Tag: Serbia

Not By China!

The US is the arms dealer to the world…..and we will NOT tolerate anyone trying to horn in on our monopoly in arms.

Recently the US learned that Serbia is thinking of buying some defensive missiles from China…..

Interested in modernizing their defense systems, Serbia reports they are interested in the Chinese-made FK-3, a medium-range air defense model made for export. This would be a second purchase by Serbia from China, who just sold them some attack drones.

It makes sense for Serbia to be interested, because China is the low-cost solution. The US was mad about the drones, and is even madder about the air defense, warning Serbia that this could cost them EU membership if they go through with it.

Serbia insists no final decision has been made, and it’s not clear the US warning is sincere, let alone that the EU would listen to the US opinion on membership for Serbia. It’s unlikely this would be a real obstacle, even if the US gets mad.

Serbia probably doesn’t have an alternative, either, with US options probably too expensive for them. US anger is probably more going to be for China getting a foothold in Europe in the first place.

(antiwar.com)

One question…why is it okay for the US to sell their implements of destruction to the world but not for China to do so as well?

What happen to the idea of a “free market”?

Is the US admitting that the idea of “free markets” is a total lie and nothing more than a slogan to discard when it suits those using it?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

It’s The Balkans Again

I recently reported on the events in the Balkans and for those that do not visit IST everyday…..a reminder(may I suggest that if you do not know the history of the region then the vid in the post should help)…..https://lobotero.com/2018/08/30/the-balkans/

Serbia and Kosovo have been at odds for years and a solution has always seem unattainable…..but now …….

Conferences, meetings and summits are usually forgettable. If GPF covered the comings and goings of every leader at every European get-together, we wouldn’t have time to write about much else. But some are due a certain amount of respect. What if, say, two enemies-turned-statesmen actually agreed with each other in potentially redrawing their countries’ boundaries? Such was the case last weekend, when the presidents of Serbia and Kosovo spoke at the European Forum Alpbach 2018 in Austria. Whispers of partition have been audible for a few months now, but this marks the first public utterings of the possibility on both sides – and it happened before EU-mediated talks resume Sept. 7.

It’s not especially surprising that Serbia and Kosovo would consider partition. There are pockets of ethnic Albanians in Serbia, and pockets of ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, and any serious deal to end their dispute, the most current iteration of which dates back to the early 1990s, needs to take that into account. These pockets of political opposition may well keep a deal from getting off the ground, but the presidents are nonetheless pushing forward with what is, so far, the most serious attempt yet to resolve this long-running conflict.

https://geopoliticalfutures.com/serbia-kosovo-prospect-partition/

This region could ignite at any time….it would be best to keep an eye on the events fueling the discontent….

When the next history of the Balkans is written, these two statements will prove to be the most consequential by any U.S. officials. It was James Baker’s statement that gave the green light for Slobodan Milosevic to unleash the full arsenal of former Yugoslavia on breakaway Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A calamitous, decadelong series of conflicts in the region—all almost wholly avoidable—was the result.

John Bolton’s statement now threatens to undo the ensuing two decade-plus international effort to make peace. Building on rumors about private talks between the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to swap territory as a means of ending their standoff, and hints of a change in U.S. policy, Bolton has now given the green light to Serbia and Kosovo to trade territory as a way of ending their decadelong—in fact, centurylong—standoff.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/04/how-to-restart-war-in-the-balkans/?utm_source=RC%20World%20Europe%20Memo&utm_campaign=29fef567a4-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9960d29f6a-29fef567a4-85320065

For the last 100 years the Balkans have been a tinderbox…..special attention needs apply.

The Balkans

The Balkans have been the source of much conflict since the 1990’s and the break-up of Yugoslavia…..but in case you are not aware of the problems…..

I have several followers from the region so I like to keep up to date on the events of the region…..recently Macedonia made the news as a nation that is trying for NATO membership…..https://lobotero.com/2018/06/13/macedonia-whats-in-a-name/

There is some bad news about their possible membership…..

When Fox News host Tucker Carlson asked Donald Trump last month why he should send his son to die defending Montenegro, NATO’s newest member, the president seemed to repudiate his own administration’s policy. He indicated that Americans shouldn’t be willing to sacrifice their lives for such a trivial ally. Furthermore, he warned that Montenegro “has very aggressive people. They may get aggressive, and congratulations, you’re in World War III.” As Cato Institute senior fellow Doug Bandow pointed out, Trump’s comment was odd on two counts. First, the Senate approved the admission of Montenegro on his watch in March 2017. If he thought that latest episode of adding a useless microstate to the Alliance was unwise, he could have withdrawn the treaty from consideration before the Senate vote. Second, as Bandow notes archly, that while “it is theoretically possible that the vast, aggressive, powerful Montenegrin legions might launch themselves towards Moscow,” it isn’t too likely, because Montenegrin leaders “do not appear to have entirely lost their minds.”

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/skeptics/how-macedonia-could-push-nato-war-29702

Most nations of the old Yugoslavia have become members of NATO all but Serbia……and it appears that Serbia is growing closer to Russia than its neighbors…..

Serbia’s air force received two Russian MiG-29 fighter jets as part of an arms purchase that could heighten tensions in the Balkans and increase Moscow’s influence in the region.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attended the ceremony on Tuesday at a military airport close to the Serbian capital, Belgrade, thanking Russian President Vladimir Putin for helping make Serbia’s armed forces stronger.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2018/08/russia-delivers-fighter-jets-serbia-180821171328018.html

Could Serbia be trying to flex its military muscle again?

Serbia might reintroduce compulsory military service, nine years after abolishing it, to help improve the combat readiness of its army in the Balkans, where tensions occasionally flare, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday.

The armed forces of Serbia, which emerged as an independent state after the bloody collapse of former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, were fully professionalised in 2011, but remain poorly paid and equipped.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-serbia-army/serbia-may-reintroduce-compulsory-military-service-president-idUKKCN1L61H1

Serbia has a long history pf hatred aimed at their neighbor Croatia….but why?  (a little history for your help)