Kosovo: BBC analyses

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/kosovo/ Thursday, April 1, 1999 Published at 08:58 GMT 09:58 UK

Special Report

Serbs 'capture' US soldiers: Three US soldiers are reported to have been captured by Serbian troops.

Kosovo refugees face starvation: As the international effort to organise aid for Kosovo refugees is stepped up, the UN warns that civilians in the province could face starvation within 10 days.

Kosovo Albanian leader 'alive and well': A senior Kosovo Albanian political leader, Ibrahim Rugova, has given an interview at his home in Pristina, to dispel rumours that he had been killed or imprisoned.

Fleeing Kosovo: Images of the refugee crisis: Tides of refugees Kosovo are still waiting to find sanctuary in neighbouring countries. BBC News Online charts their progress in pictures.

Nato under 'cyber attack': Nato's Website, an important source of information during the strikes on Serbia, has been hit by hackers from Belgrade.

Arkan wanted by UN tribunal: The UN criminal tribunal for former Yugoslavia has disclosed that it is seeking the arrest of the Serbian paramilitary leader known as Arkan.

Families flee as historic town burned: Pec - a peaceful historic town - is now empty of people, according to accounts by fleeing refugees,

Serb Red Cross appeals for aid: The Serbian Red Cross has launched an appeal for aid to alleviate the effects of Nato air strikes.

UK: Nato is not going away: UK Defence Secretary George Robertson says Nato's resolve has strengthened as the bombing of Serbia enters its second week.

Nato responds with air strikes: Western leaders reject Yugoslav President Milosevic's conditional offer of a Kosovo settlement as the humanitarian crisis deepens.

Serbia limits news of bomb damage: Serbian media coverage of the damage caused by the Nato air strikes is becoming increasingly restricted.

KLA: 'We take care of refugees': In a rare interview, one of the leaders of the separatist KLA, tells the BBC of his organisation's role in the wake of the Nato attacks.

Analysis: Will the conflict spread?: Avoiding a wider Balkan war was one of the reasons which Nato gave for its action against Yugoslavia: Jonathan Eyal examines whether the conflict could spread.

Guthrie - a textbook British general: The former SAS officer, Gen Sir Charles Guthrie, now the UK's chief of defence staff, is one of Britain's public faces of the Kosovo war.

Pope to send delegation to Belgrade: The Vatican has said it intends to send a delegation to Belgrade to try and bring the Kosovo crisis to an end.

Russia's pride at stake in Kosovo: Ever since the crisis in the former Yugoslavia blew up, Russia has been consistent in its support for the Serbs and its opposition to any aggression against them by the West.

Nato offensive 'widening': UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook confirms that Nato is widening the scope of the offensive against the Serbs. Bad weather earlier thwarted British Harrier missions.

The deadly firework show: Kate Adie was on board USS Gonzalez as it launched the first cruise missile attacks on Yugoslavia.

Hit-list of Serbia's 'most wanted': Slobodan Milosevic heads a hit-list of seven high-ranking Yugoslavs responsible for the "brutal repression" in Kosovo, say British defence chiefs.

US press backs strikes: Nato is being encouraged to step up its air campaign to deter Serb attacks on Kosovo civilians, but there is no agreement in the US press on the need for ground troops.

Analysis: The impact on Albania: The Albanian prime minister has accused Serbia of using a policy of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo to destabilise Albania and other countries in the region. The BBC's Gabriel Partos considers the impact on Albania.

Primakov: Man in the middle: The Russian prime minister is no stranger to mediation efforts. He visited Baghdad to try and avert the Gulf war after the invasion of Kuwait.

Ground troops: Why Nato says no: Ever since the start of the Nato air campaign against the Yugoslav military there have been calls for Nato troops to move in on the ground.

Analysis: Nato credibility on the line: Defence Correspondent Jonathan Marcus assesses the issue of Nato's credibility in a difficult military and political situation.

Milosevic's offer: Full text: President Slobodan Milosevic said onTuesday that he is ready to withdraw some of his troops from Kosovo if Nato halts air strikes against Yugoslavia.

Ethnic cleansing: Revival of an old tradition: The wars in former Yugoslavia mark the revival of a traditional way of conducting warfare, which many thought had come to an end.

Your views on Kosovo: More than 9,000 e-mails and 150 telephone callers from around the world have now given their views on the Nato airstrikes to BBC News Online.

Jamie Shea: Nato's man with the common touch: Nato's man in the camera spotlight, Jamie Shea, speaks in cockney-like tones and has won admirers among a sceptical press pack

Kosovo crisis: In depth: Analysis, history and profiles of the key figures in the Kosovo crisis

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), April 01, 1999

Answers

The BBC does a great job of getting a lot of information on-line, don't they?

-- 99 (9@9.9), April 01, 1999.

*IF* I understand correctly, rather than the NATO strike being a true NATO action, it is the US and the British who are pushing the attack. The rest of the NATO countries seem to want "out".

*IF* this is true, wouldn't the BBC accounts be biased?

I don't know if this is true, but I read that Turkey recently destroyed a Serbian village of 500,000 people (in Turkey) leaving only 2,000 in the village. *IF* that is true, not hearing of this in the US media would reduce my trust in the US media further.

I sincerely wish I knew who to believe these days. If indeed Yugoslavia is "possessed by evil" and we are needed to "cast-out the daemons", I would like to personally know & understand this. At this time, though, I suspect that the US is up to something that only classified intelligence reports can explain.

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), April 01, 1999.


BTW, here is yet another source of information:

http://www.st ratfor.com/crisis/kosovo/Default.htm

They tend to report things 1) before the media in the US and 2) not covered in the US media. I don't know their "spin", so maybe everything they say is a lie...

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), April 01, 1999.


Ground troops by mid-April. Wait and see. They're (RAIF/CFR types) are planning something bloody. Best way for the power elite to maintain power in the face of probably bank runs (see Andy's post above) and equity collapse is an external threat. Why goad the Russians? Because the national security state needs a believable external threat to keep the populace cowed: the 'war on drugs' didn't do it, Saddam didn't do it, 'international crime gangs' didn't work, so they return to the good old Russian bear. Nothing like a little nuclear sabre-rattling in the face of economic chaos to keep the homeboys docile and obedient. The international money elites have worked long and hard to obtain the level of power they today enjoy, and they do not intend to simply go quietly into the night. (This advertisement brought to you by the Rebel Alliance)

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), April 01, 1999.

The Serbians in Kosovo are following the successful tactics of Subotai, who led the Mongol invasion of Europe in the third decade of the 13th century. Search on Mongol invasion -- it's an education.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), April 01, 1999.


Anonymous99,

The Stratfor site is excellent! Thanks for the link.

-- No No (nono@nogo.com), April 01, 1999.


"The Stratfor site is excellent! Thanks for the link."

Giving credit where credit is due, Dianne originally posted this URL in response to a post of mine. I share your enthusiasm for the site though!

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), April 01, 1999.


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