Twenty Years Since the First Gulf War- Achievements and Failures

The decision of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to invade Kuwait in the summer of 1990 confronted the Bush Administration with a critical test. The question under examination was not merely the valid conquest of Kuwait by Iraq but also the larger issue of the international territorial status quo. Since the end of the Second World War, the international community has been operating under a rather general consensus: The status quo that was created after the war should be accepted by all nations. States might have aspirations to change the existing status-quo. However, any change could be achieved only by peaceful means.

Zaki Shalom*

The U.S. administration was well aware that acknowledging the conquest of Kuwait by Iraq might lead to two disastrous consequences. a. Iraq, realizing that its violent move was not met by significant punitive measures, would not be satisfied with the conquest of Kuwait only, and would try to enlarge its territorial expansions to other states in the region, mainly the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia. b. Members of the international community would also conclude that a violent move against other states bares no real risk. Thus, they also would be tempted to carry out aggressive measures against their neighbors. These two developments might certainly destabilize the international community and would have far-reaching consequences not only in the political arena but also on its economic stability.

The U.S. under the Bush senior administration has successfully handled this matter. The United States had a choice of undertaking an appeasement policy towards Saddam Hussein.

It had good reasons to choose this option. Saddam Hussein demonstrated determination and exceptional self-confidence in the months preceding the war.

There was also information that he had unconventional weapons in his stockpile.

Nobody could disprove this possibility. He made it clear he was determined to achieve his strategic goals and was ready to pay any price needed for that. Furthermore, any military option against Saddam Hussein by the United States could have endangered U.S. forces in the region and also the interests of U.S. allies in the region, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan.

Notwithstanding these apparent risks, the Bush administration decided not to undertake the appeasing course. It was made clear to the Iraqi regime that the U.S. was ready to make certain concessions that would satisfy the Iraqi leaders but would not in any way acquiesce with the demand of the Saddam Hussein regime to annex Kuwait into Iraqi territory.

On January 17, 1991, the military operation, Desert Storm, began in a huge air strike by the United States against the Iraqi army. The land operation of the coalition forces had begun shortly afterward on Feb 24, 1991. In the beginning of March, Iraq was forced to ask for a ceasefire following the near total crush of its army. The U.S. army had made very wise use of its huge air superiority over the Iraqis. The use of air force had dramatically decreased the number of causalities of American forces. As a result, there was no significant opposition from the American public to the war.

The United States' decision to undertake a military option with the support of its allies had certainly enhanced its credibility and deterrence power. Beyond the operation's success, the First Gulf War was also accompanied by an impressive diplomatic achievement of the United States in at least two aspects:

a. The establishment of an international coalition, which was comprised of thirty-four states including Arab nations who fought against Iraq under the umbrella of the United Nations.

b. The ability of the U.S. to restrain Israel from carrying out retaliation against Iraq following the launching of thirty nine rockets from Iraq to Israeli cities. The Bush administration correctly feared that retaliation by Israel would destabilize the coalition that they worked so hard to establish.

However, in a historical perspective one must emphasize that together with the operational and diplomatic successes, the U.S. also had strategic mishaps whose consequences are apparent even today. The first was related to the fact that the United States refrained from bringing about the downfall of Saddam Hussein during this war. It seems that the Bush administration had abstained from doing so in order to let Iraq be a counterbalance to Iran. It rightly feared that the downfall of Saddam's regime would cause regional instability by increasing the power of Iran.

However, from today's perspective we see that this American assessment was not close to being fulfilled. Saddam Hussein continued to provoke U.S. interests and forced the Americans to go to another war against him, which had been much less successful than the first one. Today, Iraq is a weak state whose stability both in terms of its regime and territorial integrity is in real danger while Iran is much stronger. Its regime seems to be quite stable and is continuing its endeavors to build its nuclear capabilities. Notwithstanding repeated American threats to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear capability, Iran appears to perceive that the United States is hesitant to cross red lines and to undertake military measures against it.

We may assume, although there is no certainty, that if the United States had undertaken tougher measures to bring about the downfall of Saddam Hussein during the First Gulf War it would not have needed to enter the "muddy swamp" again in the Second Gulf War. If the United States had demonstrated unshaken determination and decisiveness during the first war, there is a likelihood that the Iranian regime would have hesitated to continue its provocative policy against U.S. interests. Perhaps it would have even decided to refrain from prolonging its nuclear project.

