Tag: Southern Europe

Balkans–A Return To Yesteryear?

I usually concentrate my international post on the region that I know a bit about, the Middle East…..sometimes at the expense of other regions that are having as much problems as others.

I try to keep up with the region of Europe known as the Balkans…mainly because I have a loyal visitor that hails from this region and I hope to get her input in my posts…especially if I have mis-read something that I post about.

I the last couple of days I have run across some interesting stirrings in the region….

First from the small country of Montenegro…….

Official Washington’s New Cold Warriors are painting NATO’s admission of tiny Montenegro in the stark black-and-white colors of a heroic stand against “Russian aggression” but that misses the real reasons why it’s a bad idea,

Any day now, Arizona Senator John McCain promises, the U.S. Senate will vote to approve the incorporation of Montenegro as the 29th member state in the NATO alliance. Though few Americans likely know where to find the tiny Balkan nation on a map, Montenegro has become another dubious focal point of the West’s new confrontation with Russia.

Source: NATO’s Strange Addition of Montenegro – Consortiumnews

Next news from another small country in the region…..Macedonia

Together with our NATO allies and EU partners, the United States has been closely following the process of government formation in Macedonia triggered by the December 11, 2016 parliamentary elections.

The United States calls on Macedonia’s leaders to form a new government without further delay, in a manner consistent with the constitution and Macedonia’s aspirations to join the European Union and NATO. The formation of a new government committed to rule of law and implementing needed reforms will help end a political crisis that has severely hindered the country’s democratic and economic development and Euro-Atlantic integration.

The United States urges all parties to put the interest of Macedonia and its citizens above all else, to work together constructively, and to fully implement all of their commitments under the Przino agreement.

I know the US enjoys sticking our noses in others business….but this is silly….Macedonia should not be pressured on anything….it is like the US wants final approval of the government.  I know what I would tell the US.

It is beginning to look like the Balkans has started rumbling over ethnic issues yet again and could become a major migraine for Trump and his lackeys…..

Now, the Balkans are once again dicing with crisis. Borders are being questioned, ethnic tensions are bubbling up, and land swaps are being mooted as a last resort to prevent a slide back towards violence. Forget China and the Middle East: the former Yugoslavia could yet emerge as Trump’s first real foreign policy headache.

Last month, a row over a Serbian train covered in the slogan “Kosovo is Serbia” in multiple languages sent towards Mitrovica precipitated the worst crisis for years in the region. Most of Kosovo is dominated by ethnic Albanians, who make up 90% of the population.

Source: Rumbling Balkans threaten foreign policy headache for Trump | World news | The Guardian

I try to do a round-up for many regions for the US is entering into a new era….a more dangerous era.

Balkan War Drums Beat Again

As a foreign policy geek I am unimpressed with the situation around our new president, Trump…..he is just starting his imperial rule and he is faced with many situations that will need attention….North Korea, China, Middle East, Russia but the one that could be his first test on the international stage is the Balkans…..

Back in the 1990’s Clinton had his hands full with the Balkans and now Trump may have to get his hands dirty with the region……

Source: It’s Kosovo Again…… – In Saner Thought

And a newer post on the situation……

Source: It’s Kosovo Again…….(Again) – In Saner Thought

And during the first days of Trump there is more problems brewing in the region……

Putin, like many Russians, views Western intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo as an affront to the Slavic Orthodox world, and he plans on revenge.

In the decade-and-a-half of war in far-flung places since the 9/11 attacks on our country, it’s easy to forget how much time Western spies, soldiers and diplomats spent in the 1990s trying to save the Balkans from themselves. After Yugoslavia collapsed in 1991, leaving violence and turmoil in its wake, it fell to NATO, led by the United States, to sort out that ugly mess. Now, a generation later, the temporary solutions Washington crafted are coming apart, and war may be returning to Europe’s unstable Southeast.

First, Bosnia-Hercegovina, which got the lion’s share of media attention back in the 1990s—by no means all of it accurate—has limped along as a half-failed state for the last two decades. Mired in crime and corruption, not to mention a serious problem with Islamic extremism, Bosnia is ailing politically, economically and socially. The strange, jury-rigged arrangement hashed out by President Bill Clinton in Dayton, Ohio, in late 1995 to keep Bosnia together after that country’s terrible civil war, was never meant to be more than a short-term solution.

