from my POV) supports Pooty-Poot.

Well, that's certainly true, but I've long held the thesis that Soviet and post-Soviet Marxism was severely tainted by a bad case of Russian nationalism and traditional Russian imperialism.

Maybe, but I don't think that's the issue here.

The WWP was never particularly fond of the Soviet Union--they're old-style Trotskyists, which means they defended it against "Western imperialism" but opposed its ruling structure--and they tend towards these kinds of positions everywhere in the world, not just in Eastern Europe.

Yep. After all, Fewer nations mean fewer possible wars.

Um...yea! Ok...

*looks at sig* er...are you seriously supporting imperialism?

Yep. After all, Fewer nations mean fewer possible wars.

Maybe, but I don't think that's the issue here.

The WWP was never particularly fond of the Soviet Union--they're old-style Trotskyists, which means they defended it against "Western imperialism" but opposed its ruling structure--and they tend towards these kinds of positions everywhere in the world, not just in Eastern Europe.

True, but AP is definitely not known as a believer in Trotskyism, although he shows a willingness to embrace something from a Trotskyist group that coincides with his beliefs. Rather, I'd associate him with a revisionist post-Stalin Stalinism

Untrue. China has expressed "grave concern" and called for more negotiations and I have yet to read about outright condemnation from a representative of Spain.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry have stated that their policy is that they do not, and will not see Kosovo as a legitimate state.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7250764.stm

[Spanish] Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said: "Spain is not going to recognise this unilateral declaration of independence... because it does not consider that this respects international law."

There you go.

Um...yea! Ok...
He's right, you know.

He's right, you know.

From my study of history...no he's not.

Yep. After all, Fewer nations mean fewer possible wars.

odd how WWI broke out at the height of imperialism

more to the point have ya seen star wars!?

serbians suck testacles. whatever bad happens to them they deserve it.

From my study of history...no he's not.
Seeing as your expertise seems to be US History, I'd love to know your perspective on this one.
odd how WWI broke out at the height of imperialism

more to the point have ya seen star wars!?
Yes, WW1 was one war, just an extremely large one, which brought all of the killing to one place, instead of having it all over the world.

Seeing as your expertise seems to be US History, I'd love to know your perspective on this one.

Well...there was the Roman Empire, the Greek Empire, the Babylonian Empire. the Kingdom of Israel, Also you had the Ottoman Empire and the Persians were really fond of taking over the world to. That excludes all the other wars being fought between tribes and nations. Face it, warfare has been prevelent all throughout our history. It does not matter how many nations there are, we would still be fighting over the resources these few nations have anyway.

Yep. After all, Fewer nations mean fewer possible wars.
*Cough*Civil Wars*Cough*Wars of Independence*Cough*

*Cough*Civil Wars*Cough*Wars of Independence*Cough*

And let us not forget War of Unification! IE: The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 which unified all of Germany.

serbians suck testacles. whatever bad happens to them they deserve it.

why do you show a dislike to those who use suction on testicular organs? are you jealous ;)

Yes, WW1 was one war, just an extremely large one, which brought all of the killing to one place, instead of having it all over the world.

I beleive you miss the reason it was called a world war maybe

Esp the Colonial wars in Africa
What about them?

Esp the Colonial wars in Africa

There you go.

I would have to disagree with him on this matter, it would seem that Kosovo is actually quite able to meet all four criteria of the Montevideo Convention, and that especially, since the conflict that existed in the former Yugoslavia, regardless of who killed who, should be independent, because of the potential problems associated with continued unity with Serbia.

I think it's absolutely fascinating, the link that some have developed between Slavic nationalism and Marxism.

Further, it would seem that the only people who are actually supporting imperialism, colonialism and occupation are the Serbs, the Russians and the Spanish.

Exactly! It is the Russians, Serbs and Spanish who invaded Iraq for no reason, not the noble neocons. And the damned biased, liberal media tells everyone that the US invaded Iraq for no reason. Don't listen to the media, it's the Imperialistic Serbs that are in Iraq.

Sarcasm aside, Andaluciae if you really think that, you are truly biased against Slavs, period. And just to scare you further, most American investors in Russia (me amongst them) think Putin's great for the country's economic stability. Obviously not the major ones who put all their eggs in one basket (Yukos) whereas the tenet of investing is - diversify! Those who invested properly and not for politics, were not hurt at all by the collapse of Yukos.

Well...there was the Roman Empire, the Greek Empire, the Babylonian Empire. the Kingdom of Israel, Also you had the Ottoman Empire and the Persians were really fond of taking over the world to. That excludes all the other wars being fought between tribes and nations. Face it, warfare has been prevelent all throughout our history. It does not matter how many nations there are, we would still be fighting over the resources these few nations have anyway.
Were there not the Roman, Greek, Persian et al Empires around, there would have been more wars between smaller powers - see what happened when Alexander took over his father's place, which led to wars in Greece itself.

