paulcraigroberts.org

Is the Kremlin Out to Lunch? |

5–7 minutes

---

If this website is to continue, it requires your support. 

Dear Readers, you might be tired of "doom and gloom," but the life of the planet is threatened by the continuing conflict in Ukraine, and no one else is addressing the dangerous situation.

Is the Kremlin Out to Lunch?

Paul Craig Roberts

The Russian Foreign Ministry tells us that Moscow is alarmed by the mounting tensions in Kosovo.  https://www.rt.com/russia/568116-kosovo-serbia-west-agreements/ 

Don't tell me the Kremlin didn't expect this and did nothing, such as assassinate the Albanian troublemakers, to prevent it.

I am beginning to think that the Kremlin is even more insouciant than the American public.  How can the Kremlin be unaware that Washington is operating against Russia on all fronts?  How could the Kremlin not expect Washington to brew trouble in Kosovo? And between the EU and Serbia?  And trouble in the former Central Asian Soviet Republics?  And in former Soviet Georgia?  And in the Baltics?

And Putin is cruising along with hardly a skeleton for an army.  What does Putin do when Georgia has another run at South Ossetia while Russia's limited forces are deployed in Ukraine?  When the CIA- organized Albanians begin slaughtering Serbs in northern Kosovo?  When conflicts erupt in former Russian Central Asia?

How can Russia be left so unprepared when Putin acknowledges that it is Washington's intent to destroy Russia?

Why did Putin let the opportunity pass to show what happens when a punk country messes with Russia by destroying Ukraine with conventional means?  No one expected the war to last a week, and after 9 months the Russian advance has been halted and turned back because of unpreparedness, lack of reserves, indecision, and limits placed on the Russia military's use of force.

The provocations mount because Putin does nothing to discourage them.  Indeed, he invites them.  Does Putin understand that he is inviting nuclear war by encouraging provocations when all he has to fall back on are nuclear weapons?

RT reported on December 10 that 

"The US has quietly given Ukraine the go-ahead to launch long-range strikes against targets inside Russian territory, the Times reported on Friday, citing sources. The Pentagon has apparently changed its stance on the matter as it has become less concerned that such attacks could escalate the conflict."

To be certain that readers understand, Putin has convinced Washington's neoconservatives that their contention that there are no  repercussions from violating Putin's red lines, as none have ever been enforced, is correct.  Expect that while Putin acts out his Goody Two Shoes role, Washington green-lighted Ukrainian strikes inside Mother Russia will increase and become more provocative.  The neoconservatives intend the effects to undermine Putin at home and to convince the Russian nation that Putin is incapable of resisting Washington. The still operating Washington-financed NGOs in Russia and the US-financed opposition party will say that Putin has brought destruction to Russia without achieving any purpose in Ukraine.  The plan, or delusion, is that Putin will be replaced by a pro-Western Atlanticist Integrationist and Washington will dictate a peace on Washington's terms.

It is difficult for leaders to survive long drawn out wars that lead to no victory.  The inclination of Putin and Lavrov is to settle the conflict in negotiations, which means a Russian defeat.  A victor dictates the peace.  He does not negotiate it.

The evil that confronts Putin is not impressed by his Goody Two Shoes behavior.  If Putin doesn't toughen up and quickly bring the Ukraine war to a decisive end, he is going to get us all killed, because the pushes he has encouraged are coming to shove.

Until recently I regarded the American public as the most unaware people on earth.  They fall for every false narrative.  They fell for the narrative that President Kennedy was killed by a lone gunman with a rifle known for its inaccuracy without noticing what a total failure that this narrative presented of the US Secret Service.  They fell for the same narrative again when President Kennedy's brother got the same treatment.  They fell for the narrative that freedom was doomed unless America went to war in Vietnam.  They fell for the 9/11 narrative and never wondered how a few Saudi Arabian youths outwitted the entirety of the US National Security State, the most humiliating defeat ever suffered by a superpower.  They fell for the Covid narrative and 70% of them rushed to be vaxxed with an untested, and as it turns out extremely dangerous substance that maims, makes infertile, and kills. They fell for the narrative that President Trump was a Russian agent.

When you observe the stupidity of the American population, you wonder how it could possibly be topped.  But the Kremlin has.  The Kremlin's insouciance is responsible for the "Maidan Revolution," the invasion of South Ossetia by a US trained and equipped Georgian army, for a go-slow war in Ukraine that has provided Washington every opportunity to get involved and expand the war so that it now includes attacks on Russia herself.  Putin has responded only with words, never with teeth, to these humiliating affronts, which has caused the West to lose all respect and fear of Russia's military capability.  Confident now that Russian red lines don't exist, Washington's neoconservatives will drive us to Armageddon.