The other U.S. letdown was related to its policy with regard to the Arab-Israeli conflict in general and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in particular. The Bush administration has backed the argument even after the Gulf War, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was the main factor in the creation of the lack of stability in the Middle East. It further argued that the resolution of this conflict would bring about a much more stable and peaceful Middle East. This principle has been adapted by all the presidents who followed Bush and is certainly a central axis in President Obama's Middle East policy.

The practical significance of this erroneous doctrine is that there is almost no possibility to establish an alliance of moderate pro-Western Middle Eastern states against Iran as long as there is no solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is no doubt that the lack of such an alliance dramatically enhances the power of Iran in both the region and the international community and makes it much more difficult for the U.S. and its allies to struggle against the Iranian nuclear project.

* Prof. Zaki Shalom is a senior researcher at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute, Ben-Gurion University and a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security studies.

http://www.cemmis.edu.gr

Activists Say Over 200 Dead in Syria Attack

Associated Press

BEIRUT – Syrian forces unleashed a barrage of mortars and artillery on the battered city of Homs on Saturday, killing more than 200 people in what appears to be the bloodiest episode in the nearly 11-month-old uprising, activists said.

The government denied the assault, saying the reports are part of a "hysterical campaign" of incitement by armed groups against Syria, meant to be exploited at the Security Council as it prepares to vote on a draft resolution backing an Arab call for President Bashar Assad to give up power.

With the violence in Syria growing increasingly chaotic, diplomatic efforts to find a solution to the crisis have gained pace. But Russia, a strong ally of Syria, signaled Saturday it would oppose any resolution calling for a political transition in the country and had submitted its own amendments to the Western-backed draft.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Washington that any attempt to put a resolution to vote without taking Russia's opinion into account will only lead to "another scandal" at the Security Council. He spoke in an interview broadcast Saturday on Russian state television Rossiya.

Meanwhile, telephone calls to Khaldiyeh, the hardest hit district in Homs, were not going through, but residents of nearby areas described a hellish night of ceaseless shelling.

"Homs is on fire," said one opposition activist in a quieter area near the city, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal.

"All sides are attacking each other and the number of casualties is more than anyone can count," he said.

The government denied the assault and said that corpses shown in amateur videos posted online -- bodies that activists said were victims of the assault -- were purportedly of people kidnapped by "terrorist armed groups" who filmed them to portray them as victims of the alleged shelling.

One video showed a chaotic scene as men, with various wounds and gashes, were being tended to or were praying in what appeared to be a makeshift clinic in Khaldiyeh. Another showed a fire ravage a house in the district, as people desperately tried to put out the blaze with water.

Two main opposition groups, the British-based Syrian Observatory forHuman Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, said the death toll in Homs was more than 200 people and included women and children in mortar shelling that began late Friday. More than half of the killings -- about 140 -- were reported in the Khaldiyeh neighborhood, they said.

"This is the worst attack of the uprising, since the uprising began in March until now," said Rami Abdul-Rahman, the head of the Observatory, which tracks violence through contacts on the ground.

The reports could not be independently confirmed.

It was not immediately clear what precipitated the attack, but there have been reports that army defectors set up checkpoints in the area and were trying to consolidate control.

Unconfirmed reports also said gunmen, possibly army defectors, had attacked a military checkpoint in Khaldiyeh, captured 17 of its members, prompting intense clashes with the military.

Homs, Syria's third largest city, is a hotbed of dissent to Assad's regime and is known to shelter a large number of army defectors known as the Free Syrian Army. The city has seen several crackdowns by security forces but many parts of it remain outside of government control.

Ammar, a resident of the Bab Tadmur district of Homs, said the real death toll exceeded 330 people, and hundreds of others were wounded. He did not elaborate.

"A few more nights like this one and Homs will be erased from the map," said the distraught man by telephone. "We are being massacred, what is the Security Council still waiting for?" he asked.

The LCC called on residents of Homs and surrounding areas to support the people of Khaldiyeh and nearby Bayada by donating blood and housing families fleeing from the bombing.

It called for sit-ins in front of all Syrian embassies and consulates in capitals across the world.

An Egyptian security official said that at least eight people were arrested, among them Syrians, after protesters attacked the Syrian Embassy in Cairo and set part of it on fire. It was the second time in around a week that activists storm the Syrian embassy in Cairo.

