STEP ONE: ADD
ONE INSURGENCY
There's
always some disgruntled minority that will take up arms, especially
if tempted with all sorts of extra little perks (like control
of the local drug trade). It doesn't matter if their grievances
are real: the Anglo-American media, liberal to a fault, is
always on the lookout for new victim groups to champion. (This,
after all, makes them look like crusaders for justice instead
of the shameless hacks they are). Not only that, but the endless
search for new victim groups necessitates the need for new
villains, and, if we are talking about the Balkans,
there is only one group so designated, and that is, of course,
the Slavic people. If the Albanians can do no wrong, then
anything the Slavs do to preserve their national sovereignty
or resist the Western takeover is, by definition, "racism"
and must be mercilessly punished.
STEP TWO: MIX
IN PLENTY OF ARMS
Secondly,
having created the problem to begin with, you must then proceed
to "solve" it by means of direct military intervention –
preferably by getting the target nation to agree, but, if
not, going in anyway. After all, "human rights" are at stake.
In the case of Macedonia, NATO has gotten the government to
agree to what is little short of an invasion – on the pretext
that NATO troops will "disarm" the insurgents. Gee, that's
funny, but I could've sworn that Scott Taylor's
report from Tetovo made pretty clear just who armed them
to begin with:
"The
UCK commanders welcomed me with a shout of, 'God bless America
and Canada too for all that they have provided to us!' In
the well constructed UCK bunkers overlooking the besieged
city of Tetovo, there is ample evidence of US military hardware.
Everything from sidearms and sniper rifles to menacing-looking
grenade launchers are emblazoned with a 'Made in the USA'
logo."
STEP THREE:
MIX WELL
According
to Taylor, the insurgents have good reason to be grateful.
While the NATO-crats naturally deny that they are supplying
the Albanian extremists with guns, ammo, and sophisticated
equipment giving them a clear advantage over the Macedonian
army, Taylor cites one Albanian, "Commandant Mouse," who confirmed
that the Americans had in fact delivered "heavy mortars
and ammunition" to the UCK. Taylor continues:
"As
proof of 'Mouse's' claim, Thursday, 16 August, the UCK began
bombarding Tetovo with 120mm and 82mm mortars. Judging from
the duration and intensity of the bombardment, which I witnessed,
ammunition supply is not a problem for the UCK fighters."
STEP FOUR:
ADD COLORING (OPTIONAL)
A recent
press conference given by the commander-in-chief of the Albanian
forces featured an odd display of flags behind the speakers:
not only the black eagle on a red background that serves as
the emblem of "Greater Albania," but also three others –
NATO's missile-shaped fleur-de-lis, the EU's ominous
field of stars, and Old Glory. "Asked why the Macedonian flag
was absent if his National Liberation Army fighters really
intended to demobilize and work within a democratic Macedonia,"
a
Reuters report informs us, "Ahmeti suggested feelings
were still too raw to resurrect state symbols on rebel turf.
'For sure the Macedonian flag will be here in the future,
not tomorrow or the next day but later...''' Much much
later – i.e., over his dead body.
STEP FIVE:
CHILL OVERNIGHT
The rebel
display of the NATO flag is not just a symbolic gesture: where
else do you suppose the NLA is getting those night goggles
that give rebel fighters an unbeatable nighttime advantage?
The whole point of the NATO "disarmament" process is to give
the rebels ample cover while they consolidate their gains
and establish a rival center of power within Macedonia. NATO
has already established a "no fly zone" over the rebels'
domain. The Macedonians, for their part, agreed to pull back
their forces (albeit temporarily) and endorsed the "no fly
zone" concept – effectively ceding a third of the country
to the NLA. Aside from Macedonia, the only other country that
has a "no fly zone," Iraq, agreed to it under the terms of
an agreement that codified its military defeat.
RECIPE FOR
DEFEAT
No wonder
Ahmeti was crowing that this was a great "victory" for the
rebels (and, parenthetically, for the Macedonians, too, on
the somewhat disingenuous grounds that they have been spared
further terrorism on the part of the NLA). "We believe the
war is over," he declared, and he's right – the NLA,
with NATO, American and European assistance, has won. What
is being negotiated, now, is the terms of surrender.
IS NOTHING
SACRED?
Anyone who
believes the NATO mission is going to last only a month, or
that the Albanians will really agree to give up their weapons
– and, most of all, anybody who takes seriously Ahmeti's
reassurances that the NLA wants to be a part of "democratic
Macedonia" – is living in a fantasy world. The much-vaunted
"ceasefire" never
took effect, and the latest
Albanian outrage – the bombing of Macedonia's most revered
Orthodox church – merely confirms what everyone knew to begin
with. As the Macedonian Ministry of the Interior trenchantly
put it: "This just confirms the anti-historical mental makeup
of the Albanian terrorists and historically locates them in
the period of savages when simply nothing sacred existed."