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/12/13/is-the-kremlin-out-to-lunch/

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Washington’s Carthaginian Peace Collides With Reality

Washington's Carthaginian Peace Collides With Reality The Biden administration refuses to tell the American people the truth: Ukraine is not winning and will not win this war. The American Conservative November 29, 2022 By Douglas Macgregor The national political and military leaders who committed America to wars of choice in Vietnam, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq, did so as a rule because they were convinced the fighting would be short and decisive. American presidents, presidential advisors, and senior military leaders never stopped to consider that national strategy, if it exists at all, consists of avoiding conflict unless the nation is attacked and compelled to fight. The latest victim of this mentality is Ukraine. In the absence of a critical root-and-branch analysis of Russia's national power and strategic interests, American senior military leaders and their political bosses viewed Russia through a narrowly focused lens that magnified U.S. and Ukrainian strengths but ignored Russia's strategic advantages—geographic depth, almost limitless natural resources, high social cohesion, and the military-industrial capacity to rapidly scale up its military power.  Ukraine is now a war zone subject to the same treatment the U.S. armed forces inflicted on Germany and Japan during the Second World War, on Vietnam in the 1960s, and on Iraq over decades. Power grids, transportation networks, communications infrastructure, fuel production, and ammunition storage sites are being systematically destroyed. Millions of Ukrainians continue to flee the war zone in pursuit of safety, with ominous consequences for Europe's societies and economies.  Meanwhile, the Biden administration repeatedly commits the unpardonable sin in a democratic society of refusing to tell the American people the truth: contrary to the Western media's popular "Ukrainian victory" narrative, which blocks any information that contradicts it, Ukraine is not winning and will not win this war. Months of heavy Ukrainian casualties, resulting from an endless series of pointless attacks against Russian defenses in Southern Ukraine, have dangerously weakened Ukrainian forces.  [Continue Reading]

 

euractiv.com

EU might mulled in Kosovo-Serbia Paris rendez-vous

Alexandra Brzozowski, Alice Taylor

6-7 minutes

---

The EU and France are set to press Kosovo and Serbia to discuss proposals to normalise ties in the latest episode of the region's explosive will-they-won't-they when the Balkan leaders meet in Paris on Friday.

However, analysts are not convinced as they say results from EU-backed dialogue are few and far between while the EU side lacks the grit needed to hold Serbia accountable.

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučič travelled to Paris for two days of negotiations on Thursday to discuss proposals described as the latest effort by the EU to normalise relations between the two countries.

The new diplomatic push comes with a flare-up of regional tensions after Kosovo, from 1 November, started implementing in stages a rule which requires all car owners in the country to use plates issued by the Pristina government.

Each leader is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell for separate meetings on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum, which they are attending.

However, EURACTIV understands the hope in Brussels, and European capitals is that the arch-foes could meet face to face, which would be an important symbolic step in the right direction.

Kurti said in an earlier statement that a trilateral meeting between him, Macron and Vučič could be on the cards. Meanwhile, the EU side hopes a potential follow-up meeting under the Belgrade-Pristina format in Brussels could be possible soon after, according to an EU official who asked to remain anonymous.

In the summer, under the EU-facilitated dialogue, Belgrade and Pristina both had promised to meet at least once a month in Brussels, something that has not materialised so far. This comes after 11 years of EU-backed talks, which have seen more than 35 agreements signed, but most of their provisions unimplemented. 

During this time, the core issue of Serbia's recognition of Kosovo as an independent country has never been on the table.

An early September Franco-German plan, seen by EURACTIV, rather than recognition and firm deadlines, focused on the normalisation of relations from the perspective of a common EU future, the most critical element being the exchange of permanent missions, similar to embassies but at a lower level. The draft came shortly after Paris and Berlin appointed dedicated envoys to the ongoing situation in the Balkans.

Another draft, published in Balkan media would see Kosovo join the UN while enjoying acceptance not recognition from Belgrade, with Serbia getting more EU cash and fast-tracked bloc membership.

Then at the Berlin Process Summit last week, the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell presented an evolved proposal to the parties "to make concrete and irreversible progress on the road to comprehensive normalisation", which was supported by Germany and France.

Asked whether separate French efforts would be contradictory and would constitution as 'toe stepping', an EU official said, "everything is helpful now; the more they get their heads banged at the moment, the better."

