HOW OLD IS THE NEW NATO CONCEPT?

Zivadin Jovanovic                                                    November, 2010.

Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals

 

                          

                      HOW OLD IS THE NEW NATO CONCEPT?

 

In the eve of the NATO Lisbon summit there is a need to recall that eleven years ago Serbia (FRY) was a testing ground and first victim of so called new concept of NATO strategy which is to be formally endorsed in Lisbon November 19/20.

It is expected that the leaders of NATO members will, among other things, reauthorize themselves to undertake military actions beyond the area of their own territories, in fact, all over the globe. What will be necessary is to just formally proclaim that in certain region, certain country their interests are jeopardized – economic, energy, trade, routes. NATO will not seek authorization of the UN Security Council – it will act by its own merits. It imposes itself above UN, OSCE and all other international bodies. Division of burden and tasks with European Union will be the pillar of the new NATO strategic concept.

This concept was openly tested in Serbia (FRY) in 1999. "NATO has now had more than a decade of experience in the requirements to do expeditionary operations" – stated Michele Flournoy recently explaining the background of 21^st century NATO strategy to be adopted at the Lisbon Summit. One can suppose that "more than a decade of experience" include also NATO interventions in the civil wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995, occupations of Afghanistan 2001 and of Irak 2003. What have been results of USA/NATO "expeditionary operations"? What are human losses, what are the losses in terms of instability, insecurity, financial and economic set-backs and lasting poverty, criminalization?  Are the Balkans, Afghanistan, Irak and other regions which have been victims of USA/NATO "expeditionary operations" more stable, more economically advanced today then before?

Putting aside other regions and other examples, let us recall only that during 72 days of continuous military aggression against Serbia NATO left thousands of dead, about 10.000 wounded, two thirds civilians, economy completely destroyed, environment polluted by depleted uranium missiles, hundreds of thousands of displaced. Even today, some of the buildings in the heart of Belgrade remain in ruins while over 200.000 of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija cannot return to their homes.

NATO countries supported unilateral illegal secession of Kosovo and Metohija from Serbia (2008), they led the process of recognition of illegal creature of theirs. 

In the 90-ties many NATO countries had been financing, training and arming terrorist KLA. In return, KLA was their ground force in the time of aggression. Today NATO is arming, training and financing illegal Army of illegal Kosovo and Metohija composed of elements of former terrorist KLA. USA, Britain, Germany and Turkey are leading in this process.

No wonder that Kosovo and Metohija is perceived by many countries as NATO-state (NATO-stan), by others as a narco-state. In any case, military base "Bondstil" in Kosovo remains the largest USA base in Europe (some claim in the world). Some 9.000 NATO tropes today still occupy Kosovo while the Province continues to be safe heaven for narco-mafia, transit route of heroin from Afghanistan to Central and Northern Europe, for all sorts of international organized crime.

The implication of NATO aggression and unilateral secession of Kosovo and Metohija is instability in the region, growing socio-economic tensions.

At the end of October 2010 "representatives" of Albanians from Serbia, FYROM (Macedonia), Greece and Montenegro gathered in Tirana from where they formally launched common objective – to establish "natural Albania". For some reasons they did not say Greater Albania". All Albanians in one state! It should be recalled that before that gathering, high representatives of Albania, including the Prime Minister himself, called for unification of all Albanians. Former head of OSCE mission to Kosovo (KVM), USA ambassador William Walker at the beginning of November 2010, made a statement that Albanians from Kosovo have the right to unite with Albania. All in all, there are open claims for new redrawing of the borders in the Balkan.

NATO aggression on Serbia in 1999, NATO strategy in general, led to rise of secessions, legitimization of interventions, undermining of the role of UN and international law.

NATO has not resolved any problem in the Balkans, neither could it do so. Instead, NATO made the Balkan region of prolonged instability. The same applies to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Irak. Is this the role of NATO that Europe and the world want to see in the whole of 21 century?

 

With the best wishes,

 

Živadin Jovanović

Belgrade Forum for e World of Equals

Sremska 6/IV sprat

Tel:   + 381 11 32 83 778

Mob: + 381 63 327 859