Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
Quote:
Moscow Uses Milosevic Death To Fan Anti-U.S. Sentiments
The controversy over the death of former Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic laid bare the deep-seated uneasiness in relations between Russia and the West. The Kremlin appears bent on taking advantage of Milosevic's demise in the same way it tried to make use of his actions in the past, but what the Russian policymakers are really concerned about are their own political interests.
As the West is stepping up criticism of Moscow's rollback of democracy and its highhanded policy towards the former Soviet republics, the Russian leaders have likely decided that Milosevic's death is an opportune moment to launch their ideological counteroffensive. The recent statements by Russia's top government officials and senior lawmakers clearly demonstrate Russian President Vladimir Putin's determination to flex his muscles, some analysts suggest.
On March 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that, since the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had rejected Milosevic's application to receive medical treatment in Moscow, Russia wanted to carry out its own probe into his death. "In fact, Russia was not trusted. In a situation when we were not trusted, we also have a right not to trust," Lavrov said. Russia's top diplomat also confirmed that his office had received Milosevic's letter, in which he complained of being given strong medicines used to treat tuberculosis and leprosy. (Two weeks ago the UN tribunal ruled that Milosevic could not travel to Moscow despite Russia's assurances that he would return to The Hague to complete his trial.)
According to one well-informed source, top Russian officials "were insulted by having their guarantees rejected" by the Hague tribunal, and were now "gloating over the delicate situation the tribunal finds itself in."
At the March 13 session of the Russian State Duma, most legislators blamed Milosevic's death on the UN tribunal and the Serbian authorities who originally handed him over to The Hague in 2001. In the opinion of Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee, the ICTY cannot be regarded as an objective court of law because of its pronounced "anti-Serbian bias." The UN tribunal, the lawmaker contends, is trying to portray the Serbian people and its former leaders as the main culprits "responsible for the tragedy that befell the peoples of the former Yugoslavia." He also said the Duma would shortly adopt a resolution criticizing the Hague tribunal over what he argued was its anti-Serbian stance and for not allowing Milosevic to travel to Moscow.
Both the Russian political class and the broad public were strongly against the 1999 NATO operation in Yugoslavia aimed at stopping what the West claimed was the ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosovo. It would seem that now the Kremlin has decided to whip up anti-Western and anti-American sentiments within the Russian population, which was generally sympathetic to Milosevic's role in opposing NATO in the Balkans. "Many citizens of our country don't believe in the genocide of the Albanian people. Milosevic remained in the memory of the majority of Russians as the leader of the proud independent state that the American [war] machine had failed to crush," contends Valery Fedorov, general director of VTsIOM, the Kremlin-connected polling agency.
Independent experts also confirm that the level of anti-American feelings in Russia is running high. The polls conducted by the Levada Analytical Center reveal that over the decade almost one-third of respondents have taken an extremely critical stance toward Washington's foreign policy.
Although nowadays anti-Americanism is not an exclusive characteristic of Russian public attitudes but rather a global trend, Russia's negative perceptions of Washington's policies have peculiar features.
First, having been America's main adversary for over half century, Moscow finds it particularly difficult to adjust to its curtailed global role and Washington's seemingly unassailable supremacy. Seeking to limit what it sees as American hegemony, the Kremlin often finds itself in the company of some unsavory allies, not infrequently outright "rouges," only because those leaders are believed to be capable of standing up to the American might. Remarkably, some analysts draw parallels between Russian attitudes toward Milosevic and Moscow's strategy toward Iran. The Kremlin clearly does not want to see the clerical regime in Tehran armed with nuclear weapons, but at the same time, it treats Iran's leadership, as it did Milosevic, as a potentially useful ally acting as a counterweight to the American presence in the region.
Second, the Russian leadership is using the anti-Western and anti-American sentiments to further their domestic political agenda. The government sees the public wariness of the West as a handy instrument for manipulation and mobilization. The Kremlin likely regarded Milosevic's death as a convenient pretext to step up anti-Western propaganda. In this sense, it is symptomatic that the coverage of Milosevic's death on Russian state-controlled television was overwhelmingly sympathetic toward the late Yugoslav leader, with several commentators defending him and blaming his captors for his death.
Re: Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
Could we expect another response than what we got?
Re: Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
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Originally Posted by Brian Baldwin
Could we expect another response than what we got?
