AMERICAN TROOPS REACH THE BLACK SEA
Strategy Page
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Sept 26 2007
September 26, 2007: There are 17,882 people still listed as "missing"
in the various Yugoslav "wars of devolution." This includes the
wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Most (13, 500) of the missing
disappeared in Bosnia. The Serbia-Croatia war (1991-95) has 2,386
listed as missing. Kosovo has 2,047.
September 25, 2007: The U.S. and Romania completed the first month
of a three-month long military training exercise. The light infantry
training exercise involves approximately 700 troops and support
personnel located at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base (on Romania’s
Black Sea coast). In December 2005 the US and Romania signed a ten-year
bilateral agreement that lets the US use the huge airbase and training
complex. U.S. forces in Romania, however, cannot exceed a maximum of
one brigade (roughly 3,500 troops). Still, the base gives the U.S. a
"lily pad" to support potential "deep operations" in Central Asia.
September 24, 2007: A bomb detonated in front of a nightclub in
Pristina, Kosovo killed two people and wounded 11. The night club
was located on Bill Clinton Boulevard.
Serbia now says that if Kosovo remains part of Serbia, Serbia is
willing to give it "the highest level of autonomy" to include a
"parallel, self-governing" political system. That would include the
right for the Kosovo government to collect taxes and manage its
own economic affairs. Nothing was said about police and security
arrangements, but past statements implied that the European Union
should act as the "guarantor" with a civilian and military presence
in Kosovo "to keep the peace." The Serbian term for this status is
"loose integration."
September 22, 2007: It is a small diplomatic victory for Macedonia,
but a victory nonetheless. Canada announced that it will that recognize
Macedonia as "the Republic of Macedonia." This will upset Greece,
which insists on calling Macedonia the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM).
September 19, 2007: Kosovo and Serb police conducted a joint operation
that led to the arrest of an arms smuggler, who was shipping weapons
to what the police described as "Muslim extremists" operating in
southern Serbia near the town of Novi Pazar. The arrest took place
inside Kosovo, in the northern town of Mitrovica – a town with a
substantial Serbian community.
Kosovar Albanian political leaders said that Kosovo are drafting a
"friendship treaty" with Serbia. The treaty will include "a clause
forgiving Serbia for all crimes committed in Kosovo." This is a
signal by Kosovar Albanian moderates that while they are demanding
independence, in the long term they want a stable, peaceful
relationship with Serbia.
September 15, 2007: The United States asked Turkey to take "critical
political steps." The political moves the US wants Turkey to make
include opening the Turkish-Armenia border and "refraining from energy
deals" with Iran. The last statement refers to a natural gas deal
Turkey signed earlier this year with Iran. The US also congratulated
Abdullah Gul on his election as president.
Serbia said that it has no interest in joining NATO and intends to
"retain full military neutrality."