Peace
is breaking out all over, in Macedonia, so they say! Some may
call it an armistice. Others, a meeting and agreement of warring
factions, still others, a halt to hostilities or a silencing of
weapons. This is certainly like no peace that I have ever seen
in the past. How is this different, one may ask, peace is peace,
isn't it? A truce, or an armistice, means that military operations,
focused on destroying the adversary, come to an end. Not, however,
in the razor thin veneer of the unqualified and heretofore unsubstantiated
tranquillity that prevails in Macedonia. Macedonia, and NATO's
misinterpretation of the tactical situation on the ground, may
well serve to redefine "peace treaty" forever.
As
British soldiers flew into Macedonia, this past weekend, they
were carefully warned that they could be drawn, quite easily,
into the festering sore that the world knows as war in Macedonia.
As if we, the common observers, are foundering about lost in the
bliss of our own ignorance, waiting for someone to explain the
meaning of peace. That is what faces Great Britain's soldiers,
with their NATO coconspirators, in the latest human rot of the
Balkans. Military leaders can "warn" all they want, however the
world is not buying the "topsy-turvy" delusional belief of NATO,
that they are going home in a month, after collecting the "rebel"
weapons. As well, that peace has come to Macedonia.
Glitches
are appearing everywhere. This, in spite of NATO's apparently
stoic belief that the Albanian rebels, and the Macedonian forces,
will soon be sipping Chardonnay, sharing brie, and hot-tubbing
together. In essence, steadfastly applying themselves at letting
bygones be bygones.
However,
dear NATO, things are a bit rocky! For example, Macedonian fighter
bombers have targeted and leveled ethnic Albanian villages, under
the cloak of peace, just this past weekend. The CIA's renegade
Albanian rebels, many from the New York City area, have launched
routine infantry assaults and the "usual" kidnappings, rapes,
and unique sport of carving their initials in people's backs.
If one were bold, or stupid enough, to stop and engage the opposing
factions in light banter, it would not take long to learn the
truth: every Albanian and every Macedonian has a cache of armament
at home. Nobody would dare trust anybody else. But, alas, we have
peace!
With
the defiant Albanian rebels entrenched on the hillsides, and government
warplanes buzzing overhead, all the inertia that could easily
lead NATO into its biggest and longest, subsequent war, in the
former Yugoslavia, is firmly entrenched. As is common in the Balkans,
instability spreads.
Reaction
to the latest round of lunacy, which is unfolding in Macedonia,
can now be seen in Serbia. Politically, Serbia's future and current
standing is not all that stable. This may come as a surprise to
some. We generally assume that Serbia's "West-leaning allegiance"
which was recently bought and paid for, to the tune of 1.3 Billion
Dollars, by the United States, will remain intact. This monetary
consideration was showered on Serbia, just hours after Slobodan
Milosevic was served up to the war crimes tribunal, like a ripe
peach. Just this past weekend the "present" Yugoslavian President,
Vojislav Kostunica, played a proverbial game of chess with his
party's ministers. This constitutes a major governmental shakeup.
His action could well result in a far less, "West-friendly" political
administration in Belgrade. This is particularly significant because
a large amount of the support that the Albanian rebels receive
comes from the border area of Macedonia and Serbia.
As
well, in this tranquil and peaceful land under the umbrella of
a peace treaty, so we are told, more trouble cropped up. Suddenly,
as if out of nowhere, crowds showed up at the border crossing
between Kosovo and Macedonia. Declaring themselves the "Macedonian
World Congress" -- not a bad nickname if I do say so -- this gaggle
blocked NATO vehicles from entering Macedonia. As a result of
this grassroots hooligan action, I cannot lend great credence
to the tactical stability of the NATO forces, who yielded to the
group. And these are the "hard-chargers" who are going to disarm
the Albanian rebels? Yes, Peace is breaking out all over.
There
is nothing that the Albanian rebels want more than for NATO to
remain in Macedonia. My prediction, in the long run, shall remain
that Macedonia will become a NATO protectorate. This will ensure
a healthy environment for the Albanian rebels to sustain, and
enlarge, their military and political causes through autonomy
and legitimization, via NATO's protective sphere. One can rest
assured that the Albanian rebels will do their very best to keep
NATO in Macedonia, even if it means killing a few, here and there.
So,
now come the British troops. Ready or not, NATO is coming to town.
They have legitimized their forced entry into Macedonia by convincing
quasi-national leaders to capitulate and sign agreements. NATO
arrives in this cesspool of death, mistrust, retribution and bloody
reprisal, which their overt and covert actions have caused. The
Brits are an advance mission and charged with securing entry points
and gauging the sincerity of the former warring factions. Somehow,
by conducting liaison with the rebels and government agencies,
they will be able to determine if it is safe to deploy the remainder
of the NATO force. I hope they packed their crystal balls.
Peace
in Macedonia is an admirable concept. I would opine that peace
can be declared as status quo, today! This, of course, as soon
as all factions trust each other. Of course, all crew served and
assault weapons must be relinquished, all heavy armored vehicles
must be destroyed. As well, I think that honest honorable citizens
ought to lead the country; of the people, by the people, and for
the people, at the whim of their constituents. Until that level
of peace is achieved, pack heavy, it is going to be a long rocky
road. Peace is breaking out all over.
J. David Galland is the Founder and President
of Bound & Overwatch
The Military Observer, a 100% nonprofit organization which
serves as the advocate for soldiers and their families, as well
as for veterans. He is a veteran of The United States Army, with
over thirty-two years military service. Since 1969, Mr. Galland
has been in Military Intelligence and is a distinguished graduate
of the U. S. Army Intelligence Center & School, Fort Holabird,
Maryland. He is a combat veteran of Vietnam, Grenada, and Panama
and of hazardous duty positions in Ulster, Northern Ireland, Zagreb,
Sarajevo, in the Former Yugoslavia, as well as various missions
in Croatia and Bosnia. Mr. Galland has spent most of his military
career outside the normal command channels in classified assignments
as an Area Intelligence Technician, Case Officer, and Desk Action
Officer. He is a internationally respected Defense Analyst, Author
& Columnist, and Subject Matter Expert on Intelligence Tradecraft
in the HUMINT discipline. As well, he is an authority on the former
East German Staatssicherheitsdienst (Stasi). He has been published
by numerous news periodicals and newspapers, both in The United
States and Europe.
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