>-----Original Message----- >From: Harald Beyer-Arnesen <<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <<snip> >In a critical footnote to >the essay Reflections on NATO and Kosovo" (http://www.lbbs.org/shalomnp.htm) >Stephen R. Shalom (who both is strongly opposed to the NATO military >intervention, and against giving support to the UCK/KLA) writes: "4. Some on >the left claim that the KLA was already being armed by U.S. and German >intelligence, but the evidence is extremely dubious (apart from the fact that >it would make no sense given that Washington denounced the KLA as "without >any question a terrorist group" in February 1998). <<snip> >Chossudovsky also writes that "German, Turkish and Afghan instructors were >reported to be training the KLA in guerrilla and diversion tactics." This >may be, but what is his source? If Beyer-Arnesen is unhappy about the Chossudovsky articles and finds his sources dubious, he should just go ahead, find more credible sources, and write a better article. Since it appears he is opposed to NATO's war, that would be a far better use of his time. Yoshie ***** Copyright 1998 Jane's Information Group Limited, Foreign Report August 27, 1998 SECTION: No. 2510 HEADLINE: The CIA on Bin Laden THE American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has acknowledged that, far from being the crazed terrorist of tabloid headlines, the Saudi millionaire and Islamic extremist Usama Bin Laden heads "a formidable organisation" whose origins lie in the struggle against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan - when Bin Laden was backed by the CIA. A CIA briefing document made available to FOREIGN REPORT says that his organisation, Al Qa'ida (the Military Base), consists of mujaheddin (fighters) of many nationalities who had previously fought with Bin Laden and that "many of these have remained loyal to and continue working with him today". It continues: "Al Qa'ida supports Muslim fighters in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Somalia, Yemen and now Kosovo. It also trains members of terrorist organisations from such diverse countries as the Philippines, Algeria and Eritrea." The CIA paper notes: "Terrorism is a key component of Al Qa'ida's strategy, and Bin Laden cites Koranic references in an effort to justify it."... ***** ***** The Scotsman November 30, 1998, Monday SECTION: Pg. 7 LENGTH: 680 words HEADLINE: US TACKLES ISLAMIC MILITANCY IN KOSOVO BYLINE: Chris Stephen In Pristina THE United States has asked Kosovo's ethnic Albanian rebels to distance themselves from so called Mujahideen fundamentalists, amid reports that Islamic extremists are arriving to fight in this war-torn province. KLA leaders have accepted the US request, prompted by fears in Washington that the war in Kosovo will provide fertile ground for Muslim fundamentalists to take root. Fundamentalists are well established in Albania, despite several raids by the CIA and Albanian security forces that seized five key members of Islamic Jihad and other Middle Eastern groups this summer. Now a joint CIA-Albanian intelligence operation has reported Mujahideen units from at least half a dozen Middle East countries streaming across the border into Kosovo from safe bases in Albania. The American request came at an October meeting of US envoys with the leaders of the ethnic-Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army at their headquarters in Geneva. A senior KLA source told The Scotsman that the group agreed to the request: "It's a clear position; we don't want anything from these people," he said. "Even before they (the US) told us to be careful from them, we'd had this firm understanding." Approximately a quarter of KLA members are Roman Catholics, and the organisation has insisted throughout this year's fighting that its war with the Serbs, who are Orthodox Christian, is nationalist, and not religious. But Albanian intelligence services report an influx of Muslim extremists from a variety of countries into Kosovo. "We have information about three or four groups, there are Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese," said Fatos Klosi, director of the Albanian intelligence service. The US request was top of a "shopping list" the KLA says the Americans gave it. As well as refusing offers of help from the Mujahideen, the KLA says it agreed not to use terrorist tactics such as car bombings against the Serbs outside Kosovo. It also promised not to foment revolt among the ethnic Albanian majority in neighbouring Macedonia. The KLA is coy about saying what it got in return. So far the answer is very little. The US still says the group cannot be included in peace talks on Kosovo's future until it renounces