Charlie Rose Science Series
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The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How The War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals
by Jane Mayer
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by Jane Mayer
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02/22/2008
Nicholas Burns
A discussion about Kosovo
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A discussion about Kosovo with Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary of State.
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hahaha this is funny, Lola please stop pretending to have served in Kosova, you must be some Serb trying to do what you to best and that is to spread propaganda. Kosova will be a much wealthier and more modernized country then alot of countries in the Balkans including Serbia. I suggest Serbia unite with Russia hahaha, that will make sure you will never see the light.
A commen from PaulAndrewKirk of Redmond, Wa. to article titled The Kosovo Catastrophe by Martin Sieff http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=25301&page=1#c1 I have served two tours in Kosovo with the US Military and I can tell you the following as factual: 1. Almost all facets and levels of the provisional government in Kosovo are corrupt. In fact its the worst I've ever seen and I've had to deal with some pretty corrupt governments during my career. 2. Supervised independence or even full independence will not improve the miserable lives of the ordinary people of Kosovo. Partly because of what I've listed as fact "1"., and partly because it will take decades of imense amounts of foreign aid throughout economy in order to bring Kosovo into a functioning state that wouldn't need foreign assistance for its survival. 3. Ethnic cleansing is still a common occurence in Kosovo but, this time its the ethnic Albanians ethnically cleansing the Serbs, Roma, Ashkali, Croatians, and Turk minorities through intimidation and at times outright force. I have personally witnessed this on many occasions. 4. No amount of foreign investment will provide enough jobs for the amount of unemployed people in Kosovo. The only way for Kosovo to maintain stability is for the EU to open its borders for an influx of foreign workers from Kosovo. 5. Islamic extremism is on the rise in Kosovo. KFOR soldiers have been attacked in Gjilan [sic: Gnjilane\, Ferizaj, [sic: Urosevac\ and Prizren when I was there. You just won't see or hear about it in the news. More Mosques have been built in Kosovo in the last five years than schools, roads, health clinics, and all other santitation project combined. Compliments of Muslim charities from the Middle East. 6. Mass graves of Kosovo Serbs and Roma have been found during my rotation and reported to the UN. Yet nothing has been done. Why? When we posed the question to our UN contacts in Pristina they replied: "During the transitional stage of Kosovo this would be destablizing. We'll wait until there is a final resolution before we proceed." All those journalists interested in a real story...start looking in around Novo Brdo. 7. The US Government along with key EU allies never had any intention of allowing Serbia a fair opportunity to negotiate with the Kosovar provisional government on the possibilities of a workable settlement that might have been permanent. I was party to a couple of meetings where US Government officials point blank told the Kosovar representatives that no matter what, the US will support independence and that going to these conferences in Vienna were just to give a favorable impression on the world opinion.
Why are people surprised by Burns one sidedness ? The fact is US State Department is practically run by Saudis as most of the employees have worked for them one time or another. Albright, Cohen et all all have made millions as "consultants" for Saudis in "Dubai port deal" or other countless Saudi investments in US as they buy banks, and companies. It is all about money, and the Serbs need to redirect their focus on Saudis. Most Americans sympathize with the plight of Serb population in Kososvo. Now we have a mafia and terror enclave at the Europe's door step with Al Qaeda connections built with the help of corrupt Americans, and the Wahhabi money. Might I add Albright passed information to Pakistanis which led Osama escaping a missile attack, the only time we had a chance to get him.