BLAMING THE
VICTIMS
The irony
is that it isn't the Albanian terrorists who are being blamed,
but – get this! – the Macedonians! A Reuters
report gives a perfunctory bow to the obvious – the view
that the bombing was the work of the NLA – but allots much
more space to the opinions of the Albanians, the EU "monitors,"
and various anonymous diplomats, who are floating a conspiracy
theory that pins the blame on the victims:
"'I
am convinced it was done by a special team of Macedonians
opposed to the peace agreement who want to cause political
destabilisation,' the black-bearded fighter [Commander 'Leka']
said over a cup of coffee in a crowded cafe."
"'I'm
no expert, but my opinion is that it was mined,' a European
Union monitor at the scene told Reuters. 'There are no shell
craters around.'"
"'It's
rather suspicious,' a Western diplomat said. 'The NLA is not
known to have attacked religious sites before.'"
EXCEPT FOR
MATEJCHE – AND KOSOVO
I guess
this means the
takeover of the monastery in the village of Matejche,
near Kumanovo region, on May 4, doesn't count. The monastery,
built in the 13th century, has been used as a headquarters
by the local NLA thugs, who have "cleansed" the surrounding
villages of ethnic Macedonians. What is particularly galling
about this Western diplomat's groundless speculations is that
the NLA, in its hatred of Orthodoxy, is the mirror image of
its progenitor: the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). The KLA
has burned, looted, and leveled to the ground virtually every
Orthodox church in Kosovo: what makes anyone believe that
they will not carry out the same campaign of cultural cleansing
in Macedonia?
CORNERED
Although
the Macedonian Security Forces were in no shape to combat
the insurrection at the start, the influx of arms to the Macedonians
from the Ukraine and Russia is
said to continue despite pressure from NATO and the US
to cut them off. We'll see how long that lasts, or
even if it is true at all. But in any case, the essentially
ill-equipped and ill-prepared Macedonian armed forces are
in a very bad position. In exchange for being allowed to secede
peacefully from Yugoslavia, in 1992, the Macedonians turned
the great bulk of their heavy weaponry over to the Yugoslav
Army. This suggests a possible way out for the cornered Macedonians,
who find that they are facing not only the Albanians, but
their European and American sponsors.
FOR A REGIONAL
DEFENSE PACT
If the US-NATO-Albanian
alliance is allowed to conquer Macedonia – essentially without
a shot being fired – then the way is opened to the destabilization
and eventual destruction of the other regional powers as well.
The fate of the former Yugoslavia – and, indeed, all the
Slavic nations of the Balkans – is inextricably bound up
with that of Macedonia. What is needed is a regional defense
pact against further incursions by either NATO or their Albanian
clients.
STICKING IT
TO NATO
Bulgaria,
Romania, and especially Greece – lazing luxuriously in the
Mediterranean sun, thinking itself immune to the Balkan Disorder
– must stand up together, or fall one-by-one. If Macedonia
falls, then southern Serbia is next, not to mention Epirus,
parts of Bulgaria, and beyond. The return of Yugoslav Army
troops to Macedonia would be cheered by the beleaguered Macedonian
people: and, if that is too politically sensitive, then perhaps
just the return of all that heavy weaponry, most of which
survived the Kosovo war. Now that would be a good way
for President Vojislav Kostunica to strike back at his Western
opponents, who have avidly supported Zoran Djindjic, his chief
rival, and done everything to undercut Yugoslavia's revival.
Go ahead, Mr. President – stick it in their eye!
A PINCH OF
PROPAGANDA (MAKE THAT TWO)
The recipe
for taking over a country wouldn't be complete, however, if
it didn't include a good dose of propaganda – actually,
two doses, one directed at a Western audience, and the other
for consumption by the victims. The Albanian victimology championed
by most major Western media outlets permeates international
coverage of the Macedonian crisis. Even the rabidly pro-Albanian
[UK] Guardian admits
that, "Western journalists are more likely to report
from Albanian areas, where they are welcomed." (Gee,
I wonder why?)
SWEET SURRENDER
On the Macedonian
front, however, the US government is not leaving anything
to chance. Uncle
Sam is paying for a huge propaganda blitz in order to
ensure the passage of the Western-imposed "peace plan" in
the Macedonian Parliament. $250,000 will be spent on radio,
television, and newspaper advertisements – a huge amount
in such a small, media market. No doubt more will pass under
the table to members of Parliament, since theirs are the only
votes that will count. The International
Republican Institute – the international branch of
the GOP, which receives federal dollars through the National
Endowment for Democracy – is busily taking surveys (push-polling)
and creating "public service announcements" that basically
boil down to this: you can surrender now, or you can surrender
later – but surrender you must.
WHERE'S YOUR
BUSH?
The ultimate
irony – and tragedy – of what is happening to the
people of Macedonia is underscored by a
recent incident in which an American citizen of Macedonian
extraction, one Mr. Stamatovski, of Detroit, had his property
in Macedonia looted and burned. Mr. Stamatovski campaigned
for George W. Bush and is active in the Michigan Republican
party. After his home was trashed and burnt to a cinder, the
Albanian terrorists left a message amid the ruins: "Where
is your Bush to help you now?"
Where,
indeed....
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