While the meeting is good news, considering the precariousness of the current situation, not everyone is convinced it will bear fruit.

Sidita Kushi, assistant professor at Bridgewater State University and expert in the Balkans, politics, and strategy, told EURACTIV that EU talks so far have resulted in mainly symbolic gestures with little to show. She said it is quite telling that France and Germany appear to be leading the way.

"It is difficult for the EU to act in unison on the Kosovo-Serbia issues given that five of its members remain in opposition to Kosovo's statehood while others are at most lukewarm about Kosovo's existence."

She also criticised the EU's 'both sides' rhetoric, founded in neutrality, stating "the EU dialogue process often implicitly accepts Serbia's position on Kosovo – that Kosovo does not hold to the same level of formal statehood as Serbia and should therefore be asked to concede more of its sovereignty for the sake of regional stability."

Examples of this include Kosovo's attempt to establish reciprocal measures regarding license plates, Serbia's threats of military action, and its demands for an Association of Serb Municipalities at a time ethnic Albanians are being 'administratively cleansed' from entire areas of Serbia.

 

"This false neutrality has stalled the EU-led dialogue from the get-go, and this take will only grow more problematic as Kosovo's government becomes more assertive in protecting its hard-won scraps of statehood," she explained to EURACTIV.

But in terms of the various agreements on the table, Kushi says Serbia is unlikely to play ball as they all suggest Kosovo sovereignty. However, returning to a neutral stance will never produce meaningful change, and the EU "needs the backbone to act as a fair mediator, not merely a neutral one."

To sum up the situation, Kushi says the EU continues to look the other way amid democratic backsliding and pro-Russian sentiments.

"Vučič has been able to convince former and current high-level EU officials that Serbia deserves to be compensated for participating in talks with Kosovo, while Kosovo needs to be made to concede more and more." 

If the leaders come face to face, the question is whether any agreement can be found. In July, Vučič told Euronews Serbia that there would be no dialogue with Kosovo as long as Prime Minister Kurti remains in power in Pristina. 

This, combined with threats of escalation, leaves some wondering if the weight of Berlin and France, backed by the EU and US, is a match for a centuries-old conflict at the region's heart.

(Alexandra Brzozowski, Alice Taylor | EURACTIV.com)

 

Jeffrey D. Sachs : Biden’s Foreign Policy Sinking His Party & Ukraine

Consortium News   Biden's Foreign Policy Sinking His Party & Ukraine Jeffrey D. Sachs says the U.S. president's dismissal of diplomacy undermines his own party, prolongs the destruction of Ukraine and threatens nuclear war.   November 2, 2022 By Jeffrey D. Sachs    President Joe Biden is undermining his party's congressional prospects through a deeply flawed foreign policy.  Biden believes that America's global reputation is at stake in the Ukraine War and has consistently rejected a diplomatic off-ramp.  The Ukraine War, combined with the administration's disruptions of economic relations with China, is aggravating the stagflation that will likely deliver one or both houses of Congress to the Republicans.  Far worse, Biden's dismissal of diplomacy prolongs the destruction of Ukraine and threatens nuclear war.   Biden inherited an economy beset by deep disruptions to global supply chains caused by the pandemic and by former President Donald Trump's erratic trade policies. Yet instead of trying to calm the waters and repair the disruptions, Biden escalated the U.S. conflicts with both Russia and China.  [Continue Reading]

 

b92.net

Montgomery: "The irony is that we defend Ukraine, and Kosovo is taken by force"

6-7 minutes

---

Former U.S. Ambassador William Montgomery said that Western diplomatic efforts in the Belgrade - Pristina dialogue essentially work in "squaring the circle".

Source: Kosovo online Thursday, October 20, 2022 | 14:14

Foto: EPA-EFE/Dejan_Tasic

The reason for this is that Prime Minister of the so-called Kosovo, Albin Kurti, insists that Serbia recognize Kosovo and Metohija within the current borders and that it be admitted to the UN, but Serbia will not do that, reports "Kosovo Online".

Montgomery said that he does not have any information about what is being discussed during the current visits of foreign diplomats and in the dialogue, but that based on personal experience of many years on the matter, he can say that most of what has been done so far is an attempt to solve each individual issue in order to avoid the escalation of conflicts.