Egyptian activists urged people early Saturday to march to the embassy from Tahrir Square, the focal point of Egypt's protests, where a large tent has been erected in solidarity with the Syrian uprising.

In Kuwait, demonstrators stormed into the Syrian Embassy compound on Saturday, breaking windows and hoisting the flag of the opposition, witnesses there said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

The Kuwait Society for Human Rights said one protester was slightly injured and crowds panicked when someone fired shots into the air. It was unclear who fired the shots.

The Kuwait News Agency said "a number of security personnel" were hurt but gave no details. KUNA said the interior ministry denounced the protest as a "breach of international law and norms."

Earlier on Friday, deadly clashes erupted between government troops and rebels in suburbs of the Syrian capital and villages in the south, sparking fighting that killed at least 23 people, including nine soldiers, activists said.

Assad is trying to crush the revolt with a sweeping crackdown that has so far claimed thousands of lives, but neither the government nor the protesters are backing down and clashes between the military and an increasingly bold and armed opposition has meant many parts of the country have seen relentless violence.

The U.N. Security Council will meet Saturday morning to take up a much-negotiated resolution on Syria, said a diplomat for a Western nation that sits on the council.

The diplomat spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be quoted by the media.

The move toward a vote came after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke by telephone with Mr. Lavrov in an effort to overcome Russian opposition to any statement that explicitly calls for regime change or a military intervention in Syria.

The U.S. and its partners have ruled out military action but want the global body to endorse an Arab League plan that calls on Assad to hand power over to Syria's vice president.

Assad's regime has been intensifying an assault against army defectors and protesters. The U.N. said weeks ago that more than 5,400 people have been killed in violence since March. Hundreds more have been killed since that tally was announced.

Report identifies Hashim Thaci as 'big fish' in organised crime

Kosovo's prime minister accused of criminal connections in secret Nato documents leaked to the Guardian

Kosovo's prime minister, Hashim Thaçi, has been identified as one of the "biggest fish" in organised crime in his country, according to western military intelligence reports leaked to the Guardian.

The Nato documents, which are marked "Secret", indicate that the US and other western powers backing Kosovo's government have had extensive knowledge of its criminal connections for several years.

They also identify another senior ruling politician in Kosovo as having links to the Albanian mafia, stating that he exerts considerable control over Thaçi, a former guerrilla leader.

Marked "USA KFOR", they provide detailed information about organised criminal networks in Kosovo based on reports by western intelligence agencies and informants. The geographical spread of Kosovo's criminal gangs is set out, alongside details of alleged familial and business links.

The Council of Europe is tomorrow expected to formally demand an investigation into claims that Thaçi was the head of a "mafia-like" network responsible for smuggling weapons, drugs and human organs during and after the 1998-99 Kosovo war.

The organ trafficking allegations were contained in an official inquiry published last month by the human rights rapporteur Dick Marty.

His report accused Thaçi and several other senior figures who operated in the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) of links to organised crime, prompting a major diplomatic crisis when it was leaked to the Guardian last month.

The report also named Thaçi as having exerted "violent control" over the heroin trade, and appeared to confirm concerns that after the conflict with Serbia ended, his inner circle oversaw a gang that murdered Serb captives to sell their kidneys on the black market.

The Council's of Europe's parliamentary assembly in Strasbourg will debate Marty's findings and vote on a resolution calling for criminal investigations. The vote is widely expected to be passed.

Kosovo functioned as a UN protectorate from the end of the Kosovo war until 2008, when it formally declared independence from Serbia.

Thaçi, who was re-elected prime minister last month, has been strongly backed by Nato powers. His government has dismissed the Marty report as part of a Serbian and Russian conspiracy to destabilise the fledgling state.

However, the latest leaked documents were produced by KFOR, the Nato-led peacekeeping force responsible for security in Kosovo. It was KFOR military forces that intervened in the Kosovo war in 1999, helping to put an end to a campaign of ethnic cleansing by Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian forces.

Nato said in a statement tonight that it had instigated an "internal investigation" into the leaked documents, which are intelligence assessments produced around 2004, shortly before tensions with ethnic Serbs fuelled riots in Kosovo.

In the documents, Thaçi is identified as one of a triumvirate of "biggest fish" in organised criminal circles. So too is Xhavit Haliti, a former head of logistics for the KLA who is now a close ally of the prime minister and a senior parliamentarian in his ruling PDK party. Haliti is expected to be among Kosovo's official delegation to Strasbourg tomorrow and has played a leading role in seeking to undermine the Marty report in public.

