Date: 09 Apr 1999 03:15:00 +0200
From: I-AFD_2-AT-anarch.free.de (Nico MYOWNA)
Subject: Germany and the KLA


## News 07.04.99
## by kessi-AT-bitex.com

The following may be one of the more important articles to understanding
the complexity of international interests in kosovo/yugoslavia, or the
balkans at large. We shouldn't forget the danish words:"Sandheden er kri- 
gens foerste offer" (the truth is the first victim of war).

Carp was right in his claim that europeans forced the US government in
this war. But it does seem to me that the US government did not unwil- 
lingly follow germany into this war only because otherwise they might have  
lost their supremacy over NATO in europe, but that there are quite  
substantial US interests involved in separating kosovo off from serbia.  
One such substantial reason is exemplified by the US investment into  
bulgarian port facilities on the black sea coast (arranged through the  
mediation of atlantic club president solomon passi in sofia -- the
atlantic club is the NATO cheer-leader in bulgaria), one of the planned
steps of caspian oil on its way west (brzezinski may be out of official
power, but his geostrategic thinking about the caspian region permeates
US external policies). Another such step is kosovo, through which the
pipeline from the bulgarian ports is planned to pass, and which under
serbian control would not be as independent of russian interests as some
in washington might wish.

Therefore the US government jumped on the train and have spoken with the
KLA at the rambouillet meeting to initate a plan, how the KLA could  
isolate the DLA and build their own government either under a NATO  
protectorat or on the side of the NATO in a war against the serbian
army. The souveranity of yugoslavia wasn't any longer a option. And the
serbian army have atacked during the rambouillet meeting and after this  
meeting in his "operation horseshoe" the KLA, who have atacked the ser-  
bian military forces out of and under uncover of the albanian population.  
Both have fought the disgusting war against his own albanian civilians,  
which german circles have been initated with the establishing of the KLA.

Since a secession of kosovo by peaceful means would give an example to
follow to several european minorities in which regional and economic
oppression is interpreted according to nationalist/"ethnic" criteria,
however, the peaceful road to snatching the pipeline away from serbian
control was closed. Therefore, since a referendum was impossible, a greater
war became necessary, a price so high that it would be plausible and
convincing to any potential imitators of the KLA or the albanian
nationalist movement elsewhere in europe, that this option was just
impossible to them. The result will be an independent kosovo, possibly
with no people (the refugees, outside their social structures, are quite
useful to capitalist accumulation as extremely dependent low-wage
workers, whereas before their subsistence structures had been
inaccessible to this type of efficient exploitation), but with a
beautiful pipeline under US/NATO control through the booby-trapped
wastelands of kosovo. Cheap caspian oil for western consumption, and
"the russians" are just watching.

Nico

------------------

[Source: The European, 21 September 1998]

Kosovo
How Germany backed KLA

Roger Faligot
Paris

AS THE exodus of Kosovar refugees continues after the failed guerrilla
offensive by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), substantial evidence is
coming to light that German secret diplomacy has been instrumental in
helping the KLA since its inception in February 1996.

The government of Helmut Kohl, the German chancellor, has officially
supported the western line of seeking to persuade Slobodan Milosevic,
the Yugoslavian president, to end his violent incursion into Kosovo and
enter negotiations with the rebellious Albanian majority in the
province. But behind the scenes it is understood that the German civil
and military intelligence services have been involved in training and
equipping the rebels, with the aim of cementing German influence in the
Balkan area and tackling the refugee problem. Germany is the principal
target destination for refugees from the Balkans and the influx has
become a matter of serious political controversy. Significantly, the
so-called government of the Kosovo Republic in exile is based in
Germany, where approximately 400,000 Kosovars now live.

Arming the Kosovar militants who seek independence from Serbia has led
to a serious rift between the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND), the German
intelligence service, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the
United States, according to French diplomatic sources.

Pierre-Marie Gallois, a retired French general and a specialist in
geopolitics, believes that there was a definite wish within some circles
of German decision-makers to destabilise the Serbs. He told The
European: "The Kosovo crisis has initiated a divorce between Germany and
the United States. Washington realised that pushing the Kosovars towards
a military confrontation with Milosevic, as the Germans wanted to do,
would have a boomerang effect on the Balkans.

"The United States put maximum pressure on Germany to stop supporting
the KLA behind the scenes, as did the other European countries such as
Britain and France."

Germany has traditionally been anti-Serb and anti-Milosevic in
particular: it was the first country to recognise an independent Croatia
before the Bosnian war. It is now attempting to define a new role for
itself in the Balkan region, which it regards as vital to its interests.

The birth of the KLA in 1996 coincided with the appointment of Hansj=F6rg
Geiger as the new head of the BND. One of his first operational
decisions was to set up one of the largest BND regional stations in
Tirana, the Albanian capital. BND agents co-operated closely with the
leaders of the Shik, the Albanian secret service. The Shik was the
successor to the Sigurimi, the feared communist-era security service,
many of whose agents are still active. The BND men were in charge of
selecting recruits for the KLA command structure form the 500,000
Kosovars in Albania. At the same time the BND bureau in Rome was asked
to provide a political intelligence back-up, including working among
refugees in Trieste and Bari, two of the principal entry points into
Italy for Albanian refugees. The German Milit=E4rabschirmdienst (MAD), the
military intelligence arm, and special commandos such as the Kommando
Spezialkr=E4fte (KSK) are also understood to have been involved in
training and the provision of communications equipment. Reporters
covering the Kosovo conflict, which was unleashed when Milosevic sent
police and special forces into the province earlier this year to
suppress the KLA, were surprised to find that some of the KLA fighters
wore Bundeswehr combat jackets with identifiable insignia, even in front
of television cameras.

The MAD also provided the Albanians with phone-tapping and communication
systems used by the Stasi, the former East-German communist secret
police. Some of this material has filtered through to Albanian-trained
Kosovar guerrillas. Weapons from former East Germany have been smuggled
into Albania by the German services for use by the rebels, according to
Dr Erich Schmidt-Enboom, a Munich-based intelligence specialist.

The black-uniformed KSK elite troops, previously active in Bosnia
tracking down Serbian War Criminals, have been involved in training
commandos in northern Albania - still controlled by supporters of Sali
Berisha, the former Albanian president - according to French
intelligence sources. Tomislav Kersovic, a member of the Belgrade-based
institute for geopolitical studies, suggests that the finances to
subsidise the training were provided through an Albanian foundation
known as "The Fatherland's Call", with branches in D=FCsseldorf, Bonn,
Stockolm, Bern and other European Capitals.



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