"The problem created by the EU is chapter 35 in the negotiations with Serbia, which deals with Kosovo, and it should have been the last chapter to be opened after everything else was closed. That EU membership is guaranteed when the Kosovo issue is resolved. That would put real pressure on Serbia. There is no pressure now, as Serbia's EU membership is far away for many reasons, many of which have nothing to do with Serbia – namely, most EU countries do not want further expansion," Montgomery explains.

When it comes to Kosovo's Prime Minister, Montgomery points out, it is important to recognize that Kurti does not care at all about the economic well-being of his territory, because he is fixated on Serbia, both for political and personal reasons.

According to him, Kurti is basing everything on obtaining a "vital Serbian concession", and Western diplomats are putting a lot of pressure on Serbia to do so.

"Serbia, on the other hand, has no real reason to comply. It has a growing economy and many other issues that need to be dealt with. And the EU has nothing concrete to offer Serbia for this concession at the moment," the former ambassador said.

Montgomery also referred to the situation in Ukraine and the similarity with Kosovo.

"I could add that it is ironic that Kosovo was taken by force and against Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council, and with the support of the West. Nevertheless, we are now defending Ukraine because Russia is trying to do the same in Ukraine. The West justified the bombing campaign of Serbia because of the mistreatment of Kosovo's Albanians. The Russians justify their action in Ukraine because of the mistreatment of ethnic Russians there. So, ironically, the Russians are using our own actions against us," Montgomery concluded.

 

b92.net

"Russia's war against NATO – a vicious circle"

5-6 minutes

---

Dmitry Medvedev reacted to the statements of Josep Borrell that the West would give a "powerful military response" in case of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Source: Novosti Thursday, October 13, 2022 | 22:55

EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV

Dmitry Medvedev reacted to the statements of the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borell, that the West would give a "powerful military response" in the event of the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

"As a great strategist and a great military leader in a non-existent European army, Borrell announced the following today: "Any nuclear attack on Ukraine will provoke a response - a non-nuclear, but such a powerful military response that the Russian army will be destroyed," Medvedev wrote on the social network VKontakte", as "RT" reports.

He stated that "paranoia about a Russian nuclear strike" was on Borrell's conscience: "Let's leave the paranoia about the Russian nuclear strike on his conscience".

"Sick. Let's trace the logical chain of consequences: first, an alleged nuclear strike against Ukraine → a strong non-nuclear strike by NATO/Europe against our country → a counter nuclear response from Russia against NATO countries. Vicious circle. Exodus – nuclear winter on the planet", said Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia.

According to Medvedev, Ukraine is indifferent to Western countries. "They don't want to harness themselves to the fullest for them. And even more so, overseas and European demagogues are certainly not going to die in a nuclear apocalypse", Medvedev concluded.

 

b92.net

Contracts have already been concluded. Ukraine will disappear, US fuels war in Kosovo

6-7 minutes

---

Belarus President, Alexander Lukashenko, said USA is pushing Europe into a war with Russia on the territory of Ukraine, while Washington incites war in Kosovo.

Source: Sputnik Saturday, September 17, 2022 | 22:57

Tanjug/AP Photo/Leo Correa

"Structures are being formed in Western countries and Ukraine to overthrow the government in Belarus", said the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

"The US is pushing Europe into a military confrontation with Russia on the territory of Ukraine. They do not hide their plans. The contracts have already been concluded for the next years. That is, Ukraine will be destroyed to the ground. And the goal is to weaken Russia and destroy Belarus," Lukashenko said in speech at the patriotic forum dedicated to the Day of National Unity, reports Sputnik.

He added that in all these actions there is another goal - Europe.

"America is the only country that benefits from what is happening here: to put Europe in its place and remove its competitors. Today Ukraine - tomorrow it will be Moldova or the Baltic states, Poland or Romania.

The US is fueling the war in Kosovo, trying to put pressure on Serbia, fuel disagreements in Karabakh, muddy the waters in Syria. Not everything is simple either in Afghanistan or in neighboring countries. Washington is present in all significant political conflicts," Lukashenko said.

Structures are being formed in Western countries and Ukraine to overthrow the government in Belarus, said the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko. "On the territory of those countries, and especially in Ukraine, they found a suitable place and forces are being formed to overthrow the government in Belarus and for our return to the year 1939 (it refers to the period when western Belarus was part of Poland)," Lukashenko said.

The Belarusian president underlined that in 1945 the East Slavic peoples liberated Poland from German fascism, and now Warsaw is responding to Belarus with "ideological diversions", lies and support for the opposition.

Lukashenko also stated that humanity is on the verge of a nuclear conflict.