To john m; i see that my post was deleted so i will post it again. John, name ONE, just one thing that I "lied" about? I have addressed every single one of your false claims with proof for readers to look up if they wish. yes please look up in wikipedia "demographic history of kosovo" to see who has been the majority there for the past 1000 years. All facts. Prove any word or anything that i said to be a lie from here or my previous post lower in the page. As for your "books" comment i never said everything written in the 90s was wrong however; most Western books have an official US pro albanian bias. Others are truthful but right away get labeled "pro Serb" if it covers the truth about the wars in the former Yugoslavia in which ALL sides committed crimes during the 1990s (do you deny this?). This is why I say to western readers if they are interested in the history of Kosovo (which is what we were talking about) to find books written before the US media labeled the Serbs to be the only bad guys in the region. this is what was deleted last night below (i would like to ask the moderator why was this removed while john "barbaric savages" post is still here. does the truth bother you?) i have backed up every claim with proof; I see that you had the nerve to post something here again as i clearly exposed every one of your words as lies on your previous post. I addressed EVERY single one of your points with facts. You had no courage to even attempt to respond to even 1 of my points. Says a lot about the Albanian tactics. Now to address your new lies; 1) Noel Malcolm you mention as a source about Kosovo? Are you serious? This man jumped on the Anti-Serb bandwagon in the early 90s when it was fashionable to make himself some nice amounts of cash. He writes a book about kosovo (by the way Kosovo is a SERBIAN word) and he did not use even 1 Serbian source!! He used only Albanian and Austrian/German sources! It is as if someone wrote a historic book about America without using 1 American source. In his Bosnia book Malcolm argues for a centralized state yet in Kosovo he backs the "right" for Albanians to break away. How is that not a bias? For anyone seriously looking to find good and truthful books about the region simply look at anything written prior to the early 1990s to see the history of the region. Also do a google search on "what the NY Times wrote about Kosovo in the 1980s" and you will see how back then the NY times was reporting on what the Albanians were doing to the Serbs in Kosovo (rape, killing and intimidation to leave so a "pure" Albanian state could be formed). 2) you say "serbia is responsible for killing thousands", what about the "thousands" of Serbs killed by Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Albanians? What specific number count are you referring to? Bosnia for example had 100,000 die in a civil war (a tragedy in which all sides share the blame), 36,000 of that number were Serbs, did they "kill themselves"? According to Bosnian propaganda even after Serbia was found not guilty by the World court (for the nonsense accusation of "genocide" in a civil war in which all 3 sides fought each other and committed barbaric acts) the Muslim Albanians and Bosnians continue the "serbs are guilt for everything" lie. How is it that the Serbs are the only ones that are blamed and are the only people that dmit to the crimes they committed? Are you also referring to the "thousands" of Serbs killed and forced out of Kosovo since 99' by Albanians? Keep bringing more lies here so I can shut you down over and over again. Maybe your claims can work with someone that has no clue about the region but not here. 3) Your "responsible for WW1" comment doesn't even need to be addressed, it is simply ignorant. You clearly have no idea that Wall st made millions off of both wars by plunging the world into debt. Clearly you think that the "americans will always fight for the Albanians". Enjoy it while it lasts as they will drop you as they did Saddam,the Taliban, the contras and countless other groups they support today and drop tomorrow as their geo-political interest changes. 4) What other races in Serbia "don't want anything to do with them"? who? Serbia is a European nation and one of its most diverse. Even when the Albanians fled Kosovo, fearing a NATO ground invasion, thousands went north towards Belgrade for safety. 5) you say that kosovo is now independent. really? how are Belgrade based institutions then still operating in the North? how come there are still thousands of Nato troops there? how come Kosovo cant event take one step on its own without the EU and US doing it for you? how come it will never be a UN member? The Albanians have reached their height in Kosovo, the thing that is scaring them the most is that the Serbs have now united around this double standard and JUST cause of getting back their territory. If you take a close look at history you will see that the Albanians have inched and weaseled their way into Kosovo slowly for many years (settling and forcing serbs to leave) while the Serb nation was fighting epic battles against the Ottomans, the Austrians, Germans and now NATO. The Serbs have woken up from the illusion of trying to "play their part" in major world affairs (losing foolishly half of its male population in ww1 and close to 2 million in ww2 while fighting the Albanian ally Nazi Germany). The Serbs were today dropped by their old allies; USA, UK and France the same way that these countries will drop the Albanians one day.
I see most of the response here relates to Nicholas Burns remarks in regard to the declaration of independence of Kossovo. I see many Serbian sympathizers strongly offended by his one-sided remarks. I am not a close follower of the situation in the former Yugoslavia. But I can say that I was surprised at the one- sidedness of Burns' and his failure to consider the Serbian case at all. Also he did not address the question of what it means to create a Muslim country in the heart of Europe. My own focus was on the Iranian nuclear issue. Burns is a diplomat playing a diplomat's game. But Ahmadinejad is playing a game of reality which transcends diplomacy. He and the regime of the mullahs are openly pushing ahead for nuclear capability. It was surprising that Burns mentioned nothing about two major advances the Iranians have made since the Dec. 5 HIE fiasco. They have greatly increased their speed in enriching uranium, and have apparently built a weaponization facilities with the aid of North Korean advisors. President Bush promised repeatedly that the Iranians would not become a nuclear power on his watch. But this is happening. And all the sanctions in the world as Ahmadinejad has made clear will not stop it. C
gogo it always amazes me how people like you and I'm assuming you are a Serb tend to believe in your own lies. I'm convinced that Serbs actually believe in there own lies. They not only believe in them but also live by them. It truly is sad! Wake up buddy, open your eyes and please spear us all the propaganda because it just makes you look very foolish. You state that any publication about Kosovo is inaccurate after the 90's, well thats when the world was interested in knowing the truth about the Albanians and started doing some real research. Just look at Kosovo population, its 95% ALBANIAN! NOT SERBIAN! that is not magic buddy, it just proves that Albanians were there first and will always be there. Please understand that I don't even try to respond to your lies and propaganda, the majority of the world knows the truth about Kosovo and the Albanians. Serbs dont belong in Europe, they never did, just a bunch of savages that migrated from Russia.