Source: Trump’s First Foreign Policy Crisis: Balkan War Drums Beat Again | Observer

Hopefully Trump has someone on the Southern Europe Desk to keep an eye on this situation….if not then the US will be caught with its pants down….again.

Kosovo Chaos Undercuts Clinton ‘Success’

I just cannotr get away from the chaos that has re-surfaced in the former Yugoslavia region…..Kosovo to be exact…

I have written a couple of times about the problems rearing its ugly head in the Balkans……(in case you missed it)……

Source: It’s Kosovo Again…….(Again) – In Saner Thought

I always like to give some historical background when ever I can to my posts and presses…….

President Bill Clinton’s Kosovo war of 1999 was loved by neocons and liberal hawks – the forerunner for Iraq, Libya, Syria and other conflicts this century – but Kosovo’s political violence and lawlessness today underscore the grim consequences of those strategies even when they “succeed,” writes Jonathan Marshall.

Source: Kosovo Chaos Undercuts Clinton ‘Success’ | Consortiumnews

The one thing that most Americans fail to grasp is that armed intervention has its consequences…..it may take years even decades but if it is going to come back to bite us in the ass it will not be a pretty one…..

It’s Kosovo Again…….(Again)

Anybody that can remember the Clinton years will also remember the war we fought in those days……the Balkans were a problem and of course the US and its proxy NATO had to intervene……but in case your memory is a bit sketchy on those years….maybe I can help…….

Source: It’s Kosovo Again…… – In Saner Thought

The problems that we intervened to stop have not gone away…….rather we just prolonged all of it in the name of “nation building”……but what has happened in the inter-years?

We “liberated” it into chaos

In Pristina, the capital of the make-believe country of Kosovo, there is a street named after Bill Clinton, and a statue of Bill – done in the Socialist Realist style – towers over the main square. They also named a boulevard after George W. Bush, perhaps to hedge their bets after the Republicans took the […]

Source: Remember Kosovo? – Antiwar.com Original by — Antiwar.com

The Balkans may not be the calm place that some would have us believe……this situation needs to be watched and watched closely……or we will be back into another fray in the Balkans……we really do not need more armed conflicts……I believe we have too many as it is…..

Thoughts?

Is war imminent in the Caucasus?

RIP David Bowie…thanx for the memories……

Before I get some no brain wordsmith pointing out that AJE has tried to take down Manning….let me say here and now…I could care less what happens to some millionaire ball player….move on!

A few years back I was looking at the world searching for could become a linch pin situation (a seemingly insignificant event that turns into a major situation that could involve the world…aka World War 1)…..in case you do not read IST regularly let me refresh you understanding….

Source: Looking For The Linchpin | In Saner Thought

For years Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at each other throats….and a shaky ceasefire….but that seems to be breaking down even further……

Armenia says a ceasefire with neighbouring Azerbaijan over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh no longer exists, describing frequent skirmishes at the front line as “war”.

Artsrun Hovhannisyan, a spokesman of Armenia’s defence ministry, said on Tuesday that Azerbaijan was using “all existing armaments: tanks, howitzers, and anti-aircraft artillery” against Armenian soldiers in the disputed region.

“What we have today is a war,” said Hovhannisyan. “We must use the word ‘war’ as there is no ceasefire anymore.”

Azerbaijan responded with counter-accusations, blaming Armenia for the recent escalation.

“Ceasefire violations are taking place because of the illegal presence of Armenian forces in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan,” Hikmat Hajiyevm, Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesman, told the AFP news agency.

“Armenia has to withdraw from the seized lands … only afterwards the sustainable peace can be guaranteed in the region.”

While the world is fixated on other regions this one could prove to be a bitch to sort out.

Beyond the headlines of war in Syria and Ukraine, a surge in fighting in the South Caucasus has renewed fear of war.

Source: Is war imminent in the Caucasus? – Al Jazeera English

A question few ask and an area that even fewer watch…..so ask….who will Armenia turn to for help when the time comes?  Not NATO for Turkey is a NATO ally and events a century ago will keep NATO out…..how about Azerbaijan?  They would most likely turn to Russia for help…..