"The world has lost its head and is bursting at the seams. How will everything end? Ordinary people, even those who are not involved in politics, keep asking that. Since the end of the 'Cold War', humanity has found itself on the verge of a nuclear conflict for the first time", he said.

The Belarusian president underlined that these are difficult times and that everyone remembers what ended the reluctance of the great empires to come to an agreement: the invasion of Napoleon, two world wars and several dozen local conflicts and hundreds of millions of victims.

 

The West's Dangerously Simple-Minded Narrative About Russia and China

Common Dreams   The West's Dangerously Simple-Minded Narrative About Russia and China   The overwrought fear of China and Russia is sold to a Western public  through manipulation of the facts.   August 23, 2022 By Jeffrey D. Sachs University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, New York City   The world is on the edge of nuclear catastrophe in no small part because of the failure of Western political leaders to be forthright about the causes of the escalating global conflicts. The relentless Western narrative that the West is noble while Russia and China are evil is simple-minded and extraordinarily dangerous. It is an attempt to manipulate public opinion, not to deal with very real and pressing diplomacy.  The essential narrative of the West is built into US national security strategy. The core US idea is that China and Russia are implacable foes that are "attempting to erode American security and prosperity." These countries are, according to the US, "determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence." The irony is that since 1980 the US has been in at least 15 overseas wars of choice (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Panama, Serbia, Syria, and Yemen just to name a few), while China has been in none, and Russia only in one (Syria) beyond the former Soviet Union. The US has military bases in 85 countries, China in 3, and Russia in 1 (Syria) beyond the former Soviet Union.  President Joe Biden has promoted this narrative, declaring that the greatest challenge of our time is the competition with the autocracies, which "seek to advance their own power, export and expand their influence around the world, and justify their repressive policies and practices as a more efficient way to address today's challenges." US security strategy is not the work of any single US president but of the US security establishment, which is largely autonomous, and operates behind a wall of secrecy.  [Continue Reading]

 

paulcraigroberts.org

Will the United States Exist After November? |

6-7 minutes

---

Will the United States Exist After November?

Paul Craig Roberts

The Nazi serving as US Attorney General says he is going to get the warrant unsealed that he used as the justification for the aggressive invasion of President Trump's home by a weaponized and politicized FBI, essentially frame up artists for the corrupt Democrat party.

The question the Nazi attorney general doesn't answer, and the question the presstitutes studiously avoid asking, is why was the warrant containing the probable cause for the unprecedented invasion of an American president's home sealed in the first place?

Little doubt the official explanation will be a lie, one that the presstitutes will repeat endlessly in their attempt to turn the lie into truth via repetition, just as they did with "Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction," "Assad's use of chemical weapons," ad infinitum.   

My take on the situation is that there is no probable cause.  Here is a scenario that can unfold. The FBI has carried off some boxes of documents to which they had prior access but no interest.  Once they decide on the nature of Trump's frame up, they will insert the document that they will use to incriminate Trump into one of the boxes.  Then they will insert into the warrant the "probable cause" that justifies the home invasion.

Nonsense you say.  The federal magistrate who provided the warrant would never go along with a frame up.  How do you know?  The magistrate is the same one who, apparently following orders, let pedophile Epstein off the first time he was arrested.  Just as Democrats grasping for revolutionary power have weaponized US security agencies and the media into armies against their political opponents, they have also weaponized the courts by their appointments of judges.  Just as the FBI was engaged in trying to frame President Trump with Russiagate and with a "Jan. 6 insurrection," so are DOJ attorneys general, prosecutors and federal judges. The US justice system is as corrupt as they get.

The awake part of the population, the Americans with sufficient intelligence to be able to think independently of what CNN, NPR, NBC, the NYTimes and the rest of the presstitutes stick in their heads, are furious with Biden's rampart anti-Americanisms.  To name just a few: open borders flooding the country with immigrant-invaders and the associated welfare burdens, crime, and illegal voting; political prosecution of opponents; gratuitous conflict with Russia, China, and Iran; demonization of white Americans as racists; illegal lockdowns and vaccination mandates; the green light given to sexual perversion; the imposition of sensitivity training and Critical Race Theory on white kids in public schools and white members of the military and civil service and the imposition of quotas on their promotion. The corrupt Biden regime has done all it can to destroy equal treatment. In place of an opportunity society America now has a society of special privileges for "oppressed minorities."

People have finally had enough and polls show it.  Wipeout awaits the corrupt anti-American Democrats in November, and the Democrats with their FBI, CIA, NSA, DOJ, and media armies are not going to let it happen.