However, the Nato intelligence reports suggest that behind his role as a prominent politician, Haliti is also a senior organised criminal who carries a Czech 9mm pistol and holds considerable sway over the prime minister.

Describing him as "the power behind Hashim Thaçi", one report states that Haliti has strong ties with the Albanian mafia and Kosovo's secret service, known as KShiK. It suggests that Haliti "more or less ran" a fund for the Kosovo war in the late 1990s, profiting from the fund personally before the money dried up. "As a result, Haliti turned to organised crime on a grand scale," the reports state.

They state that he is "highly involved in prostitution, weapons and drugs smuggling" and used a hotel in the capital, Pristina, as an operational base. Haliti also serves as a political and financial adviser to the prime minister but, according to the documents, is arguably "the real boss" in the relationship. Haliti uses a fake passport to travel abroad because he is black-listed in several countries, including the US, one report states.

Haliti is linked to the alleged intimidation of political opponents in Kosovo and two suspected murders dating back to the late 1990s, when KLA infighting is said to have resulted in numerous killings.

One was a political adversary who was found "dead by the Kosovo border", apparently following a dispute with Haliti. A description of the other suspected murder – of a young journalist in Tirana, the Albanian capital – also contains a reference to the prime minister by name, but does not ascribe blame.

Citing US and Nato intelligence, the entry states Haliti is "linked" the grisly murder, going on to state: "Ali Uka, a reporter in Tirana, who supported the independence movement but criticised it in print. Uka was brutally disfigured with a bottle and screwdriver in 1997. His roommate at the time was Hashim Thaçi."

Haliti is also named in the report by Marty, which is understood to have drawn on Nato intelligence assessments along with reports from the FBI and MI5.

Marty's report includes Haliti among a list of close allies of Thaçi said to have ordered – and in some cases personally overseen – "assassinations, detentions, beatings and interrogations" during and immediately after the war.

Haliti was unavailable for comment. However, in an interview with the media outlet Balkan Insight last week he dismissed the Marty report as "political" and designed to "discredit the KLA". "I was not surprised by the report. I have followed this issue for years and the content of the report is political," he said.

But he accepted that the Council of Europe was likely to pass a resolution triggering investigations by the EU-backed justice mission in the country, known as EULEX.

"I think it's a competent investigating body," he said, "It's a European investigation body. I think that there is no possibility that EULEX investigation unit to be affected by Kosovo or Albanian politics."

Responding to the allegations in the NATO intelligence reports tonight, a Kosovo government spokesman said: "These are allegations that have circulated for over a decade, most recently recycled in the Dick Marty report. They are based on hearsay and intentional false Serbian intelligence.

"Nevertheless, the prime minister has called for an investigation by EULEX and has repeatedly pledged his full cooperation to law enforcement authorities on these scandalous and slanderous allegations.

"The government of Kosovo continues to support the strengthening of the rule of law in Kosovo, and we look forward to the cooperation of our international partners in ensuring that criminality has no place in Kosovo's development."

Road to Strasbourg

It has taken more than two years for an inquiry into organ trafficking in Kosovo to reach the Palace of Europe, a grand building in Strasbourg that serves as the headquarters of the Council of Europe.

The formal inquiry into organ trafficking in Kosovo was prompted by revelations by the former chief war crimes prosecutor at The Hague, Carla Del Ponte, who said she had been prevented from properly investigating alleged atrocities committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Her most shocking disclosure – unconfirmed reports the KLA killed captives for their organs – prompted the formal inquiry by human rights rapporteur Dick Marty.

His report, published last month, suggested there was evidence that KLA commanders smuggled captives across the border into Kosovo and harvested the organs of a "handful" of Serbs.

His findings, which will be subject to a parliamentary assembly vote tomorrow, went further, accusing Kosovo's prime minister and several other senior figures of involvement in organised crime over the last decade.

guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 January 2011 18.34 गमत

Οι παραπάνω αποκαλύψεις δεν αποτελούν έκπληξη παρά χρονική επιβεβαίωση της μεθόδευσης που επιτελείται στα Βαλκάνια και ιδιαίτερα στην Πρώην Γιουγκοσλαβία τα χρόνια μετά τη διάλυσή της. Οι σχέσεις του οργανωμένου εγκλήματος με την πολιτική και κάθε άλλη μορφή εξουσίας είναι άρρηκτες. Χαρακτηρίζονται δε από σύμπνοια όσον αφορά στην επίτευξη κοινού στόχου που έχει να κάνει κυρίως με την οικονομική και πολιτική ενδυνάμωση. Δεν γνωρίζει σύνορα ούτε εθνικιστικά εμπόδια. Πολλά περισσότερα δε, αναμένεται να αποκαλύπτονται μελλοντικά για τη σκοτεινή περίοδο των ένοπλων συγκρούσεων στα Βαλκάνια τη δεκαετία του 90 και την εμπλοκή ξένων παραγόντων.

