A bit of a delayed post -but the "Kosova" House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing Monday was a truly pathetic display of ignorance, stupidity, self-aggrandizement and folly -regardless of your views on independence. Had an unusally high ratio of propaganda per square minute than is usual for these hearings.We The People were told that the "jihadists" (Lantos) should take note and Muslims everywhere should take their "hats off" to us (Wexler), because "the United States stands foursquare for the creation of an overwhelmingly Muslim country in the very heart of Europe." (Lantos) " Ah, yes. Osama bin Laden will love us now, and there will be no more roadside bombs in Baghdad! Joe Biden started playing this off-pitch tune a long time ago. (Give him, Lantos, Wexler, Flake, Rorhbacher et. al. the Woodrow Wilson Sisson award for capacity for believing anything.)
We The People were told this is a great bi-partisan victory for President Bush, Rice and President Clinton.
Them The People (Serbians) were told (the Serbian ambassador was in the audience) that Serbia would be the "prime beneficiary" of losing their heartland of Kosovo, which contains their Vatican. Just like folks who lose their homes to eminent domain for $1 are the "prime beneficiaries" of the U.S. government expropriation of their property.
Them and We were told Serbia would benefit also because they would be "relieved of the burden of an entity which no longer wished to be ruled by them." Kind of like when someone "relieves" you of your wallet.
"Serbia will be liberated by this process." (Kind of like when China "liberated" Tibet, endeavoring to destroy Tibetan culture in the process.)
In case you thought 1244 reinforced the territorial sovereignty of Serbia, Wem (We and Them) were told repeatedly that Belgrade lost sovereignty over Kosovo in 1999 with 1244. That would be the same 1244 that took into " full account of the Rambouillet accords and the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the other countries of the region..." and "substantial autonomy within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia..." Welcome to Orwellville, USA. (Supported by citizen-cretins everywhere).
Cavalier and clueless, a weirdly cheerful Dana Rohrbacher (chewing gum) blabbered vaguely, constantly contradicting himself and facts, all of which he seemed blissfully unaware. Them The People have the right to "control their destiny" but as for the U.S. government, "We're trying to push these people in the right direction." And in a remarkable gaffe, he suggested the Muslim "birth rate" would've been a serious problem anyway for Serbs. (Reminiscent of raw Serb sayings about how Albanian Muslims "breed like rabbits, then take over.")
Rohrbacher insisted it was all about "individual rights," thereby revealing he understands little about individual rights, since the plight of minorites in Kosovo is so wretched that adopting the U.S. Declaration of Independence would give them the right to overthrow the international government so as to not be forced at gunpoint to support their own destroyers.
Clinton-holdover and Rice darling Nicholas Burns? Conscience-less Fluff-Meister. Identified Kosovo PM Agim Ceku as "worthy" and "impressive." It isn't the first time American officials have been "impressed" with Ceku, of course. An unnamed military source told Jane's Defense “We were impressed by [Ceku's] overview of the battleground and the ability to always predict his enemy's next move.” That was back in the 1990's when JD identified him as "masterminding" the brutal ethnic cleansing episodes in Croatia called "Operation Storm" and the "Medak Pocket Massacre." In the latter, traumatized Canadian soldiers later testified of the brutal rapes and killings of Serbian girls, including tying them to chairs after the deed and setting them on fire.
Here's a bit of their testimony: “A drunken Croat soldier emerged from a building and staggered toward [a Canadian soldier] ...A girl could be heard screaming inside the house. Draped on the drunken soldier's head was a pair of blood-soaked panties.”
Impressive indeed.
In a twisted bit of logic worthy of Bizarro World, Burns managed to suggest the Serb enclave of Northern Mitrovica should enjoy substantial autonomy (what Serbia offered Kosovo) but should not secede to Serbia, since it's important to "preserve intact the integrity of the country itself" -meaning Kosovo.
The pols were undoubtedly proud that they managed to stifle the fact the multi-ethnic experiment of Kosovo is a miserable failure, that most minorities live in barbed-wire encircled ghettos and shipping containers -an "international disgrace" Kai Eide called it -and that Kosovo is a failed corruption-ridden mafia state that the US and international community couldn't wait to wash its hands of by granting it independence -under threat of violence from those it fought for. It was largely the prospect of that violence, humiliation and embarrassment for politicians, that Albanians got what they wanted.
No mention was made of course, of the false pretensions of the U.S./NATO invasion and occupation, of the phony intelligence, the utterly false theory of war that led the "strategy" (the idea of war as an act of charity, or at least presenting it that way to the public, and war as something that does not benefit the US in any way), of the KLA, (the only atrocities mentioned were committed by Serbs, of course), of the fact the KLA was never disarmed (1244), or of any other inconvenient truths.
Addition: 4/21: Quotes from official transcript
REP. LANTOS: Thank you very much.
Let me just raise a few items, Mr. Secretary.
The first one: just a reminder to the predominantly Muslim-led government in this world that here is yet another example that the United States leads the way for the creation of a predominantly Muslim country in the very heart of Europe. This should be noted by both responsible leaders of Islamic governments, such as Indonesia, and also for jihadists of all color and hue. The United States' principles are universal, and in this instance, the United States stands foursquare for the creation of an overwhelmingly Muslim country in the very heart of Europe.
Now, it seems to me -- and I'd be grateful if you'd comment on my observations, Mr. Secretary -- that the prime beneficiary of the Ahtisaari plan is in fact Serbia, relieved of the burden of an entity which, for obvious historic reasons, no longer wishes to be ruled from Belgrade. When the Ahtisaari plan was fully implemented, Serbia will start its path towards membership in the European Union, full membership in NATO, the rebuilding of its economy and taking its proper place as a respected European nation in the family of European nations.
So I think it's very important, as we consider this most important -- (audio break).
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(Later in the hearing)
MR. BURNS: Thank you, Congressman. I just wanted to commend you for your long, long time leadership in this struggle, and we appreciate that very much.
And I think you're right. Prime Minister Ceku and President Sejdiu are very impressive people. I had dinner with them last Thursday night. I've met them, of course, in Pristina. They are people worthy to lead a new country. It's going to be an extraordinarily difficult undertaking, but we think they and their unity team are up to the task.
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(Later in hearing: one of the most blatant lies)
MR. BURNS: -- (audio break) -- years is a long time.
This province was taken away from Serbia, in effect, by the United Nations Security Council, but not by the United States. And the Serb government has not shown the slightest interest in eight years in improving the life of the majority or the minority population. And so therefore it's our judgment that independence is the only way forward. [snip]
