'CIA's bastard army ran riot in Balkans' backed extremists'
              Special report: Kosovo

              By Peter Beaumont, Ed Vulliamy and Paul Beaver

              Sunday March 11, 2001, The Observer

              The United States secretly supported the ethnic
              Albanian extremists now behind insurgencies in
              Macedonia and southern Serbia.

              The CIA encouraged former Kosovo Liberation Army
              fighters to launch a rebellion in southern Serbia in
              an effort to undermine the then Yugoslav President
              Slobodan Milosevic, according to senior European
              officers who served with the international
              peace-keeping force in Kosovo (K-For), as well as
              leading Macedonian and US sources.

              They accuse American forces with K-For of deliberately
              ignoring the massive smuggling of men and arms across
              Kosovo's borders.

              The accusations were made in a series of interviews by
              The Observer. They emerge as America has been forced
              into a rapid U-turn over its support for Albanian
              extremists in Kosovo seeking a 'Greater Kosovo' that
              would include Albanian communities in Serbia and
              Macedonia.

              In the past week ethnic Albanian guerrillas have
              intensified their campaign of attacks in the two
              areas, threatening a new war in the region which last
              week put US troops in the firing line in the Balkans
              for the first time.

              The accusations have led to tension in K-For between
              the European and US military missions. European
              officers are furious that the Americans have allowed
              guerrilla armies in its sector to train, smuggle arms
              and launch attacks across two international borders.

              One European K-For battalion commander told The
              Observer yesterday: 'The CIA has been allowed to run
              riot in Kosovo with a private army designed to
              overthrow Slobodan Milosevic. Now he's gone the US
              State Department seems incapable of reining in its
              bastard army.'

              He added: 'Most of last year, there was a growing
              frustration with US support for the radical Albanians.
              US policy was and still is out of step with the other
              Nato allies.'

              The claim was backed by senior Macedonian officials in
              the capital, Skopje. 'What has been happening with the
              National Liberation Army [which has been responsible
              for a series of attacks on Macedonia's borders in
              recent weeks] and the UCPMB [its sister organisation
              in southern Serbia] is very similar to what happened
              when the KLA was launched in 1995-96,' said one.
              'I will say only this: the US intelligence agencies
              have not been honest here.'

              The claims were given extra credence from an
              unexpected source - Arben Xhafari, leader of
              Macedonia's main Albanian party who tried to prevent
              the crisis on the border igniting an ethnic civil war
              inside Macedonia itself.

              A US State Department official blamed the last
              administration. There had now been 'a shift of
              emphasis'.
 
---

              For more background information on the CIA's involvement
with the KLA and
              the lies and deception which launched NATO's war against
Yugoslavia, check
              out the following articles which appear in issue #43 of
the Coalition to
              Oppose the Arms Trade's magazine, Press for Conversion!

              (Dozens of other articles, summarizing 50 years of CIA
covert activities,
              are also included in this issue, on the theme:  "A
People's History of the
              CIA: The Subversion of Democracy from Australia to
Zaire.")
              <http://www.ncf.ca/coat/>

---

              1999, Yugoslavia: KLA, CIA, OSCE and NATO Join Hands
              By Peter Stavropoulos

                      The BBC and Newsweek report that President Clinton
has approved CIA
              training of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to do
sabotage in Yugoslavia.
              According to Newsweek, the CIA will train the KLA in
"age-old tricks like
              cutting telephone lines, blowing up buildings, fouling
gasoline reserves
              and pilfering food supplies - in an effort to undermine
public support for
              the Serbian leader and damage Yugoslav targets that can't
be reached from
              the air."

                    U.S. National Security Adviser Sandy Berger secretly
briefed the
              House and Senate Intelligence committees on these plans
the week that
              former-General in the Croatian military, Agim Ceku, was
appointed to head
              the KLA.

                    Newsweek says, "Intelligence officials worry it
would be difficult to
              control the US-trained rebels once boot camp is over and
they are set loose
              on Milosevic."  A former chief of intelligence planner for
the US Air Force
              said, "I'm afraid they could use their training to carry
out atrocities.
              If they think they can rein them in, it's tremendous
naivete."

                    KLA ranks in Albania swelled.  An estimated 10,000
arrived in
              Albania, mainly from Germany, Switzerland, France and
Austria.  Reuters has
              reported that the KLA is also forcing male Kosovar
refugees to join its ranks.

                    Jane's reported that U.S. military Special Forces
and British SAS
              were fighting alongside the KLA inside Kosovo.  The French
news agency
              Agence France Presse has reported on the deaths of three
French army
              paratroop officers killed while commanding a KLA unit
trying to cross into
              Kosovo from Albania.

                    The U.S.-NATO backing to the KLA and Ceku, its new
military leader is
              the most telling refutation of the claims made to justify
the war.

              Who is the KLA Commander, Agim Ceku?