Karadzic Wants Greek President Questioned

Accused asks for subpoena to get Karolos Papoulias to disclose "relevant and necessary" information.

By Rachel Irwin - International Justice - ICTY
TRI Issue 726,
27 Jan 12

Former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic this week asked judges to subpoena the current president of Greece so he can be interviewed by the accused’s defence team.

In the written request filed on January 26, Karadzic asserts that he met Karolos Papoulias, Greece’s president since 2005 and its foreign minister during most of the Bosnian war, ten days after a mortar attack on Sarajevo’s Markale market on February 5, 1994. The attack killed more than 60 people and injured over 100.

During his trial, Karadzic has repeatedly claimed that this attack was staged by the Bosnian government itself, and that bodies found at the scene were “dummies and old corpses”. He is challenging previous tribunal findings that the mortar shell was fired from Bosnian Serb-controlled territory.

In the request, Karadzic argues that he met with Papoulias on February 15, 1994, he informed him that “the Bosnian Serbs had not been responsible for the shell that landed on Markale market”.

In the same meeting, Karadzic said that he told the then Greek foreign minister that “the Serbs were ready to place some of their heavy weapons under UN control”.

The accused goes on to outline several other discussions he had with Papoulias during the course of the war, among other things concerning UN personnel who were taken hostage in 1995, and Karadzic’s desire for a “peace process”.

“There is ample reason to believe that President Papoulias has information which is relevant and necessary to Dr. Karadzic’s defence against charges that he was responsible for the Markale-1 shelling, that he was part of joint criminal enterprise against Muslims in 1994 and 1995, and that he was responsible for ‘hostage taking’ of UN personnel in May 1995,” the request states.

“Markale-1” refers to the February 1994 attack; a second mortar bombardment hit the same location in August 2005.

In previous communications between the Karadzic defence team and the government of Greece, President Papoulias has indicated that “he has no intention to satisfy the request of Dr. Karadzic” for an interview. The accused argues that a subpoena is therefore necessary.

Karadzic was arrested in July 2008 after 13 years on the run. Witness testimony in his trial, which is still ongoing, began in April 2010. The accused is representing himself in the courtroom.

http://iwpr.net/report-news/karadzic-wants-greek-president-questioned

Η Αυτοδιάθεση του Κοσόβου

Λίγα χρόνια μετά την έκδοση του ψηφίσματος 1244 του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας του ΟΗΕ, την επέμβαση του ΝΑΤΟ και ιδιαίτερα μετά τη μονομερή ανακήρυξη της ανεξαρτησίας του Κοσόβου, εμφανίστηκε ένα κίνημα που προήγαγε τη λεγόμενη «αυτοδιάθεση» με την έννοια της επιλογής για το πόσο ο λαός του Κοσόβου έχει το δικαίωμα να ζήσει στη δική του χώρα.

Δεν θα μπορούσε να έχει καλύτερο όνομα από αυτό της έννοιας που εξυπηρετεί. Και δεν θα μπορούσε να έχει καλύτερο καθοδηγητή από έναν νεαρό φοιτητή, τον Αλμπίν Κούρτι, ο οποίος και ξεκίνησε με γκράφιτι στους τοίχους της Πρίστινας και των άλλων πόλεων γράφοντας «Vetëvendosje» (Αυτοδιάθεση στα αλβανικά).

Πέτυχε να αγγίξει το νέο κόσμο, άνεργοι οι περισσότεροι που αναζητούσαν κάποια ανατρεπτική ιδεολογία να τους αναπτερώσει το ηθικό και να συνεχίζουν να τρέφουν ελπίδες για ένα μελλοντικό «ανεξάρτητο και αυτόνομο» Κόσοβο. Οι διαδηλώσεις και όποια άλλη εκδήλωση του κινήματος αποτελούσε τροφή για τα τοπικά ΜΜΕ και ενίσχυε τη φήμη και δύναμη επιρροής του.

