News that did not make The New York Times this week, March 20-26, 2000
by Swans
March 26, 2000 - Note from the Editor: This is a short compilation of various news reports and articles that our friend Rick Rozoff sent in the course of the week. We only include relevant excerpts. They are all posted on the Web.
http://www.stratfor.com/SERVICES/giu2000/032000.ASP
GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE UPDATE
Balkan Futures
20 March 2000
Summary
Nearing the anniversary of the Kosovo war, it is time to consider winners and losers. Things are not as clear as they were a year ago. President Slobodan Milosevic has survived his defeat and the territorial integrity of the rest of Belgrade's domain appears intact. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) is eager to establish an Albanian state in Kosovo but is blocked by NATO. And the alliance -- unable to suppress the guerrillas, unable to withdraw and unwilling to negotiate with Milosevic -- is devoid of options. A year later, Milosevic seems both secure and hopeful that events are moving his way. In an odd parallel to Saddam Hussein's experience, being defeated by the West may open doors rather than close them.
U.S. Department of State
21 March 2000
Text: World Bank, UNMIK Sign $5 Million Grant for Kosovo (Grant to be used for salaries, other budgetary expenditures) (770) The World Bank and the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) signed a $5 million grant March 20 to support the province's economic reform program. A World Bank press release said proceeds of the grant will be used for salaries and other budgetary expenditures, and that the chief benefits will be to ensure effective budget management and lay the foundations for a sound banking system. World Bank strategy for Kosovo includes "jump-starting economic activity amidst the aftermath of the recent conflict and a decade of neglect" and "to help ensure the overall sustainability of the reconstruction and recovery effort […]as well as policies facilitating a transition to a private market-based economy," according to the release.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2000/0322/wor7.htm
The Irish Times
Wednesday, March 22, 2000
"It was about us creating in and around Kosovo a new frontier, a cornerstone of the new Europe...." "Kosovo is, and will always be, about containment. It is about the Americans controlling Macedonia and holding down Albanian expansionism and building themselves a huge tactical military base out of which they can operate in the Balkans."...On its fiftieth anniversary last year, NATO wanted to show it was capable of successful humanitarian military intervention, as well as proving that the military structures of the U.S. and the EU could co-operate efficiently. "Kosovo was where we were going to make this work," said one senior NATO official.
Thursday, March 23 12:02 PM SGT
Yugoslav Airstrikes Museum hunting NATO air strike "souvenirs"
BELGRADE, Mar 23 (AFP) -
One year after the first NATO bombing raids on
Belgrade, the Yugoslav Aviation Museum is hunting down
everything from bomb parts to aircraft wreckage to
join a collection which has become a major tourist
attraction.
Published on Thursday, March 23, 2000 in the San Jose Mercury News
The Military & CNN
by Alexander Cockburn
A handful of military personnel from the 4th Psychological Operations Group (i.e. PSYOPs) based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina have until recently been working in CNN's headquarters in Atlanta. An enterprising Dutch journalist named Abe De Vries came up with this important story in mid-February, and he remains properly astounded that no mainstream news medium in the United States has evinced any interest in the story.
Greeks Demonstrate against NATO Presence in Balkans
By Louis Economopoulos
CNS Correspondent
24 March, 2000
[The headline says it all]
The Irish Times
Friday, March 24, 2000
YUGOSLAVIA: At least one child was killed for every day of NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia, Belgrade said in casualty figures released on the eve of today's first anniversary of the bombing campaign.
"We stopped our sad count at 79, but it certainly carries a sad symbolism because the bombing lasted 78 days . . . This means one child was killed each day," said Ms Margit Savovic, whose Yugoslav Committee for Co-operation with UNICEF is compiling a list of the dead.
March 25 2000 EUROPE
Robertson bypasses dangerous Mitrovica
FROM ANTHONY LOYD IN PRISTINA
A VISIT to Kosovo by Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, the Nato General Secretary, and General Wesley Clark, the Supreme Allied Commander, ended in humiliation yesterday. The planned trip to Mitrovica, to mark the first anniversary of Nato's air war against Yugoslavia, was cancelled at the last minute due to unspecified "operational reasons".
The Guardian (UK)
Hate threatens pub that drinks to peace
Kosovo: special report
Helena Smith in Pristina
Saturday March 25, 2000
UN policeman: "We will only see a safe and secure environment here when the last Serb leaves...."
March 24-26, 2000
Antiwar.com Conference
San Mateo, California
Sponsored by the Web site Antiwar.com and the Center for Libertarian Studies. Theme of the conference: "Beyond Left and Right: The New Face of the Antiwar Movement."
This Week's Other Articles
Serbia, Kosovo: Gone MIA? - by Gilles d'Aymery
Barbara Crossette and Iraq: Here She Goes Again - by Gilles d'Aymery
She Was Bridge-Killed - by Pedja Zoric
Resources on the War in Yugoslavia and its Aftermath
Articles Published on Swans Regarding the War in Yugoslavia and its Aftermath