I also want to add that Albanian's have never been terrorist and never will be. The real terrorist are the Serbs who killed innocent people including men women and children during the Balkan wars, and I strongly believe that they would do so again if given the chance.
I feel the urge to react on Comment by Stepnanie H on Tuesday, Feb 26 at 11:05 AM. I would suggest you get your facts right and not use myths, mythology and Serbian propaganda when discussing something this serious. The â??Utah shooterâ?? was a Bosnian Muslim (http://www.keshertalk.com/archives/2007/02/utah_shooter_a_1.php, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660195221,00.html). I do not think that this matters to the grieving families, but still, please get the facts right.
I feel the urge to react on Comment by Stepnanie H on Tuesday, Feb 26 at 11:05 AM. I would suggest you get your facts right and not use myths, mythology and Serbian propaganda when discussing something this serious. The â??Utah shooterâ?? was a Bosnian Muslim (http://www.keshertalk.com/archives/2007/02/utah_shooter_a_1.php, http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660195221,00.html). I do not think that this matters to the grieving families, but still, please get the facts right.
Obviously these comments are flooded with Serbian propaganda. If you want to know the truth about Kosovo just read the book "KOSOVO" by Noel Malcolm and you will see what I'm talking about. The fact of the matter is that Serbia is responsible for committing thousands and thousands of mass killings in the Balkans and are also responsible for the start of WWI. Finally the world knows the truth and has taken the correct action by recognizing Kosovo independence. Kosovo will never be part of Serbia, and in time Serbia will keep breaking up into smaller and smaller pieces because even in todayâ??s Serbia there are so many other races that don't want anything to do with Serbs. The whole world is tired of there violence and propaganda. The world is offering them membership into the EU and a chance to move forward but instead they choose to live in hopeless dreams. Kosovo has been gone from Serbia since Slobodan came into power. You can never defeat the Albanians by force, thatâ??s the miscalculation that Slobodan Milosevic and the nationalist Serbs did not understand.
Are we sure we want the ethnic Albanians as our allies? The Utah shooter who went on a shooting Jihad in a Utah mall killing many was a so called ethnic Albanian refugee. The Fort Dix terror group consisted of ethnic Albanians and the plastic explosives provided to the British bombers was provided from Kosovo's ethnic Albanians. Just one generation ago the Serbs were on our side against the Nazis! Now we are sided with the Serb's enemies which happen to be our enemies!? Why? As with all wars it comes down to resources. Is all that oil and gas in Kosovo worth the instability for the US and the instability for the west? Winston Churchill praised the sacrfices the Serbs made fighting facism and nazism. Now were siding with the muslim extremists for some oil and gas rights.
With all due respect Mr. Burns you are mixing up the Milosevic era Serbia with the Serbia of today. After we bombed the Serbs in '99 we signed a UN Resolution (1244) stating that the world would be in charge of Kosovo to make sure there were no more atrocities, but the Serbs would keep their land. There is no reason that the Kosovo Albanians could not live now under a new pro-Western democratic state of Serbia.
This interview is sadly propaganda. Trying to frame the Serbs as vicious attackers and the Americans as world renowned peace keepers is a joke. I encourage viewers to learn a little history and keep in mind it takes 2 sides to create a war.
Thank you, gogo, for an articulate and accurate history of this area. Just as a large percentage of people believe there were WMDs in Iraq, there are many people who believe the media excesses (supplied by the Clinton Administration via the KLA)that scores of thousands of Kosovar Albanians were killed. Of the 2000 dead (you are correct) there are no details as to how many died from NATO bombing. Same with the Serb deaths. Which means the whole raison d'etre for the war was moot. For the U.S. and the E.U. to go into a sovereign nation and divide it up is a violation of every international law that exists. Maybe Raul Castro should start agitating the Miami Cubans to declare independence from Florida.
