This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3365
February 19, 2008
U.S. Recognition Of An Al-Qaeda Infiltrated Kosovo Is Indefensible
February, 19, 2008 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - As we predicted in a 2005 piece, 10 Years And Counting - Still No Exit Plan From Clinton Created, European Al-Qaeda Base the radical Muslim game plan in the former Yugoslavia, which was evident from the mid 1990s has now been realized by what is perhaps George Bush's most serious foreign policy error, the recognition of an illegal and radical Muslim state in East Central Europe - Kosovo.
As has been the case in most of America's blunders regarding radical Islam, the United States embarked upon this disastrous path under the Clinton administration:
"Ignored by the leftist participants in rage-filled street demonstrations is the fact that the Clinton team's Balkan policies were viewed by establishment politicians as so outside the normal confines of American diplomacy that the actions of the US Ambassador to Croatia Peter Galbraith and then NSC Director Anthony Lake were referred to the Justice Department by the House of Representative for possible criminal action.
"...The Iranian presence and influence [in Bosnia] jumped radically in the months following the [Clinton] green light. Iranian elements infiltrated the Bosnian government and established close ties with the current leadership in Bosnia and the next generation of leaders. Iranian Revolutionary Guards accompanied Iranian weapons into Bosnia and soon were integrated in the Bosnian military structure from top to bottom as well as operating in independent units throughout Bosnia. The Iranian intelligence service [VEVAK] ran wild through the area developing intelligence networks, setting up terrorist support systems, recruiting terrorist 'sleeper' agents and agents of influence, and insinuating itself with the Bosnian political leadership to a remarkable degree. The Iranians effectively annexed large portions of the Bosnian security apparatus [known as the Agency for Information and Documentation (AID)] to act as their intelligence and terrorist surrogates. This extended to the point of jointly planning terrorist activities. The Iranian embassy became the largest in Bosnia and its officers were given unparalleled privileges and access at every level of the Bosnian government." - Final Report, House Select Subcommittee to Investigate the United States Role in Iranian Arms Transfers to Croatia and Bosnia, page 201 [source, http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=bosniaislam.htm]
The Islamist penetration into the Balkans especially Kosovo should be alarming to anyone concerned over the growing threat of Islamic jihad.
Throughout the region radical Muslims, originally led by Alija Izetbegovic began consolidating their power in the 1990s. During this period and leading into the Balkan civil wars tens of thousands of foreign mujahideen fighters entered coming from places as disparate as Northern Africa, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
So out in the open was this operation that in the mid 1990s bin-Laden had an office in Sarajevo, on page 58 of the 911 report we read, "Bin Ladin's impressive array of offices covertly provided financial and other support for terrorist activities. The network included a major business enterprise in Cyprus; a "services" branch in Zagreb; an office of the Benevolencen International Foundation in Sarajevo, which supported the Bosnian Muslims in their conflict with Serbia and Croatia."
A study by the London Institute for International Strategic Studies revealed that, "the total number of Islamic terrorists who served in the "Bosnian Army" since the beginning of the civil war is about 40000 [see, http://www.pipelinenews.org/images/Bosnia.pdf].
A number of the 911 hijackers had cycled through Bosnia including 911 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed along with Nawaw al Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. The latter two being among the first selected by bin-Laden to execute the plot.
As Dr. Shaul Shay, a colonel in the Israeli Army and a recognized expert on Islamic radicalism, states, ""In the beginning the main purpose was to help the local Muslims in the war against the Serbians. When the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended, terrorist infrastructures remained there and served as a basis for the Islamic terror activities in Kosovo. Today, the Balkans serve as a forefront on European soil for Islamic terror organizations, which exploit this area to promote their activities in Western Europe, and other focal points worldwide."
Given this track record, why has the West recognized Kosovo diplomatically, when by all accounts it will serve as a launching pad for terrorist operations against Western Europe?
In many ways the decision to welcome what is a renegade - nearly 100% Muslim - province of Serbia into the community of nations is inexplicable. Perhaps inertia is the best explanation, with the policy already having been set over ten years ago along with the tremendous investment of resources by NATO and the United States, the momentum to continue even a failed policy seems irresistible. Regardless the victory for the Islamists which this development represents will reverberate throughout the continent for decades, as Dr. Shay reminds us, "In the eyes of the radical Islamic circles, the establishment of an independent Islamic territory including Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania along the Adriatic Coast, is one of the most prominent achievements of Islam since the siege of Vienna in 1683. Islamic penetration into Europe through the Balkans is one of the main achievements of Islam in the twentieth century." [Dr. Shaul Shay, Islamic Terror and the Balkans] http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=kosovo2.19.08%2Ehtm
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Kosovars Want Muslim Recognition, Help | |||
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"We call on the Muslim world to recognize the nascent state of Kosovo," Sabri Bajgora, the chief imam at the Islamic Sheikhdom of Kosovo, told IslamOnline.net over the phone. Prime Minister Hashim Thaci declared the independence of Kosovo on Sunday, February 17, vowing the new state will be a democratic society that respects human dignity. The announcement was instantly marked by fanfare. Hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Kosovars, many returned from overseas for the occasion, poured into the snow-blanketed streets of the capital Pristina to celebrate the birth of their independent state. Firecrackers went off sporadically, competing with folk music blaring from loudspeakers outside CD shops. "We are in urgent need of political support to preserve our independence," said imam Bajgora. Abdullah Klinako, the leader of the Justice Party of Kosovo's youth wing, agreed. "We need Muslim assistance to join international organizations such as the United Nations." The US and major European powers had been expected to give swift diplomatic recognition, but EU foreign ministers are still wrangling over how to react. At an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Sunday, Western powers resisted a bid by Serbia's ally Russia to block the independence. Kosovo, where nearly two million Muslim Albanians make up more than 95 percent of the population, has been run by the UN since a 1999 NATO campaign ended ethnic cleansing by Serbian troops. Helping Hand The survival of the world's newest country – small, landlocked and economically dependent on others - hinges very much on its friends. Aware of the fact, Kosovars are hoping fellow Muslims, especially wealthy countries, will extend a helping hand. "We need Muslim economic support to develop our new state in all fields," said imam Bajgora. "We need Muslim investments to create new job opportunities for young Kosovars," agreed Agron Hoxha, the owner of an internet café. Landlocked and poor apart from mineral deposits, some 45 percent of the population subsists below the poverty line of 1.5 euros a day. Half the workforce is in formal employment, with the rest either long-term unemployed or working unofficially. Some 30,000 young people enter the job market every year, five times the number Kosovo businesses can absorb. The road and rail network was neglected in Yugoslav times, fell into a total state of disrepair during the 1990s, and was partly destroyed in the 1998-99 war. Luljeta Selim, the chairwoman of Jeta Ne Kasterjot foundation, hopes Muslims would help thousands of women who were systematically raped by Serb troops during the war. "Kosovo also needs Muslim aid for thousands of orphans who lost their parents during the war." |
This item is available on the Militant Islam Monitor website, at http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/3365