violence. But behind the rhetoric, the US is worried that unless it makes concessions, it might drive the rebel movement into the arms of the fundamentalists. One vital concession to the KLA came earlier this year, when it had the unusual honour of being taken off a register of organisations the US defines as "terrorists". This is a valuable asset, not just in terms of public relations. It also makes fund-raising among ethnic Albanians abroad much easier. For the Americans, giving the KLA tacit support is a tightrope. Shunning it might drive them into the arms of fundamentalists such as Osama Bin Laden -blamed for bombing US embassies in Africa this summer -whose men are already operating in Albania. But supporting them could give a shot in the arm for the KLA's aim of full independence for Kosovo - something the West fears might fuel uprisings in other parts of the world. For the moment, the US appears to be leaning on the side of support. Most observers in Kosovo think the current lull in fighting has more to do with winter weather than the ceasefire brokered under threats of NATO action in October. The majority Albanian population remains committed to independence, and the Serb leadership remains committed to stopping that, with both sides rearming and planning for fighting in the spring. It is also unclear if the KLA's Geneva leadership really controls all the rebel units on the ground, many of whom follow competing political factions. How many Islamic volunteers are in Kosovo is equally uncertain. Few have been sighted by the western monitors in the province. The full strength and political sway of Mujahideen units will only become clear when the spring arrives and warriors again pull the covers from their guns. ***** ***** Sunday Times (London) November 29, 1998, Sunday SECTION: Overseas news LENGTH: 394 words HEADLINE: Bin Laden opens European terror base in Albania BYLINE: Chris Stephen in Tirana ALBANIAN authorities working with the Central Intelligence Agency claim to have uncovered a terrorist network operated by Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic fundamentalist accused of masterminding the African embassy bombings last August. The network is said to have been set up to use Albania, a Muslim country, as a springboard for operations in Europe. Fatos Klosi, the head of Shik, the Albanian intelligence service, said last week that Bin Laden had visited Albania himself. His was one of several fundamentalist groups that had sent units to fight in Kosovo, the neighbouring Muslim province of Serbia, Klosi said. "Egyptians, Saudi Arabians, Algerians, Tunisians, Sudanese and Kuwaitis - they come from several different organisations." Klosi said he believed terrorists had already infiltrated other parts of Europe from bases in Albania through a traffic in illegal migrants, who have been smuggled by speedboat across the Mediterranean to Italy in huge numbers. Interpol believes more than 100,000 blank Albanian passports were stolen in riots last year, providing ample opportunity for terrorists to acquire false papers. Apparent confirmation of Bin Laden's activities came earlier this month when Claude Kader, 27, a French national and self-confessed member of Bin Laden's Albanian network, was jailed for the murder of a local trans lator. He claimed during his trial that he had visited Albania to recruit and arm fighters for Kosovo, and that four of his associates were still at large. Bin Laden is believed to have established an operation in Albania in 1994 after telling the government that he was head of a wealthy Saudi humanitarian agency keen to help Europe's poorest nation. "Terrorist organisations have taken advantage of peaceful Islamic charity and religious groups," Klosi said. Albanian sources say Sali Berisha, who was then president, had links with some groups that later proved to be extreme fundamentalists. The Socialist party, which took over after Berisha's government was driven out by country wide rioting, has since co-operated closely with American officials. American raids on Bin Laden's men in Albania have failed to halt their operations entirely, however. The Americans have withdrawn non-essential staff from the country and fortified their embassy, fearing it may be attacked. ***** ***** Agence France Presse August 13, 1998 18:00 GMT SECTION: International news LENGTH: 90 words HEADLINE: CIA helping Albania upgrade its own secret services DATELINE: TIRANA, Aug 13 The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is helping to restructure and modernise Albania's own secret service, it was reported Thursday. Fatos Klosi, an official from Albania's so-called SHIK secret service told the Shekulli independent newspaper that links