“For Kosovo to gain independence, there has to be a massive breach of international law equal to that which created the crisis in the first place, the NATO bombing and invasion in 1999.”
by Nebojsa Malic (pictured)
Prior to this weekend’s Kennebunkport summit, the UN secretary-general expressed hopes that Emperor Bush would prevail upon his Russian guest to agree on the proposal that would turn over Serbia’s occupied province of Kosovo to ethnic Albanians. Vladimir Putin probably enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of boating and fishing at the Bush family estate in Maine, but he remained steadfast. The two leaders continue to disagree on Kosovo, Iran, and the U.S. plans for “missile defense.”
There was some progress in Maine, it appears; U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov announced on Tuesday that the two countries would renew their commitment to reduce their nuclear arsenals and replace the START treaty that expires in 2009. The U.S-Russian relations may be at their lowest point in years, but they’re still far better than during the Cold War.
That comes as scant consolation to Bush the Younger, whose presidency is already being described as “imploding.” From Putin to the Supreme Court and Congress, it seems everyone is calling Bush’s bluffs these days, and the pile of political chips in front of him is very nearly gone.The Key Issue
With the exception of Israel, Washington has almost no support for an attack on Iran – and in any case, no resources to organize one. The U.S. military is overextended in the occupation of Iraq, which is going badly anyway. For all the noise about it, missile defense is a technology that works only on paper. With the nuclear talks agreed upon, that leaves Kosovo as the key issue for the Empire.
It is a terrible hand to play. The 1999 war was illegal, its justifications threadbare, and the subsequent occupation filled with atrocities and abuse. NATO’s violent breach of international law (and its own charter) was papered over by the UN Security Council resolution 1244, which has provided the occupation with a fig leaf of legitimacy. But 1244 also explicitly affirmed Serbia’s territorial integrity; any attempts to separate it without Belgrade’s consent would constitute another grave breach of international law.
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/?articleid=11238