To John M; The wars in Yugoslavia were started when Slovenia and Croatia used force to break away from Yugoslavia. The argument the West made that the new countries would be recognized by its federal (republic borders) which there were 6 of. Kosovo was part of Serbia's federal borders. How can you not see the double standard? The number of Albanians that died in the Kosovo war was 2,000 (this according to the international war crimes tribunal itself). This number includes Albanians loyal to the Serbian state killed by the KLA. Strange that you make no mention of the 1,000 Serb deaths in Kosovo, or the 250,000 Serbian refugees from Kosovo. As for the following claims you make it clearly shows the lies Albanians were brought up on. Yes, please do study the history of Kosovo as you will see ONLY Serbian Orthodox churches all over the land. Kosovo was NEVER under Albanian control (except in ww2 when the Albanian ally Hitler gave it to the Albanians for 4 years). For those interested please look up; "SS Skenderbeg division" in Wikipedia. Also look up the fact that Albanians were settlers to the land (look up in wikipedia; "Demographic history" of Kosovo) you will see that in the late 1800's and early 1900's 400,000 Serbs were kicked out of Kosovo by the Albanian foot soldiers that the Ottoman occupier brought in from Albania. Also see "origin of the Albanians", you can all clearly see the first time the word Albanian was used was in the 16th century. So much of your "always Albanian" claim. Another Albanian lie just like the "Albanians are illyrian" claim. Show me 1, just 1 Albanian source from prior to the 19th century that make this claim? there is NONE, another thing the Albanians stole was the "illyrian" connection (please see; "Illyrian Movement" in wikipedia) you will see who made this claim first and where the Albanians got the idea from when they could not explain where they came from. Also no one "forced" the Albanians to convert to anything during the Ottoman times, they did so willingly while the Serbs fought the Ottoman occupier and refused to give up on its Orthodox faith, the proof and testament to this are the Serb Orthodox churches all over Kosovo. Every word that comes out of your mouth John is a lie; "the churches in kosovo were built by albanians"?!!? what lies! look at the name of the builders, look at the ancient icons and paintings in these churches (IT IS ALL WRITTEN IN SERBIAN!). Finally if it was "Albanian" churches why were over 200 of them blown up by Albanians after the Serb army left Kosovo?
John M's comments are typical revisionist propaganda. He claims that the ancient churches were really Roman Catholic, but were later converted to Orthodox churches while the Albanians were 'forcefully' converted to Islam. Why don't the Kosovar Albanians then convert (en-masse) back to Catholicism if they are so upset with Islam? Perhaps John may consider: 1) the periods of time in which the vast majority of churches in Kosovo were built, and subsequently dated 2) the year that the Great Schism occurred 3) the style in which the churces were built Since there is no denial that the Serbs left their mark on the region, the neo-revisionist Albanian methodology resorts to claiming intrinsic features and histories of Kosovo are, in fact, their own, that were later stolen by Serbs. Not only is this incredibly ridiculous, but insulting to Albanian heritage, since John is not claiming one of his own, but instead claiming Serbian heritage.
hey John M I would just like to know where have you picked up all those things. I suggest that you take up a serious course in history of the region from medieval times till today written by a serious historian. There were no Albanians in 14th century in Kosovo when all those monasteries were built and it was not given to Tito after WW2. It was returned to Serbs by the treaty after wars in 1912.Just to corect few things.
I don't understand why there is so much Serbian propaganda on these comments. What Mr. Burns was saying is 1000% correct. The Serbs are responsible for starting three wars in the Balkans, and killings thousands of innocent people including the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo. If you study the history of Kosovo you will see that it was always Albanian territory that was ruled by the Romans, then the Ottoman Empire before it was given to Tito who formed Yugoslavia during WWII. The churches that the Serbs claim to be thereâ??s really ancient Roman Catholic churches that belonged to the Albanians who at the time of Roman rule were all catholic and then where forced to convert to Islam during the Ottoman Empire. Finally Kosovo is free.