              * Ceku an ethnic Kosovo Albanian, graduated from the
Belgrade Military
              Academy; served as an  artillery captain in the Yugoslav
army.

              * During Yugoslavia's dissolution in 1991, he defected to
the newly formed
              Croatian Army to assist its drive to secession.  He was
decorated nine
              times in battles against Serb forces in both Bosnia and
Croatia.

              * Brigadier-General, Croatian Army.

              * Mastermind of the "Medak Massacre" (September 1993), a
savage bloodbath
              against Serb civilians in which Canadian peacekeeping
troops were compelled
              to intervene, killing 30 Croatian militiamen.

              * He played a central role in the Croatian Army's
"cleansing" of Serbs from
              eastern Croatia's Krajina region, where Serbs had
comprised the majority
              for hundreds of years.

              * Ceku was "one of the key planners of 'Operation Storm'"
led by the
              Croatian Armed Forces against Krajina Serbs in 1995"
(Jane's Defence
              Weekly, June 10, 1999).  This was supported by the U.S.
and assisted by
              NATO bombing of Serb positions.  Ceku developed close ties
with U.S.
              military officials.  (More than 300,000 Croa-tian Serbs
were expelled from
              Croatia between 1991 and 1998.  Hundreds were murdered,
including many too
              old or disabled to escape.  Methods included: systematic
and deliberate
              bombing of civilians, well-publicized acts of terror to
spread panic, rape,
              and arson against homes, farms and other property.  It was
the greatest act
              of ethnic cleansing in the Balkans prior to the NATO
bombing in Kosovo.

              * The Croatian Army was trained by a U.S. company called
Military
              Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI), composed of retired
U.S. military
              officers. An MPRI spokesmen described Ceku in Jane's
Defense Weekly (JDW)
              as a highly competent and disciplined officer.

              * Ceku retired from his Croatian Army post in February,
1999.

              * Ceku was appointed KLA chief-of-staff in a
reorganization to more closely
              align it with U.S. strategy.

              * Ceku is under investigation by the International
Criminal Tribunal for
              war crimes against Serbs in Croatia (Sunday Times of
London, October 10,
              1999.)

              Source: "Former Croatian general has US backing: New KLA
leader was
              responsible for ethnic cleansing," World Socialist Web
Service, May 29,
              1999.
<http://www.wsws.org/articles/1999/may1999/kla-m29.shtml>

---

              CIA Training and Advice

              By Tom Walker and Aidan Laverty

                      U.S. intelligence agents have admitted they helped
train the Kosovo
              Liberation Army (KLA) before NATO's bombing of
Yugoslavia.  This angered
              some European diplomats, who said it had undermined a
political solution.
              CIA officers were ceasefire monitors in Kosovo in 1998 and
1999.  They gave
              the KLA U.S. military training manuals and field advice.

                    When the Organization for Security and Co-operation
in Europe (OSCE),
              which coordinated the monitoring, left Kosovo a week
before airstrikes
              began, many of its satellite phones and global positioning
systems were
              secretly handed to the KLA, ensuring that they could stay
in touch with
              NATO and Washington.  Several KLA leaders had the phone
number of General
              Clark, the NATO commander.

                    Several Americans with CIA links, spoke to makers of
"Moral Combat,"
              a BBC2 documentary  [Mar.12, 2000], and The Sunday Times
about their
              clandestine roles.  U.S. diplomatic observers were "a CIA
front, gathering
              intelligence on the KLA's arms and leadership," said one. 
Another agent,
              said he had been "suckered in" by an organization that ran
amok in post-war
              Kosovo.  Shaban Shala, a KLA commander involved in
destabilizing majority
              Albanian villages in Serbia proper, said he met British,
U.S. and Swiss
              agents in northern Albania in 1996.

              Source: Siol nan Gaidheal, March 2000.
              <http://www.siol-nan-gaidheal.com/ciaaid.htm>

---

              William Walker: Mr. Massacre, from El Salvador to Racak
              By Mark Ames and Matt Taibbi.

                      On January 15, 1999, a U.S. diplomat, William
Walker, head of the war
              crimes verification team of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation
              in Europe (OSCE),  visited the Kosovar village of Racak to
investigate an
              alleged Serb massacre of ethnic Albanian peasants.  "I do
not hesitate to
              describe the crime as a massacre, a crime against
humanity," he said.  "Nor
              do I hesitate to accuse the government security forces of
responsibility."
              Washington responded to this by quickly setting the U.S.
military machine
              in motion.

                    Walker's background inspires suspicion about the
entire Yugoslavia
              campaign.  If William Walker is not a CIA agent, he's done
a very bad job
              of not looking like one.  He spent most of his foreign
service career in
              Central and South America.  He began his diplomatic career
in 1961 in Peru.
               In the early 1980s, he held the highly controversial post
of Deputy Chief
              of Mission in Honduras, exactly the time and place the
Contras were formed.