Russians probably murdered Milosevic themselves because he knew about the plan to use America's forces to attack Yugoslavia - to purposely portray America as a "terrorist fascist country".....
He wasn't getting out of the jail and so the Ruskies were affraid that he would start talking and reveal the Russian long-term plan to split Yugoslavia into several nationalist countries, to make sure that they will fight among themselves and to bring America into such conflict, using of course already compromised Clinton and his administration to do this public relations demage to America.
I don't doubt for one moment that this is the reason why Milosevic was killed and that Russians did it.
He had to be silenced because he would reveal that he was ordered by Moscow to start the Kosovo and Bosnya conflict, the in press over-exxagerated "ethnic cleansing", and that way it would give "excuse" to Clinton [pluc the W. European socialists, to attack Serbia - this way America looks bad in the eyes of already brainwashed Russian people, who otherwise wouldn't cooperate with Putin and the communists when they attack America.
This is the reason why all these "formerly" communists became "overnight" nationalists.....this is exactly the reason.
God Bless.
Honza
Re: Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
This is probably a tad farther off this topic than I would usually post, but it is important.
The US is apparently NOT probing the Iraqi memos that claim Russia passed US war intel to Iraq...
Seems it is an issue to consider and scrutinize openly and without accusation.
Anyway, here is the article linked via Drudge.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/0....ncsed6hx.html
Quote:
The United States has not opened an investigation into Iraqi documents that said Russia passed information to Baghdad on US military movements during the 2003 invasion, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would not say whether the documents -- one of which indicated that Russia had a spy in the US military command in Qatar -- had been previously investigated.
http://www.breitbart.com/images/2006...lt-245x154.jpg
But he cautioned reporters not to "drill down into one particular document and make it more than what it is."
"At various levels throughout the United States government these documents have been made available for people to examine and to learn lessons from," he told reporters.
"I'm not aware at this point of any particular review, investigation, whatever you want to call it, at this particular juncture," he said.
The existence of the captured documents was revealed in a military after-action study of the war that looked at the invasion from the Iraqi perspective.
Russia denied it passed US military information to the Iraqis, and said the accusation had never been raised before by US officials. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the charges "politically motivated."
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said over the weekend the administration intended to raise the documents with the Russians.
"We would take very seriously any suggestion that this may have been done, maybe to the detriment of American forces," Rice said in an interview with NBC television.
But she maintained that the administration had not yet "had a chance to look at the documents in detail," and said she would not jump to conclusions about what role the Russians played.
Re: Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Fiord
This is probably a tad farther off this topic than I would usually post, but it is important.
The US is apparently NOT probing the Iraqi memos that claim Russia passed US war intel to Iraq...
Seems it is an issue to consider and scrutinize openly and without accusation.
Anyway, here is the article linked via Drudge.
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/0....ncsed6hx.html
Well, Russians "surely" should be trusted....
It is not a game to these communists, they play for everything, this is the time in history they have to win or they will seize to exist....so they lie, what is so new about it America ?
God Bless.
Honza
Re: Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
Honza,
I read your website with extreme interest. I actually had you in mind when I posted the article above too. It had the reference to Condi and I am aware now of your suspicion of her motives, witting or not. Due to your stance being fairly neutral and not accusatory I congratulate you on your research and am glad to have you on our side of the wall.
Re: Russian Reaction To Milosevic's Death Reveals Rift Between Kremlin And The West
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phil Fiord
Honza,
I read your website with extreme interest. I actually had you in mind when I posted the article above too. It had the reference to Condi and I am aware now of your suspicion of her motives, witting or not. Due to your stance being fairly neutral and not accusatory I congratulate you on your research and am glad to have you on our side of the wall.
Dear Phil,
thank you !
I have no doubt in my mind about Rice, none !
After reading her book and after research of what she has done, her biography and ties to Korbel, her "study" years in the USSR, I cannot remain silent about it and just look how this woman brings America to her knees for our still communist enemies [Russia, China].
Don't misunderstand, at this point she has no choice but to cooperate - they have their recruitment methods [see the 1964 version, I have the updated version of the STB Czechoslovak espionage recruitment policies also].
I have just uodated one piece I wrote in 2004, it is here.
(I call it "Is Russia behind 9/11 ...? .....[no doubt !!!] )
God Bless, get ready, it is almost here.
Honza