An angry, frustrated Charlie is the sort of person I want interviewing inveiglers like this. Thanks. :D
Mr. Burns and the State Dept were, and are, wrong on this one. The Clinton Administration led a rush to war against Serbia based on inflated statistics and lies. The KLA had to be taken off the State Dept's own terrorist list. The whole thing was a media sell, with army "psy-ops" in the CNN newsrooms to better "sell" the war. Sound familiar? It was a blueprint for the march to war on Iraq. Mr. Burns has the European forensic reports on the actual number of dead, he knows international law (quoted it when the U.S. Embassy was attacked), he should know better. Charlie Rose should have had a moderating guest to counterbalance Mr. Burns. Someone like former Canadian Ambassador James Bissett.
Its disgusting that Charlie Rose would allow such a one sided view on Kosovo. There was no mention of the 250,000 Serbs and non-albanian minorities like Romas who were cleansed out of Kosovo in the last few years bringing the once majority Serbs of 65% to a minority 5%. There was no mention that the Albanian Kosovo leaders were proven to be involved with Drug and Human trafficking as well as being members of the KLA which has proven links to Al-Queda. Also your guest gives the impression that the majority of the world agrees with this Kosovo independence but at time of publishing only 22 countries support it while the VAST MAJORITY of countries including EU and NATO countries DO NOT SUPPORT Kosovo. Passing off Russia's response as being irresponsible only proves to show how out of touch today's politicians are. Albanians killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs and Jews during the WW2 at the very least we should here the Serb side of the story.
Why isn't this video being posted? Its the 25th already!
Here, here Karon. Sorry I missed your comment: I was typing during it.
I'm happy to support the statements of Alice & "incredulous." But I am sad to see the Serbian supporters who have so quickly forgotten the likes of Milosevic and Mladic in their racist campaigns transported out of Bosnia into Kosovo. As a Christian sociologist who has seen the effects of the Occupation in Palestine first hand, and the initiatory massacres and decimation of whole villages in Bosnia-- desecration of Mosques with pigs sacrificed and burnt over them, having interviewed the victims of the rape camps, etc. etc.--I'm deeply disappointed with the US strategy in ME in its blithe indifference to the situation of Palestine, and ignorant arrogance about Iran, but I am more deeply distressed by the proSerb response in these comments which has waged a crusade against Muslim presence in the Balkans for centuries. We accuse the Islamic perspective of "jihadism" and interminable memories but the reality is that the Western bias against Islam has caused much more damage. It was the Croats who blew up the beautiful bridge of Mostar: built by the Ottomans in the 1400s, linking East and West. It was the Christians who killed 33,000 Bosniak civilians (nearly 10 times the death toll of Serb and Croat civilians). Maybe the US did the right thing in Bosnia and Kosovo (by the way the conflation of Bosnia's state with Islamism is yet another piece of ignorant Islamophobia and racism). Have we all forgotten that our country's "revolution" was spurned by our own terrorists and guerrilla fighters? Many of whom fighting with quasi religious impulses behind them? This "Clash of Civilizations" is so ridiculous. The West has much to learn from Islamic civilization....lest we forget that in Jerusalem...it rebuilt the walls of the Jewish Temple when the Romans and later Christians destroyed it with their wars, and restored and watched over the Church of the Holy Sepulchre while the Christians were killing each other over it.
I found Nicholas Burns' position on Kosovo refreshingly balanced. I, for one, was greatly relieved by the discourse between Mr. Rose and Mr. Burns on Kosovo and, in particular, on their exchange on the history of events leading to Russia's opposition to Kosovo's independence. To dispel the propaganda that is being generated by the media on Russia's increasing assertiveness in geopolitical events, which some media pundits portend as indiciative of a second coming of the Cold War, we need to hear more, not less, from Mr. Burns. His forthright disclosure on the divergence of views between Russia with the US and our EU allies over Kosovo's independence was extraordinarily well balanced with his equally candid disclosure on the continuing cooperation between Russia and the US on nuclear non-proliferation and counterterrorism. Come April 2008, wherever Mr. Burns displays his name plaque, he is certain to be an invaluable asset.
The cameras should be turned 180 degrees from the US Embassy to show the Serbian Defense Ministry across the street, bombed and incinerated by US air power. And to the Danube and other bridges downed by US/NATO. War profiteer Nicholas is going -- through the revolving door -- on to a career in "the private sector". Pray tell, what State Dept business logically leads into what business in the private sector? For Bill Clinton it's lobbyist for Dubai and proprietorship of the Internet business in Kosovo for Madeleine Albright. All should remember her "We think it was worth it" -- the death of 500,000+ Iraqi children dead from polluted water, lack of medicines... The US policy in Europe, said Mr Burns, is to establish Islamist states in Kosovo and Bosnia; then, he says, the US will be loved in all the Muslim Ummah. This would seem to reflect ignorance of Islam. The name means, not "Peace", but "Submission". Hooray for the Serbs and other infidels who fight the mujahedin.