When you get Alexander's empire up, people put down their petty disputes to futilely try to avoid being obliterated, leading to less wars overall.

Just for one example.
*Cough*Civil Wars*Cough*Wars of Independence*Cough*
Are rare when you get a stable and wealthy state going, in which the central power lies in a group not particularly much smaller than the people they're ruling, which takes a bit of bloodshed first but then keeps things largely sound for a Long Time, see the UK.

Aye, fine, the US had a revolutionary war. And India got away from the Empire. That's about it for dominions that the British Empire didn't just give independence when we realised it was a bit outmoded, see Africa and the Caribbean.
And let us not forget War of Unification! IE: The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 which unified all of Germany.
Aye, which was caused by a multitude of states...
I beleive you miss the reason it was called a world war maybe
Because it was vaguely in 3 continents (with Asia and Africa being minor compared to the actions in Europe), and "The Other Great War" for what became know as WW2 wasn't such a good name.

I would have to disagree with him on this matter, it would seem that Kosovo is actually quite able to meet all four criteria of the Montevideo Convention, and that especially, since the conflict that existed in the former Yugoslavia, regardless of who killed who, should be independent, because of the potential problems associated with continued unity with Serbia.
And I would personally disagree that the Serbians were doing anything particularly negative inside Kosovo in the last 8 years.

It's just that Tachi and his militia chums want their own state to thoroughly fuck up.

Actually to point out, I don't completely agree with the article. I think because of now irreversible events and situations it's impossible now for Kosovo to remain a part of Serbia. But I think also that the Kosovar people should start a second war of independence against the occupying imperialist NATO/EU forces, and so re-nationalize their resources and stop their country from becoming an outpost for capitalism.

Exactly! It is the Russians, Serbs and Spanish who invaded Iraq for no reason, not the noble neocons. And the damned biased, liberal media tells everyone that the US invaded Iraq for no reason. Don't listen to the media, it's the Imperialistic Serbs that are in Iraq.

Irrelevant to the case at hand, in the case of Kosovo we are witnessing little more than blatant Serbian

Sarcasm aside, Andaluciae if you really think that, you are truly biased against Slavs, period.

What? That's not even a clever reversal. That's just calling me prejudiced because I made mention of the growing tide of Slavic nationalism is Russia and Serbia.

And just to scare you further, most American investors in Russia (me amongst them) think Putin's great for the country's economic stability. Obviously not the major ones who put all their eggs in one basket (Yukos) whereas the tenet of investing is - diversify! Those who invested properly and not for politics, were not hurt at all by the collapse of Yukos.

Putin's also awful for international stability. His support for despots and dictators, his increasing militarism, his threats towards Western Europe, especially in regards to energy, and his meddling in Eastern Europe are all quite dangerous. Further, the renewal of strategic bomber patrols is extremely concerning, and would seem to be an attempt on his part to foment a greater international disorder.

Not to mention the fact that he's well into his project of securely establishing himself in the Russian governance until he dies. He's also awful for Russian democracy, let's not forget that.

I disagree with the whole idea of "fewer nations, fewer conflicts". That's too much of a generalization, as such fewer nations can be home to several ethnic groups which can be hostile to each other. If there were fewer ethnic groups, there would be fewer conflicts, because wars between nations can happen very often by cultural issues (as in this case with the Serbian idea of nationalism). In the same way, wars of economical interests can happen inside a nation between different groups too.

Fewer nations don't lessen the number of conflicts on itself and not always they do lessen it at all, but they do it sometimes because they tend to assimilate the several ethnic groups of the world into fewer national units (if the nation succeeds in that..), thus decreasing the variety of the groups and eliminating the reasons for conflict. Forcing ethnic groups into national units to enhance world peace really doesn't sound that peaceful...



About Kosovo, we have to face it. Regardless of how the Serbians have behaved in the recent years under the scrutiny of the UN, ethnic provinces in a Serbian nation always run the risk of becoming in a deadlock with the Serbians. Most Serbians are still nationalistic about their country, the reason why they won't let go of Kosovo. We can see that as Serbia is ripe with riots as of late, unlike Kosovo. Other than independence, the UN could be there forever ensuring the Serbians wouldn't pick on the ethnic Albanians anymore. But the Kosovans don't want that.

