On the Serbian Secret Service

I reproduce here a comment left for me on my recent post about the Balkans, Kosovo at Year's End:

Bardhyl said...
Matt! Get out of Serbian payroll. The "burocrats" in Washington get payed by uncle Sam and work for uncle Sam. You think you are doing a service to christian cause but in fact you are damaging it. Serbs are close allies with rusians and you know how much the Rusians love America.They(Serbs) are Rusian avantpost in Ballkans. A new Kosova state will for ever stop their dream of expanding further in Europa. They should remain where they belong in Asia. So Robertson stop the nonsense, do your god's work if you work for the church, and serve your country that fills up your belly. If Kosova was a danger no Europian state was going to support it.So do you understand now all your nonsence. Haw much the Serbs pay you for your services?

December 28, 2007 7:29 PM

It's not really a question of how much the Serbs pay me, as it is the fringe benefits I get -- the caviar, the champagne... and that's just what they offer in the back of the limo they have assigned for my use.

:)

Seriously, Bardhyl brings up some points that do need to be addressed.

First, it is true that Serbia has traditionally been aligned with Russia.

We do see that being challenged today, as there is a current in Serbian politics toward alignment with the West, membership in NATO and the EU, and so on. However, this must be viewed in context, as only a few years ago NATO was conducting an air campaign in support of Kosovan separatists. It is hard to imagine that the ongoing issue of the West's support for Kosovan independence is not having an impact, perhaps pushing Serbia more into the hands of Russia.

However, to say that Serbia is an outpost of Russia in the Balkans is quite an exaggeration. Now, if the West pushes too hard for Kosovo's independence, in violation of international law and under threat of military force, then Serbia might feel compelled to snug up to Russia for security. However, it is my reading of the situation that Serbians have prized their independence; I believe this is part of the reason why Yugoslavia was not a Soviet satellite during the Cold War. Consequently, I do not see Serbia as an outpost of Russia in the Balkans.

Second, Bardhyl calls into question relations between the US and the Russian Federation.

It certainly seems to me that the winds of the Cold War are blowing up again. I blame both sides for this.

Under Clinton, US foreign policy in the Balkans supported narcotraffickers at the expense of Serbia and international law. Bush has greatly contributed to this process, and has even gone beyond it, using the War on Terror as an opportunity to ring Russia's southern periphery, areas that had previously been Moscow's sphere of influence, with US military bases.

As time has gone on, it has certainly become obvious to me, and so presumably to the Kremlin, that Bush is motivated by far more than a few terrorists in a cave somewhere. The Bush neocons certainly seem determined to secure oil, not just in Iraq, but in the Caspian Basin as well, bringing it to Western markets via pipelines, perhaps through the Caucusus and Turkey, perhaps through Afghanistan and Pakistan. There is definitely corruption at the highest levels of the Bush Administration as well, and that includes an obvious attempt to do the bidding of narcotraffickers who produce heroin in Afghanistan, and bring it to Western markets through Turkey and the Balkans, and along the Silk Road, both now secured by Western military power, NATO in Kosovo and these US military bases along the Silk Road. I write about this heroin connection extensively.

However, even in the presence of a relatively benign or benevolent US Administration, Putin is an old Cold Warrior, and is perhaps more of a symptom of a powerful anti-West undercurrent in Russia. While many, perhaps even most, Russians have some friendly feelings toward the United States, there is at the very least a great deal of suspicion regarding the intentions of the American government -- suspicion certainly justified by the conduct of the present and past administrations.

Consequently, it takes two to tango, and Putin and Bush, representing their factions in their respective governments, are naturally interacting to revive the Cold War along the traditional lines of the Great Game.

To America and Russia, Kosovo is only a small part of all this -- it is perhaps somewhat of a slap in Moscow's face from the EU and the US, a clear-cut violation of international law that will set a terrible precedent (one that is damaging to Russia as well as to the United States) despite what the Bush Administration says, and a not-so-obvious play in support of narcotraffickers on the part of those corrupt elements in Washington that Sibel Edmonds has warned us about.

It may not be very apparent, but just to clarify: none of my comments should be seen as a blanket approval of Serbian actions, neither should they be construed as a sign of anti-Albanian sentiment on my part. My main point is this: the Serbs have been getting painted as the ethnic-cleansing villians, and other groups, especially Balkan Muslims and Albanians, have been getting painted as oppressed victims; this picture, while containing some nuggets of truth, is far from comprehensively accurate.

The corruption, the heroin-, arms- and human-trafficking, and other aspects of this need to be more thoroughly addressed, and only then, with honest government in Washington (fat chance?), can US foreign policy begin to be shaped for the benefit of America -- and perhaps the world? -- instead of for the benefit of influential lobby groups and powerful underworld forces.

I will be interested in reading everyone's input, especially regarding my comments on the Balkans.

So, now that it has been established that I am working for the Serbs....