Word: serbia
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When Franko Simatovic was first dispatched from his native Belgrade to Croatia in 1991, there was little to distinguish him from other young Yugoslav intelligence officers drafted into the early days of Serbia's war effort. Slobodan Milosevic was whipping up Serbian nationalism, and the rest of the world was only dimly aware of the simmering ethnic mix that was about to explode in Yugoslavia. Tall, with fair hair, fluent in English and several other languages, "Frenki" was noted for his calm, professorial manner--and a fondness for Raybans. His main accomplishment was having successfully spied on U.S. diplomats...
...That's a real problem, because Macedonia has hardly any friends among its neighbors. Serbia has always wanted to dominate it, Greece doesn't even recognize the state's name as legitimate, and Bulgaria, while it recognizes Macedonia, believes the Macedonians are actually Bulgarians and their nationhood is fictitious. Bulgaria would be happy to assimilate the Macedonians under the guise of helping them, which is why their offer of military assistance was turned down by Skopje. And they're certainly not going to get any help from Kosovo or Albania...
...think we have to work out a relationship between Kosovo and a democratic Serbia" Berger replied. "We have to be very firm with militant Kosovars who are trying to stir up trouble in Kosovo and Macedonia...
...Presevo Valley NATO ordered a "phased and conditioned" narrowing of the 5-km-wide buffer zone between Serbia and Kosovo in an attempt to flush out Albanian extremists operating there. In a sharp rebuke to Albanian rebels, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said: "This is not the time to start a new conflict in Europe." Details of the narrowing have yet to be worked out, but Serb troops would have to withdraw first from the frontline. Established after the nato bombing of 1999 as a no-go area for Serbian troops and intended to keep nato and Serbian forces...
...Where NATO had been happy to fight alongside the KLA against the Yugoslav army in Kosovo, the alliance is now confronting those former KLA elements who are bent on destabilizing Serbia and Macedonia. Not only that, NATO has actually enlisted the help of the same Yugoslav army against which it fought in Kosovo. To the consternation of Kosovo's Albanian leaders, NATO this week asked Belgrade to send troops into the buffer zone inside Serbia established as part of the cease-fire agreement that ended the war in Kosovo. The symbolic significance of that decision cannot be understated...