Kosovo was part of medieval Serbia, passed on to ottoman rule, and on the start of the 20th century they began to fight for autonomy like Albania was doing at the time. Serbia wanted Kosovo back, and after a war with the Ottomans they occupied Kosovo, not mattering if the Kosovans wanted to be independent or a part of Albania rather than being with the Serbs.

The point is, Kosovans want independence and they have enough justification in their history to be a country. If they'll keep wanting it or not, we'll see in the following months and years. We have to wait and keep an eye out to see if their will is being respected in their country. If economic problems come, let they themselves take care of that. If they become dissatisfied, they'll go on the streets and protest and change things themselves, like happens in any normal country.

Are rare when you get a stable and wealthy state going, in which the central power lies in a group not particularly much smaller than the people they're ruling, which takes a bit of bloodshed first but then keeps things largely sound for a Long Time, see the UK.
Well, that's the Catch-22, isn't it? How do you get a wealthy, stable state when the state is destablised by a group demanding for independence?

Aye, fine, the US had a revolutionary war. And India got away from the Empire. That's about it for dominions that the British Empire didn't just give independence when we realised it was a bit outmoded, see Africa and the Caribbean.
On the other hand, Indochina and Algeria...

Well, that's the Catch-22, isn't it? How do you get a wealthy, stable state when the state is destablised by a group demanding for independence?
Err you wait a bit until you can properly rule them, then you invade. Obviously.
On the other hand, Indochina and Algeria...
Were two wars. Erm?

Irrelevant to the case at hand, in the case of Kosovo we are witnessing little more than blatant Serbian
What? That's not even a clever reversal. That's just calling me prejudiced because I made mention of the growing tide of Slavic nationalism is Russia and Serbia.
Putin's also awful for international stability. His support for despots and dictators, his increasing militarism, his threats towards Western Europe, especially in regards to energy, and his meddling in Eastern Europe are all quite dangerous. Further, the renewal of strategic bomber patrols is extremely concerning, and would seem to be an attempt on his part to foment a greater international disorder.
Not to mention the fact that he's well into his project of securely establishing himself in the Russian governance until he dies. He's also awful for Russian democracy, let's not forget that.

NATO troops bombed Belgrade killing peaceful civillians. I don't think you can get any more Imperialist then that. And BTW there's no NATO in Darfur, so don't even try to claim that NATO cares about Human Rights. It's called double-standards. As per International Stability, Putin stabilized the Caucases, an amazing feat of stability. He stabilized Russia's borders. He stabilized Russian economy. He supports trade with nations that the US calls dictators, because the US doesn't like them; however the US trades with Saudi Arabia and Dubai, whose policies towards women are atrocious, yet these are called monarch, cause the US likes them. As per Putin's meddling in Eastern Europe, Russia has always meddled in the nations that border Russia, because they have been invaded at least in fifty years, and they need to ensure the loyalty of the border nations in case of invasions. Case in point: Britain to Russia 1814: "No one will ever invade you again".
Britain to Russia 1840's (Crimean War): "We are coming to invade you!"
But it's not just Russia meddling in national affairs; every powerful nation meddles into the affairs of other countries, and the US and UK invade them at gunpoint. And the only reason's Putin is in power is his 70% approval rating. If that were to drop to 30%, he would drop out of power. However he is extremely popular with Russians because once again he stabilized the country.

As per Russian Democracy, when did the West start caring so much about Democracy in Russia? In the War of 1918, the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan invaded Russia to place the Tsar back in power. They failed, but their wanting to place the Tsar back in power shows how much they actually care for Democracy in Russia. Boohoo! And Putin doesn't drive tanks at the Parliament to support his mafia policies, (like Yeltsin did) doesn't shoot protestors in the middle of protests (like Yeltsin did where 3 people died) doesn't beat protestors to death (like Estonia's government did that was rated as a Democracy by the US) doesn't shoot conscription protestors (like Gorbachev did) so if the West actually gave a shit about Russian Democracy, not mere rhetoric, they would embrace Putin.

Irrelevant to the case at hand, in the case of Kosovo we are witnessing little more than blatant Serbian
What? That's not even a clever reversal. That's just calling me prejudiced because I made mention of the growing tide of Slavic nationalism is Russia and Serbia.
Putin's also awful for international stability. His support for despots and dictators, his increasing militarism, his threats towards Western Europe, especially in regards to energy, and his meddling in Eastern Europe are all quite dangerous. Further, the renewal of strategic bomber patrols is extremely concerning, and would seem to be an attempt on his part to foment a greater international disorder.
Not to mention the fact that he's well into his project of securely establishing himself in the Russian governance until he dies. He's also awful for Russian democracy, let's not forget that.