with the CIA had been "intensified in recent months." Klosi said the CIA had sent special missions to Albania and set up offices in the north of the country close to the border with neighbouring Serbia to watch developments in the crisi-torn Kosovo province. ***** ***** Copyright 1998 British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Summary of World Broadcasts May 15, 1998, Friday SECTION: Part 2 Central Europe, the Balkins; ALBANIA; INTERNAL AFFAIRS; EE/D3227/B HEADLINE: Newspaper says US army and "secret agents" visit Albania's border with Kosovo SOURCE: Source: 'Gazeta Shqiptare', Tirana, in Albanian 13 May 98 BODY: [3] Excerpts from report "CIA people arrive on the northern border" published by the Albanian newspaper 'Gazeta Shqiptare' on 13th May Tirana: The Americans have landed in Kukes [northeastern Albania, a few miles from the border with the Serbian province of Kosovo]. Secret service agents from the United States Army were seen on the northern borders yesterday in very mysterious circumstances. Two large US helicopters landed in Kukes yesterday and senior US Army officers emerged. According to very reserved sources, these officers did not go to the great length of coming to Albania's northern borders just to make an ordinary inspection. Accompanied by the US military attache, the people of the largest army in the world talked with Kukes division representatives face to face for a long time, but gave no explanation about their talks afterwards. No explanation has been offered in the meantime by the Tirana central office. Even the US diplomatic office in Tirana refused to comment on this visit. "The NATO office should be asked," they declared. They did not, nevertheless, dispute the fact that the US military visited the northern border. The motives for such a visit by the US military to the troubled northern border with Kosovo remain a mystery. Reports say that part of this delegation were US military personnel who helped in the restructuring of the Albanian Army at the time of [former Defence Minister] Safet Zhulali, but who fled after the outbreak of the riots last March. Highly confidential sources have reported that this visit is linked to a study of the terrain and the whole border belt... The Albanian border with Kosovo appears to worry the US Army intelligence officers more than NATO. The US helicopters, which do not resemble the usual Albanian helicopters and which the inhabitants of the Kukes area must have seen only in movies about the Vietnam war and newsreels about the Gulf War, flew over the border several times before they landed in the vicinity of the Kukes division. ***** ***** The Associated Press May 7, 1994, Saturday, AM cycle SECTION: International News LENGTH: 1009 words HEADLINE: U.S. Courts ALbania and Some of Its Neighbors BYLINE: By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer DATELINE: GJADER, Albania To peasants working the fields near Gjader air base, the sleek, silent U.S. drone aircraft spying on Serbia and Bosnia could have been from outer space. "They had white, cylindrical bodies, long wings and long, downward-pointing tail fins," Pellumb Eleshi said, with awe in his voice. "They flew north, toward Serbia, but oh, so silently! We never saw anything like them!" What might sound like a myth told by villagers rooted in the 19th century is fact. U.S. and Albanian sources confirm that the CIA used Gjader for nearly two months this year to fly unmanned spy missions over Serbia and Bosnia. U.S. planes under NATO command have struck three times this year at Bosnian Serb targets. Five decades of Stalinist nightmare left Albania's 3 million people struggling to overcome isolation, neglect and a degree of poverty unmatched in Europe. During most of that period, their xenophobic leaders made the United States the chief enemy. Now, this mountainous nation of decaying cities haphazardly connected by decaying roads is being kissed awake by the world's most powerful suitor. The Bosnian war and <bold>longer-term strategic interests</bold> are leading Washington to court Albania and some of its neighbors. Normally, Gjader is a quiet spot. Shoeless peasants ride horses bareback over parts of the weed-infested airstrip north of the capital Tirana, sharing it with the occasional MiG-21. The 1958-vintage Soviet fighters, mainstay of the Albanian air force, rarely fly because there is little money for training or spare parts. In February, the place livened up with the arrival of a "big plane," Eleshi said. It unloaded drones and the reconnaissance flights soon began. They ended just as suddenly in April, with the appearance of a second "big plane" that took the drones away. Sources confirmed that the aircraft were