Word: nato
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...dithering can't go on forever. Kosovo Albanians, who make up more than 90% of the province's population, were calling for independence even before NATO planes forced Serbian security forces out of the province in 1999. U.N. administrators and an estimated 16,000 peacekeepers in Kosovo fear a repeat of the violent riots of March 2004 aimed at minority Serbs and Roma. Kosovar Prime Minister Agim Ceku has warned that the region may declare independence unilaterally if the deadlock persists. "I don't expect any major unrest this summer", says Agron Bajrami, editor of Koha Ditore, a Pristina daily...
...long promised to restore Russian greatness and build an "energy empire." But until now, his empire-building had been confined to taking control of corporations operating on his turf, buying into businesses abroad, and blackmailing former Soviet Republics who dared vote against Moscow-backed candidates, moved to join NATO or acted in otherwise uppity ways. But Putin's imperial ambitions have recently added an element of classic 19th century-style territorial expansion: Late last month, Moscow signaled its intentions to annex the entire North Pole, an area twice the size of France with Belgium and Switzerland thrown in - except...
...least a hundred yards. No surprise there. On the average these days there is a suicide car-bombing a day in and around Kabul. The Taliban started firing rockets at Kabul. They go unreported in the news because they aren't doing damage. It takes the murder of NATO troops to generate a wire report, like last week's murder of six Canadian soldiers in Kandahar...
...surprisingly, the Afghans resent their second-class citizenship but so far tolerate it - it's better than the savagery of the Taliban. On the other hand they wonder how long it's going to last. The insurgency - that's the word a briefer at NATO headquarters used instead of the Taliban or al-Qaeda - understands it needs to win over the hearts and minds of the average Afghan. Unlike suicide bombers in Iraq, the insurgents don't intentionally target civilians, although many have died in attacks. And this summer they have started to adjust their tactics, purposely operating from villages...
...what had once been a battle cry of the nationalist opposition has now become the official line. In recent weeks, Kremlin-controlled media have berated the Agreement as a treasonous act by Shervardnadze (who later became the pro-NATO President of Georgia). Now, leading pro-Kremlin members of the Russian legislature are publicly demanding that the Agreement be reviewed, with the aim of recovering the country's riches...