Ο Κούρτι διακήρυττε ότι δεν υποστηρίζει μόνο τους Κοσοβάρους, για την ακρίβεια ασκούσε και ασκεί ακόμα ισχυρή κριτική στους πολιτικούς της κυβέρνησης της Πρίστινας, τόση όση και στην στάση της Σερβίας. Προωθούσε την ιδέα ενός Κοσόβου που θα έχει την προοπτική να απεξαρτηθεί από κάθε τι παλιό όπως η Σερβική κηδεμονία και ότι νέο όπως ήταν η διεθνής κοινότητα.

Ιδεολογικά ορθό και σίγουρα για το μέσο κοσσοβάρο θα ακούγεται μάλλον φιλόδοξα αληθινό. Αυτό βέβαια όσον αφορά στην αποκόλληση από την οικονομική και τεχνοκρατική βοήθεια που παρέχει ο διεθνής παράγοντας με την πλειάδα των ξένων αποστολών στην περιοχή.

Για το θέμα με τη Σερβία, η απόφαση του Διεθνούς Δικαστηρίου ήταν από ότι φαίνεται, μια ήττα για τη σερβική διπλωματία. Η Σερβία παίζει ακόμα τα τελευταία της χαρτιά με το διάλογο μεταξύ Βελιγραδίου και Πρίστινας να περιορίζεται σε τεχνικά θέματα επιφάνειας και όλοι περιμένουμε να δούμε πως θα μπορούσε να ρυθμιστεί το ζήτημα του βορείου Κοσόβου με τη σερβική πλειονότητα. Εκεί άλλωστε παρατηρούνται όλες σχεδόν οι εστίες εντάσεως τα τελευταία χρόνια. Εκεί θα τελειώσει και το διπλωματικό παιχνίδι.

Το κίνημα του Κουρτι ποτέ δε δέχτηκε να θεωρηθεί αυτό το κομμάτι γης σέρβικο και παρά το γεγονός ότι πήρε θεσμική μορφή όταν μεταμορφώθηκε σε κόμμα, δε δίστασε να προκαλεί επεισόδια κλείνοντας διαβάσεις προκειμένου να εμποδιστούν σέρβικα φορτηγά να εισέλθουν στο Κόσοβο. Αντίποινα θα μπορούσε να πει κανείς σε ότι οι σέρβοι εκδηλώνουν κατά καιρούς προσπαθώντας να δείξουν ποιος έχει τον έλεγχο στην περιοχή και κατά πόσο αδιάφορους τους αφήνουν οι αρχές επιβολής του νόμου των κοσοβάρων γειτόνων τους.

Η εξέλιξη αυτή με την πολικότητα που αναπτύσσεται, ένα εθνικιστικό - κατά χαρακτηρισμό - κόμμα που δρα με τέτοιες τακτικές από τη μια και τους σκληροπυρηνικούς σέρβους του βορείου Κοσόβου να ρίχνουν λάδι στη φωτιά σε κάθε ευκαιρία, από την άλλη, είναι το λιγότερο ανησυχητικό.

Το θέμα είναι ότι η περιοχή δεν έχει ησυχάσει ακόμα. Η εθνικιστική στάση του Κούρτι, με το κόμμα του να συμμετέχει στη Βουλή της Πριστινας με εκφάνσεις αλβανικού εξτρεμισμού και αλυτρωτισμού σε πολιτικό πλέον επίπεδο, είναι αποτέλεσμα κοινωνικοπολιτικών ζυμώσεων πολλών ετών.

Η μετάβαση από τους «ήρωες» μαχητές του UCK, του απελευθερωτικού στρατού του Κοσόβου, σε ένα πολιτικό σύστημα που τους μετέτρεψε σε πρωθυπουργούς και αρχηγούς κομμάτων, είχε τις παρενέργειες της. Σε όλα αυτά βέβαια υφίσταται η μητρική - όπως κάποιοι εθνικιστικοί κύκλοι θέλουν να εξελιχθεί – σχέση με την Αλβανία. Μια σχέση που περισσότερο συντηρεί αποσχιστικές τάσεις και ακραίες επεκτατικές αντιλήψεις στην ευρύτερη περιοχή των Βαλκανίων και ελάχιστα προάγει την καλή γειτονία.

Ιωάννης Γιαννακόπουλος