Gnat-750 drones that collected data on ground activity with electro-optical sensors. The CIA would not comment on the reports of reconnaissance flights. Publications dealing with the latest in U.S. aviation say the drones are built of composite materials that make them virtually radar-proof despite a wingspan of more than 36 feet. All of former Yugoslavia was well within their 500-mile range. Important as the mission was, Albania could become even more vital to Washington. Russia and the United States are coordinating policy in former Yugoslavia, with the Russians working on their Orthodox Slavic kin, the Serbs, but possible Russian expansionism is a long-term worry. <bold>Bob Norman, the U.S. diplomatic representative in neighboring Macedonia, spoke to The Associated Press of hopes for an "East-West corridor" across the southern Balkans linking Turkey and Bulgaria to Albania, with outlets on the Adriatic</bold>. In the long term, that could lessen the region's dependence on ports in Greece, where rising nationalism and pro-Serb sympathies have led to worsening relations with some neighbors. Such plans presuppose political influence. They also require time and money. On the mountain highway that snakes northeast from Tirana toward the Serbian border, a white-knuckled drive of 120 miles takes more than eight hours over remnants of pavement originally laid by Communist Youth brigades in 1947. Railroads and the telephone system are in no better shape, and no Albanian port can take a container ship. Washington is interested all the same, although the Pentagon denies immediate plans to create a military base in Albania. One diplomat said he knew of U.S. plans to for a $ 120 million rail project to link Macedonia and Bulgaria. Interior Minister Ljubomir Frchkovski of Macedonia spoke of "significant" American presence in his country, beyond the more than 500 U.S. soldiers on U.N. duty as a signal to Serbia to stay out. Hinting at U.S. intelligence activities, he said:: "I'm sure you'll understand if I don't go into details." In Albania, obvious signs include American Village, 11 duplexes built two months ago in an eastern Tirana suburb free of the capital's otherwise endemic garbage and squalor. The houses, fenced off and under guard, have a look of permanence. Spiro Martopulo, chief engineer on the project, said nine more were planned, which "tells me more Americans are coming here." High-ranking American visitors in the past six months have included Gen. John Shalikashvili, now U.S. chief of staff, and his successor as supreme commander of NATO, Gen. George Joulwan. Although the U.S. military team advising the Albanians consists of only three men, people in U.S. military uniforms are a common sight at sidewalk cafes in American Village. As Eleshi, the peasant, was telling of the spy flights, a helicopter brought the latest important U.S. guest, Gen. Robert C. Oaks, chief of the U.S. Air Force in Europe. Ambassador William Ryerson often sits in on Albanian government meetings and is frequently in the welcoming party for foreign guests. In the volatile Balkans, Albanians are mindful they need such strong friends. Human rights organizations have accused Serbia of persecuting nearly 2 million ethnic Albanians under its rule in Kosovo province. To the east of Albania is Macedonia, with its own large, increasingly radicalized Albanian minority. There are ethnic, territorial and border disputes with Greece to the south. Uprisings of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and Macedonia could set off a new Balkan war, and the Americans are urging the government to urge moderation on their cross-border brethren. This angers those who agitate for the annexation of Kosovo and western Macedonia into a "greater Albania" of 7 million people. "As an Albanian, I cannot be pleased if they want to lessen Balkan tensions through interference," Abdi Baleta, a prominent nationalist, said of the U.S. influence. Most Albanians seem to welcome the Americans as insulation from a hostile Balkan environment. Even Luan Hajdaraga, whose Socialist Party was formed from the remnants of the old Stalinist regime, says Albania needs the CIA to help rebuild its intelligence apparatus. ***** ***** Copyright 1994 McGraw-Hill, Inc. Aviation Week and Space Technology January 31, 1994 SECTION: HEADLINE NEWS; Vol. 140, No. 5; Pg. 20 LENGTH: 1559 words HEADLINE: CIA TO DEPLOY UAVS IN ALBANIA BYLINE: DAVID A. FULGHUM AND JOHN D. MORROCCO DATELINE: WASHINGTON ....The U. S. Central Intelligence Agency is sending a team with two long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles and a ground satellite transmitting station into Albania to monitor troop movements and potential targets