Of course Nicholas Burns is leaving the State Department in April this year. Why aren't we surprised ? because it will most likely be the period when U.S warplanes will be bombing Iranian nuclear facilities, and Burns would not want take up the heat with Condoleezza Rice brave and foolish enough to somehow explain everything to the entire world why such an unjustifiable operation would had been launched by the Vice-President lunatic at the White House.
Mr. Rose: That was a bias report by Mr. Burns in regard to Kosovo. He assumed he was talking to an ignorant audience and thus omitted to say that the push for Kosovo independence bypassed the Security Council since it wouldâ??ve been vetoed, and that the EU is not unified in recognizing the secession (Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Cyprus and Greece oppose it). He also misled the public by saying that the US embassy personnel were endangered when the fact is that the building was empty. This whole incident is irrelevant and such reporting does major disservice to Serbian government and population that are trying to swallow the loss. It is comic that you are talking about three broken American windows and two burnt American chairs in the context of kidnapping other sovereign stateâ??s territory. Sadly, in this interview Mr. Burns represented the American bully attitude. Did Holbrooke hold his hand? Kosovo secession is a good event for Serbia in a long run, but at the same time it is a defeat of international law governing the international community. I was disappointed that you did not challenge any of Mr. Burnsâ?? false or partial statements, and that you did not accommodate for the counterview (and the choice of intelligent individuals in the US and world is vast including a politically literate Serbian foreign minister with an excellent English speaking skill). I only wrote this because I respect your program. Thanks you for your time, Jelena Schiff Portland, Oregon
A great fan of your show, I was disappointed, no, terrified after watching the prejudiced, one-sided, uninformed presentation about Kosovo by the smug, self-righteous R. Nicholas Burns. If this man is representing the United States Government, I do not wonder why we are losing respectability in the world. Where was the Serbian side of the story? R. Nicholas (what does the R stand for?)spoke of the murder and ethnic cleansing of over 200,000 Serbians from their homeland in Kosovo blithely, as if they left voluntarily. With apparent pride and glee, he spoke of the U. S. assistance in the establishment of Muslim states in the former Jugoslavia, in Bosnia-Hercegovina and Kosovo- Metohija, with no reference to the destruction and defilement of ancient Orthodox Christian Monasteries sacred to the Serbian people. He did not explain what interest the United States has in handing Kosovo to the Albanians. Will Kosovo be annexed to Albania in the near future? What does it profit America? Does the U. S. want to establish yet another military base there? By what right does the U. S. Government decide the sovereignty of nations beyoned our borders? What kind of deals were made? Where was the substance in Mr. R. Nicholas Burns discussion? He said nothing. He justified nothing. Why didn't you ask him, Charlie?
Hear, hear Alice. Had I read yours first, I would have demurred and deferred. Well said.
My, my such cajones! Burns distrust of Iran and its leaders is soooo undermined by our own untrustworthiness we're deneutered right out of the box. We have 10,000+ nukes. We are in a moral low ground to begin with. Throw in Israel, Pakistan, India and who really knows and we lose more by the stink than the fact. Our arrogant presumption that we have some god-given right for passing judgment dissipates in tandem with our world position. The world may become a better place as a result.
Let's see if I heard Nick Burns right: ____ KOSOVO: We supported independence because they are 95% ethnically and religiously different than Serbs. Ok, this makes sense. But we don't support Karabagh independence while they (Arenians) too are 95% ethnically and religiously different than the Azeris? ____ IRAN Nuclear Enrichment: He never answered your question as to why we hadn't previously shared the content of the laptop with the IAEA. According to Israeli press, during his recent visit to Israel Bush was presented Israel's evidence on Iran's nuclear program. One wonders if that's what we are sharing with the IAEA. And as to them being within their legal rights but us not trusting them, well, let's see, the entire world doesn't trust us after 7 years of Bush making a mess of the entire region. And why is it that we are obsessed with Iran's non-existent nukes while we ignore Pakistan's nukes? Oh yes, we didn't ignore it, we thought we could plant Bhutto, a leader who was hated by the majority because of her corruption, but hey, she was our Chalabi, we know how well that one worked out. I can't wait for President Obama to take office.