Trump must be falsely indicted and disposed of.  This has been obvious for six years–Russiagate, impeach gate, January 6 Insurrection, and now the latest from the Gestapo invasion of President Trump's home, which the media will soon give a name.

We are confronted with desperate Democrats. The crimes committed by Hillary, Justice Department officials, FBI, CIA, and Democrat congressional committees amount to no less than high treason against the United States.  The evidence is so abundant that not even the wimp Republicans could avoid using it and reestablishing integrity in the US Government and the rule of law in the United States.

If the planned frame up of Trump fails, the Biden regime will uncover a white supremacy plot  by "Trump Deplorables" to steal the November election, necessitating  federal takeover of the election to prevent its theft by white supremacists.  In this way the Democrats will again steal the election, and the persecution of their political enemies will have the tone of Hitler's elimination of the Brown Shirts and Stalin's elimination of the Bolsheviks.  

The Democrats, sitting on their army of federal prosecutors, FBI, CIA, and NSA spies and hit men, and an effective propaganda ministry masquerading as a media, have not come so close to total power that they are going to back off and suffer the consequences of their many crimes.  The question is:  can the weak-kneed, intimidated Republican Party of Mitch McConnell and John Durham do anything about it? 

In order for freedom, accountable government, and the rule of law to survive in the United States, will the American people have to take up arms against Washington just as the Donbass Russians had to do against Kiev?

If the Democrats can be prevented from again stealing the November election, perhaps more Republicans with backbone can get into office, people like Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, Marjorie Taylor Greene, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem,  and Florida governor Ron DeSantis.  Governor DeSantis has said outright that he will not permit woke prosecutors to defend criminals from justice as is the practice in many Democrat jurisdictions. DeSantis understands that the Democrats' policy of normalizing crime, sexual perversion, and open borders means the death of America.  

Although it took forever, finally many Americans have also come to this realization.  If the sentient Americans who remain  can reject being put in a defensive position by the Democrat and media enemies of America, people far more dangerous than Russians, Chinese, and Iranians, and turn aggressive like Antifa and BLM, the republic has a chance of being restored.  

Otherwise, it is good-bye America.

https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2022/08/12/will-the-united-states-exist-after-november/

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

b92.net

Is America making a new plan for Serbia?

10-12 minutes

---

There are more and more insinuations and analyses that Washington is returning its focus to the Western Balkans.

Source: Blic Wednesday, August 10, 2022 | 14:49

EPA/EFE/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

Will the USA once again have the strongest influence in the Western Balkans - this is the question that arises after a group of US senators from the Democratic and Republican parties presented a draft law that aims to support economic development, trade and the fight against corruption in our region.

It is about a draft law known as the Law on Democracy and Prosperity of the Western Balkans, and along with it the American senators also released a draft law on special sanctions to suppress destabilizing activities in the Western Balkans.

Both of these legal acts, which were supported by both Democrats and Republicans, indicate that the USA is following everything that happens in the Western Balkans with great attention and not only that, but wants to influence the economic, political and every other process in this region.

Democratic Senator Zhanna Shahin, who introduced both draft laws, pointed out that the initiative comes as a result of increased concern in the Western Balkans over the war in Ukraine. As she said, the relationship of the USA towards the region is crucial at this moment where "Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions to spread malignant influence throughout Eastern Europe are evident", which is why the region's rapprochement with the EU and NATO should be strengthened.

"The new bipartisan law strengthens trade and investment between the USA and the Western Balkans, while fighting corruption, through the adoption of a special law for sanctions against destabilizing actors. All this paves the way for wider Euro-Atlantic integrations," said Shahin.

US senators see this bill as an opportunity to further strengthen relations between the US and the Western Balkans, expand economic opportunities and support efforts to improve democracy and eradicate corruption.

Support for "Open Balkans"

Also, in the draft law, American senators supported the common regional market in the Western Balkans and the "Open Balkans" initiative, which, as they point out, has great potential for improving economic conditions in the region.

Whether and what can change in the Western Balkans after this draft law in the USA is a topic that will be relevant in the coming months and years in the entire region.

They neglected the region a bit

The president of the "Libek" educational and research center, Miloš Nikolić, points out that the proposal of this law in a way represents "the awakening of America in relation to the Western Balkans".

