Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- [Anyone care to speculate on what's going on with this? Two of the three key players in the New Europe are cited, so the initiative is a coordinated one. Javier Solana, former NATO, current EU chief - the posts are interchangeable - evokes a "security vacuum after the NATO mandate," nothwithstanding NATO's claim that it's intervention is designed to bring peace, security, the rule of law and all its other sorceror's incantations to Macedonia, besieged by NATO auxilliaries in the NLA/KLA. And German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, who has taken over from Madeleine Albright the role of the world's most ruthless, dangerous foreign secretary, has it occur to him belatedly that perhaps a UN mandate might be obtained as an ex post facto justification for the military occupation of Macedonia. The same trick he and his fellow war criminals pulled off in Kosovo in 1999: Wage war first by circumventing - spurning - the UN, then call in the UN afterward to do the dirty work of managing the catastrophe NATO has created and and incur all the blame when it inevitably goes wrong. Having Albright's own handpicked devil's apprentice, Kofi Annan, at the helm of the former UN insures the latter's compliance on both scores.] "We will probably have our troops in Macedonia for two or three more months," said Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique. EU Considers Troops To Macedonia By Jeffrey Ulbrich Associated Press Writer Saturday, Sept. 8, 2001; 8:52 a.m. EDT GENVAL, Belgium –– The European Union, worried that a security vacuum will develop in Macedonia after NATO's 4,500-member brigade pulls out later this month, began deliberations Saturday on sending its own force to protect civilian observers. Troubles in Macedonia and the Middle East topped the agenda of an informal EU foreign ministers meeting over the weekend in the Belgian village of Genval, south of Brussels. "We have to avoid a security vacuum after the NATO mandate," Javier Solana, the EU's chief of foreign and security policy, said of the Macedonia situation. NATO was invited by the Macedonian government to send troops to collect weapons from ethnic Albanian rebels under a peace agreement signed last month. NATO insists, however, that its 30-day mission ends Sept. 26 and that it will not undertake a new one. Many fear that without an international military presence the security situation in Macedonia will disintegrate. Nonetheless, Macedonia has not indicated it wants any more foreign troops. Francis Leotard of France, the EU's envoy to Macedonia, has suggested the EU deploy a 1,500-man force to provide security for civilian observers from the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. EU, NATO and American officials say a continued international presence is needed to prevent violence that could destabilize the entire region. Exactly what kind of presence is still being discussed. "We will probably have our troops in Macedonia for two or three more months," said Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique. "It is important for Europe to stabilize the whole region." Any EU commitment should have the blessing of the U.N. Security Council, said Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of Germany. An EU military deployment would be a significant first. The 15-nation bloc is developing its own military arm and plans to be able to field a 60,000-man rapid reaction corps by 2003. EU defense officials have said they hope to have a small force ready for action by the end of this year. The idea of the force is to enable the EU to take joint military action when NATO as a whole does not want to get involved. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