This is not going to be very pretty if it continues to escalate……and then the world will notice and everyone will have an opinion.

Ukraine’s ‘Democratic’ Dictatorship by Justin Raimondo — Antiwar.com

Ukraine has sort slipped from the headlines….you see we Americans can only handle one or two “big” stories at a time….and right now Trump and refugees are commanding all the attention.

For months some have been saying that the US is propping up a mostly fascist regime in Ukraine….of course that is not the story the government, ours, wants to be out there…..so they turn to the media to give Americans some red meat to divert our attention from what is occurring in the region.

The problem is that these stories keep popping up and at the worst times….Ukraine is moving away from even the hint of a democratic regime……and the US just smiles and keeps shoving aid and weapons up there butts to keep Russia off guard…..

Source: Ukraine’s ‘Democratic’ Dictatorship by Justin Raimondo — Antiwar.com

The coming war with Russia?

Breaking News!  The Saga of Brady’s Balls is over!  May the country return to sanity now?

2016 is an election that is focused on foreign policy and yet all the talk is about ISIS and China with immigrants thrown in……there is more to worry about and few are paying attention…….

All the problems in Ukraine has seemingly revived the old “war with Russia” saga that has been dormant since the collapse of the Iron Curtain at the end of the Cold War…..

The US, the EU and NATO has been pumping funds and supplies into the region to offset any advances by Putin and his military……many people working at think tans are loudly proclaiming the conditions for a new “Cold War” are ripe for the picking…..

But is it really possible?  A war with Russia that is……

A couple of months before he retired in July, the head of Canada’s air force provided a blunt assessment of what might emerge from the current military mission to Ukraine.

Source: The coming war with Russia | Ottawa Citizen

Hopefully the American people will listen……the world is getting more dangerous by the day and we must soon pick a president that will have to deal with all these dangers………do they, Americans, want someone with ideas or slogans to handle the dangers?

The more the candidates talk the more we have people with slogans and slim on ideas….if that is truly the case then the world will get a lot more dangerous than it is today……that should scare the crap out of all Americans!

The Srebrenica Precedent | Jacobin

The word genocide gets a lot of airtime these days…..every time there is the deaths of many people we hear about the genocide…….

During the Balkan Wars during the days of Bubba Clinton the one event that deserves the title of genocide…….Srebrenica.  And today any incident of mass killings brings the thoughts of this one event…….

Just in case you have NO idea what I am talking about this piece will give you an insight that most people cannot imagine……..

 

The Srebrenica Precedent | Jacobin.

ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia’s North Caucasus Region | Institute for the Study of War

Remember about 10 years ago when Russia was having a helluva time with the rebels in Chechnya?  It seems these Muslims from the Caucus region of  Southern Europe want their independence and have spent much time blowing things up and being a pain in Russia’s ass…….but for a couple of years now the region has been quiet and calm……of course there is still a simmering hatred but that could soon change thanx to ISIS……….

It seems the ISIS has injected itself into the region and things are about to get a bit more troublesome for Russia and in the end….the rest of the world.

An analysis from the Institute for the Study of War has broken down the problems and the situation quite nicely……….

This may not interest most Americans but it needs to be watched…….eventually it will involve the US and its NATO cover…….

 

ISIS Declares Governorate in Russia’s North Caucasus Region | Institute for the Study of War.

Where Have The Nazis Gone?

For about two years people like myself have been writing about the situation in Ukraine……after the revolution, Orange revolution, put a person who shunned the US and turned to Russia…….the West, mostly the US, decided it was time for him to go and they would put their own man in the power seat………and that person is leading the Ukraine today.

After the move we started telling everyone that these thugs in power and elsewhere were basically Nazis/Fascists…….NO one listened……No one cared……but now the real story is coming to light…..

And now we know where the all the Nazis have gone……Ukraine….each and every one.

 

U.S. House Admits Nazi Role in Ukraine | Consortiumnews.

This is not the first time that the US has recognized a Nazi as a national leader…..it happened in Lithuania in the early 1990’s…….

We hate Russia so much that we will get into bed with Nazis……..kinda sad….if you ask me.