"The impression of the vulnerability of our region was only reinforced by the invasion of Ukraine. There was a justified impression that the US somewhat neglected this region, and that other great powers, primarily Russia and China, took advantage of this in the previous decade," Nikolić emphasizes for "Blic". As he says, that proposal has several layers - economic, security, energy, infrastructural, educational-cultural, media aspects.

"It is a comprehensive proposal to strengthen the strategic presence of the USA in our region in the long term. Some of the goals of the proposal are more urgent, such as, for example, the position of the EUFOR mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Others focus on regulating the area of sanctions, which is partially included in the decrees of the President of the USA", Nikolić assesses.

Economic support is the most important

Nikolić believes that for Serbia, the most important goals of the American draft laws are related to "support in the field of building economic prosperity and strengthening democratic institutions, that is, support in the field of regional infrastructure projects".

"The adoption of a five-year strategy is foreseen here. The support that our companies and the private sector, and above all small and medium-sized companies, can receive in this sense can be very significant for the economy. In this context, it is important to emphasize that the proposal explicitly underlines the great potential and initiatives of the Open Balkans. I would also particularly like to point out that the importance of educational cooperation, partnerships between universities and the importance of youth cooperation is recognized," underlines Nikolić.

A stronger instrument for combating corruption

Suzana Grubješić from the Center for Foreign Policy also shares the opinion that the war in Ukraine and Russian aggression have returned the focus of the USA to the Western Balkans because, as she says, the integration of the region into Euro-Atlantic structures remains unfinished business.

"Secondly, the US is paying more and more attention to China's presence in the region, which could also imply increased US engagement," Grubješić assesses. As she says, the US will create new anti-corruption initiatives that will cover the entire region.

"It will expand the powers for the American sanctioning of the corrupt, as well as the construction of new regional economic initiatives that should improve the region's competitiveness on the global market," Grubješić underlines.

Our interlocutor reiterates that in June of last year, U.S. President Joe Biden passed a decree with similar content as these draft laws.

"The initiative of six senators from both American parties gives the United States of America a stronger instrument for combating corruption and Russian and Chinese influence in the Western Balkans," concludes Grubješić.

About corruption

"Libek" President Miloš Nikolić is not optimistic that the American bills will contribute much to the fight against corruption in the Western Balkans.

"The fight against corruption is something that must not be seen as homework from the outside, but as the authentic will of our domestic political actors. This proposal implies certain mechanisms to support that will. But this remains something that primarily depends on the will of the elected politicians within the countries of our region and the foreseen sanctions will not be able to change that much," Nikolić apostrophizes.

Russian influence is decreasing

Nikolić believes that even without these American laws, Russian influence in the Balkans "will inevitably decrease in the long term due to the changed geopolitical circumstances on our continent."

"The idea behind this proposal is how to ensure that due to this historic retreat, Putin's Russia does not cause fractures that could politically and security wise destabilize the region. This proposal aims to fill strategic voids before others. Therefore, a wide range of support and cooperation opportunities are offered , which is not only of the declarative type," believes Nikolić.

 

jpost.com

Senior Nazi hunter: Let Serbian President visit death camp in Croatia

By ZVIKA KLEIN

6-7 minutes

---

Diplomatic tensions escalated between Serbia and Croatia on Sunday since Zagreb would not allow the Serbian president to visit a Holocaust memorial site in Jasenovac, which was once considered the "Croatian Auschwitz."

Jasenovac was a concentration camp established in the then-Independent State of Croatia (NDH) in occupied Yugoslavia during World War II. The camp operated as part of the then-Ustase regime which was the only country that collaborated with the Nazis in operating their own concentration and death camps. The Jasenovac camp killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews and smaller ethnic groups such as Roma.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic asked to visit Croatia privately and pay tribute to his grandfather that was murdered at the Jasenovac camp. Yet, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić-Radman responded to the reports in the media of this planned visit and said that "the president of a country is a protected person and such an arrival requires the involvement of the Croatian authorities," according to local Croatian media.

Sources in Croatia's Foreign Ministry also were quoted saying, "The fact that Croatia has not been officially notified about the visit is unacceptable."

"He's not only coming as the President of Serbia, he's coming as a grandson of a victim and this is a very sensitive issue because the largest group of victims in Jasenovac concentration camp was Serbs, not Jews."

Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center office in Jerusalem

Ognjen Kraus, leader of Croatia's Jewish community, lays a wreath on the monument of Fascist victims, mostly Jews, Serbs and gypsies, during a commemoration held at the site of the former World War Two concentration camp in Jasenovac April 19, 1998 (credit: REUTERS)

According to reports, Vucic has canceled the visit and Serbia officials explained that the reason is "for the sake of good relations."