                    Walker was promoted, in 1985, to Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State
              for Central America.  He was a special assistant to
Assistant Secretary of
              State, Elliot Abrams, who was closely connected to the
"Iran-Contra"
              scandal.  According to Independent Counsel Lawrence
Walsh's lengthy
              indictment of Abrams and Oliver North, Walker set up a
phony humanitarian
              operation at an airbase in Ilopango, El Salvador,  which
funneled guns,
              ammunition and supplies to Contras in Nicaragua.

                    Although outed in the international press as a
gunrunner, Walker's
              diplomatic career did not suffer.  In 1988, he became
ambassador to El
              Salvador, a state which was still in the grip of
U.S.-sponsored state terror.

                    In late 1989, when U.S.-trained Salvadoran soldiers
executed six
              Jesuit priests and two women, Walker was asked about
evidence linking the
              killings to the Salvadoran High Command.  He apologized
for chief of staff
              Rene Ponce, saying "Management control problems can exist
in these kinds of
              situations.  I'm not condoning it, but in times of great
emotion and great
              anger, things like this happen."

                    Shrugging off news of eyewitness reports that the
murderers wore
              Salvadoran army uniforms, Walker said "anyone can get
uniforms.  The fact
              that they wore military uniforms was not proof they were
military."

                    Later, Walker recommended to Secretary of State
James Baker that the
              U.S. "not jeopardize" its relationship with El Salvador by
investigating
              "past deaths, however heinous."  This is ironic, coming
from a man who
              later recommended that the U.S. go to war with Yugoslavia
over heinous
              deaths.

                    In 1996, Walker hosted a ceremony in Washington
honoring 5,000 U.S.
              soldiers who fought secretly in El Salvador.  While Walker
was Ambassador
              there, the official U.S. story was that only 50 U.S.
military advisors in
              the country (Washington Post, May 6, 1996).

                    "Ambassador Walker's record certainly does
compromise his reliability
              as an objective witness," said James Morrell, research
director, Center for
              International Policy, Washington.

                    There is a widespread belief  that Walker's role in
Racak was to
              assist the KLA in fabricating a Serb massacre to be used
as an excuse for
              military action.  French national TV and two major French
newspapers ran
              exposes on the Racak incident.  They cited inconsistencies
in Walker's
              version of events.  Even the Los Angeles Times ran a story
suggesting the
              Racak massacre was faked.  The theory behind these expos?s
is that the KLA
              gathered their own dead after the battle, removed their
uniforms, put them
              in civilian clothes and called in the observers.  Walker,
significantly,
              did not see the bodies until 12 hours after Serb police
left the town.  As
              Walker knows, not only can "anybody have uniforms," anyone
can have them
              taken off, too.

              Source:
<http://www.emperors-clothes.com/analysis/meetmr.htm> Aug.10, 2000.

---

              Who is William Walker?
              (1935 - )

              U.S. Foreign Service officer:
              * Peru (1962-1964)
              * Japan (1964-1967)
              * Brazil (1969-1972)
              * El Salvador (1974-1991)
              * Honduras (1980-1986)
              * Panama (1985)

              * Deputy Chief of Mission, Honduras (1980-1982)

              * Deputy Chief of Mission, Bolivia (1982-1984)

              * Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central America,
Office of
              Inter-American Affairs; worked with Ollie North and was
special assistant
              to Eliot Abrams, helping arm the Contras (1985-1988)

              * Ambassador, El Salvador (1988-1992); invited death squad
leader Roberto
              d'Aubuisson to U.S. embassy's July 4 party (1989)

              *  Vice Pres., National Defense Univ., Wash., D.C.
(1994-97)

              *  hosted a Washington ceremony honoring 5,000 U.S.
soldiers who fought
              secretly in El Salvador (1996)

              * Special Representative of Secretary General, heading UN
Transitional
              Administration in Eastern Slavonia, Croatia (return E.
Slavonia to Croatian
              control) (1997-1998)

              * Head, Kosovo Verification Mission, Organization for
Security and
              Cooperation in Europe (1998-1999)

              Sources:
             
<http://alpha.ddm.uci.edu/zotmail/archive/1999/19991109101.html>
             
<http://www.stile.lboro.ac.uk/~gyedb/STILE/Email0002026/m4.html>
              <http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/1992/92050804.html>
              <http://www.moravian.edu/NewsInfo/NewsReleases/NR174.htm>
              <http://www.pir.org>

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
                                     Richard Sanders
                Coordinator, Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT)
                              Editor, Press for Conversion!
                      541 McLeod St., Ottawa Ontario Canada  K1R 5R2

                        Tel.:  613-231-3076    Fax: 613-231-2614
                   Email: <ad207@...>    Web site: <www.ncf.ca/coat>

                   
---

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