NATO troops bombed Belgrade killing peaceful civillians. I don't think you can get any more Imperialist then that. And BTW there's no NATO in Darfur, so don't even try to claim that NATO cares about Human Rights. It's called double-standards. As per International Stability, Putin stabilized the Caucases, an amazing feat of stability. He stabilized Russia's borders. He stabilized Russian economy. He supports trade with nations that the US calls dictators, because the US doesn't like them; however the US trades with Saudi Arabia and Dubai, whose policies towards women are atrocious, yet these are called monarch, cause the US likes them. As per Putin's meddling in Eastern Europe, Russia has always meddled in the nations that border Russia, because they have been invaded at least in fifty years, and they need to ensure the loyalty of the border nations in case of invasions. Case in point: Britain to Russia 1814: "No one will ever invade you again".
Britain to Russia 1840's (Crimean War): "We are coming to invade you!"
But it's not just Russia meddling in national affairs; every powerful nation meddles into the affairs of other countries, and the US and UK invade them at gunpoint. And the only reason's Putin is in power is his 70% approval rating. If that were to drop to 30%, he would drop out of power. However he is extremely popular with Russians because once again he stabilized the country.

As per Russian Democracy, when did the West start caring so much about Democracy in Russia? In the War of 1918, the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan invaded Russia to place the Tsar back in power. They failed, but their wanting to place the Tsar back in power shows how much they actually care for Democracy in Russia. Boohoo! And Putin doesn't drive tanks at the Parliament to support his mafia policies, (like Yeltsin did) doesn't shoot protestors in the middle of protests (like Yeltsin did where 3 people died) doesn't beat protestors to death (like Estonia's government did, a government that was rated as a Democracy by the US) doesn't shoot conscription protestors (like Gorbachev did) so if the West actually gave a shit about Russian Democracy, not mere rhetoric, they would embrace Putin.

Thirdly, U.S. imperialist domination does not benefit the occupied people. Kosovo after nine years of direct NATO military occupation has a staggering 60 percent unemployment rate. It has become a center of the international drug trade and of prostitution rings in Europe.

The once humming mines, mills, smelters, refining centers and railroads of this small resource-rich industrial area all sit silent. The resources of Kosovo under NATO occupation were forcibly privatized and sold to giant Western multinational corporations. Now almost the only employment is working for the U.S./NATO army of occupation or U.N. agencies.
Clearly, freedom and self-determination are more important than prosperity.

Clearly, freedom and self-determination are more important than prosperity.

But they are getting neither, they are swapping Serbian domination to be the privatized market of the West. Clearly the Kosovars need to rise up against NATO forces.

Good post!

*hands you a cookie*Thankee! =)
The Spanish Foreign Ministry have stated that their policy is that they do not, and will not see Kosovo as a legitimate state.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7250764.stm



There you go.Not a condemnation, though. I'm well aware that Spain doesn't intend to recognize Kosovo as independent, however that does not equate a condemnation of the unilateral declaration of independence, which the article claims has occurred.
Exactly! It is the Russians, Serbs and Spanish who invaded Iraq for no reason, not the noble neocons. And the damned biased, liberal media tells everyone that the US invaded Iraq for no reason. Don't listen to the media, it's the Imperialistic Serbs that are in Iraq.Your rant is funny, because Spain actually did invade Iraq.
Actually to point out, I don't completely agree with the article. I think because of now irreversible events and situations it's impossible now for Kosovo to remain a part of Serbia. But I think also that the Kosovar people should start a second war of independence against the occupying imperialist NATO/EU forces, and so re-nationalize their resources and stop their country from becoming an outpost for capitalism.The Kosovar people have yet to actually fight for and win their independence. Serbia was rolling over them, which was one reason why the US intervened. The Kosovars weren't capable of defeating Serbia, so what makes you think they'll stand a chance against NATO? Much less, why do you think they would even want to rise up against the people that they see as protecting them from the Serbs (incidentally because NATO has been protecting them from the Serbs)?
NATO troops bombed Belgrade killing peaceful civillians. I don't think you can get any more Imperialist then that. You can get more imperialist than that. I suggest looking at Africa during the 19th century to get some ideas.
As per Russian Democracy, when did the West start caring so much about Democracy in Russia? In the War of 1918, the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan invaded Russia to place the Tsar back in power. I'd love to see some evidence in favor of that hypothesis. I also fail to see the relevance that has to today. I have no family members alive today that were alive back then, for instance.
But they are getting neither, they are swapping Serbian domination to be the privatized market of the West. Clearly the Kosovars need to rise up against NATO forces.Clearly, you know not what you speak of. The most likely thing that will happen should NATO leave Kosovo is that Kosovo will be reintegrated into Serbia.