In addition, Croatia officials said that they heard of this visit through "unofficial" sources and not through diplomatic channels as is usually the protocol. Gerlich Redman was also quoted saying that they see the media reports around the planned Vucic visit as a "provocation," which, in his view, "do not honor the victims [of the Jasenovac camp]."

The Simon Wiesenthal Center weighs in

Yet, a few Jewish organizations have decided to support Vucic, including The Simon Wiesenthal Center. Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center office in Jerusalem, an American-Israeli historian and Nazi hunter, told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that "It's important to note that Vucic's grandfather and other relatives were killed by the Ustase," Zuroff said of Ustase, a Croatian fascist organization, formally known as the Croatian Revolutionary Movement. According to historians, Ustase members murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews, Serbs and Roma during the Holocaust.

"So, in other words, he's not only coming as the president of Serbia, he's coming as a grandson of a victim and this is a very sensitive issue because the largest group of victims in Jasenovac concentration camp was Serbs, not Jews." Zuroff explained that there were also "approximately 18,000 Jews and thousands of Roma who were killed, as well as Croatian antifascists – those were the four targets in this camp."

ZUROFF FURTHER said that the Jasenovac concentration camp can be considered, in some ways, as a death camp, even though it hasn't been treated as such historically. He added that "People normally talk about death camps only in Poland, but this camp [Jasenovac] had a gas chamber. Most of the people were not killed in the gas chamber, yet they were killed in the most horrible ways imaginable: They used to press on people's skulls until their eyes popped out and used to cut pregnant women's stomachs open in order to torture them. They even devised a dagger, which they called the 'Serb killer,' which supposedly made it more painful to the victim than usual."

Zuroff thinks that anyone should be allowed to visit the Jasenovac concentration camp, even if they aren't the Serbian president, but he actually sees great importance in having a Serbian leader from a family that was directly influenced by the horrors of the camp – visit the memorial site. "It's important to let anyone visit [the camp] and it's especially important that the president of Serbia has the permission to go there as the leader of the Serbian people, as well as the grandson of a victim," Zuroff stated.

"On one level, you could say it's a political issue, but it's also a personal issue, a human rights issue," Zuroff stressed.

Zuroff says that the Ustase organization was in some ways the "ISIS of that generation."

Vucic's side of the story was published on the official website of his political party, the Serbian Progressive Party. "The President stated that the information that he was banned from going to Jasenovac camp first appeared in the Croatian media, while there was no reaction from Serbia because our country wanted to send a note of silent protest to the Croatian ambassador," a statement said. It continued with the explanation that "this happened because they thought that we would go public, even though we wanted to deal with this issue quietly."

"It goes without saying that I am to blame," the Serbian President is quoted remarking ironically and showing the people in the room with him the headlines in the Croatian media that reported on his interest to visit the memorial site and by this trying to cause chaos. "Imagine that chaos, maybe because my ribbon would be in the colors of the Serbian flag in accordance with the suffering people in Jasenovac, but to call it chaos and provocation was excessive and I was surprised," Vucic said.

Zuroff concluded by saying to the Post that "Vucic has already asked to visit the Jasenovac death camp twice, before this specific diplomatic incident. There is no reason in this world to not allow him to visit the site where his family was brutally murdered."

 

BIG WIN in Maryland SERBS Primary!

BIG WIN in Maryland Primary!

 

BRAVO GORDANA !!!!

 

Serbian American Voices Must Be Heard!       Congratulations to our own Serbian American Gordana Schifanelli on a big primary WIN, along with Del. Dan Cox. This is the winning ticket in November for MD Governor and Lt. Governor.  Thanks to the Maryland Serbs for their efforts! Dan Cox for Governor (coxforfreedom.com) Gordana Schifanelli (restorefreedoms.com)       CONTRIBUTE     CALL TO ACTION - GET INVOLVED NOW   Please share this newsletter and information with your fellow Patriots, family and friends   Get involved with the SAVA PAC by becoming a Leader in your state   Help us identify candidates SAVA PAC can support on behalf of our community   Please Make a Contribution to help our grassroots mission   Send us ideas, suggestions, or concerns pertaining to the Serbian-American issues   *We are a grassroots organization seeking to mobilize and civically engage our community.     VISIT OUR WEBSITE   Copyright © *2021* *SERBIAN AMERICAN VOTERS ALLIANCE*, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. BOX 178491 ~ Chicago, IL 60617 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.