in the former Yugoslavia. The UAVs were developed in a multi-phased project aimed at improving U. S. intelligence-gathering capabilities, which were considered a U. S. weakness during Operation Desert Storm. The UAVs slated for deployment in Albania represent the first in a line of long-endurance systems and were developed under a rush program to meet a Joint Chiefs of Staff requirement for better reconnaissance of Bosnia. The Italian government refused to let the CIA unit operate there, but a direct appeal to senior Albanian leaders produced permission for the flights to originate from the latter country, according to defense officials. Albania's location gives direct access to Montenegro and the tripwire states of Kosovo and Macedonia, where U. S. troops are deployed under the auspices of the United Nations, without overflight of a third country. Also well within the UAV's 500-mi. range is Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Serbian capital of Belgrade. ***** ***** Copyright 1993 The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Summary of World Broadcasts June 15, 1993, Tuesday SECTION: Part 2 Eastern Europe; C.1 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT; OTHER REPORTS; EE/1715/C1; HEADLINE: FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF YUGOSLAVIA; BELGRADE TV COMMENTARY ASSESSES SHIFT IN WESTERN ATTITUDES SOURCE: Serbian TV, Belgrade 1730 gmt 12 Jun 93 ....From our neighbourhood, attention was drawn by the decision of the Macedonian government to accept the US proposal to send a contingent of 300 US troops within the UN forces in Macedonia. Macedonian President Gligorov said that Macedonia was presently not exposed to military threats from the north, even though he thought such preventive action was useful. As for political analysts, the arrival of US troops in Macedonia, be it only 300 of them, is very interesting in light of further political and military involvement by the United States in the Balkans, and this fact should primarily be seen as a strategic one. It is all very close to Serbia - that is, Kosovo and Metohija.... ***** ***** Copyright 1993 Federal Information Systems Corporation Federal News Service MAY 27, 1993, THURSDAY SECTION: STATE DEPARTMENT BRIEFING LENGTH: 3504 words HEADLINE: STATE DEPARTMENT REGULAR BRIEFING BRIEFER: RICHARD BOUCHER 12:30 PM (EDT) FRIDAY, MAY 28, 1993 ....Q Richard, the -- increasing the monitors in Kosovo and the more vaguely defined international presence in Macedonia, where does that stand? MR. BOUCHER: On increasing the presence in Kosovo, the civilian presence in Kosovo, that's something that we're discussing with other governments involved. As you know, the CSCE has sent the monitors who are there already. There are Americans already there as part of that, so that's an issue we're discussing with the others. On the -- increasing the international presence in Macedonia, when I last checked, which was a day or two ago, that was being looked at internally inside the US government to look at steps that we could take that would signal our -- our concerns about the situation there. Q Do either of those require UN resolutions? MR. BOUCHER: It -- in the end it depends how -- you know, what changes were made in present arrangements or how it was done. So it's -- it's not cut and dried, but I think you already have an international presence here. You have a civilian presence under the CSCE that would be augmented, and you have a[n] UNPROFOR presence and other things already in Macedonia. So I -- I can't give it to you cut and dried, but presumably augmenting those who are -- would -- would not necessarily require a UN resolution. Q When this idea of additional peacekeeping forces in Macedonia came up, the Macedonians were saying they hadn't asked and didn't need any, and UNPROFOR was saying they didn't see any need for increased -- and increased peacekeeping force in Macedonia. Is that where it still stands, or have the Macedonians changed their mind? Has UNPROFOR changed its mind? MR. BOUCHER: I -- I haven't seen recent statements, or at least haven't seen those statements repeated, but I think that the point that we would make is that we're -- we're looking ourselves now for Macedonia at a range of possibilities of ways that we can signal the international concern about the security situation and the situation of Macedonia. That's a range of things to do with [what] the joint action program says, and whether it's specifically this, that, or the other I can't tell you at this point. Q Can you give us the ranges? I mean, other than increasing the number of peacekeeping troops, what are we talking about? MR. BOUCHER: I don't think I want to do that right now. ***** Yoshie
