Northern Kosovo Serbs reinforce barricades

[Pete]

Northern Kosovo Serbs reinforce barricades

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2011&mm=09&dd=17&nav_id=76434

"KOSOVSKA MITROVICA -- Northern Kosovo Serbs spent the night at the barricades which have been fortified, blocking the road Kosovska Mitrovica-Raška road and all other major roads. .................."

Remind me again which side we're on and why. Just how long have US troops been in that neck of the woods?

[glebo]

yet more shit we shouldn't be sticking our noses in...It's European problem, not ours..

[Richard]

yet more shit we shouldn't be sticking our noses in...It's European problem, not ours..

We tried to avoid it once during the GW1 time-frame when the WEU said they would handle it as we took care of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait - then the UN got involved and together they f***ed it up so bad we had to eventually step in a couple of years later, anyway, and are still there - yet another one of those pol-mil tarbabies we seem to stumble upon with more regularity than I'd like to think is necessary. In spite of the posturing and the press, the USA is considered to be the only 'honest broker' in that hood's realty market - for whatever that may be worth.

And so it goes...

Richard :munchin

[Shark Bait]

[COLOR="Lime"]We tried to avoid it once during the GW1 time-frame when the WEU said they would handle it as we took care of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait - then the UN got involved and together they f***ed it up so bad we had to eventually step in a couple of years later, anyway, and are still there - yet another one of those pol-mil tarbabies we seem to stumble upon with more regularity than I'd like to think is necessary. In spite of the posturing and the press, the USA is considered to be the only 'honest broker' in that hood's realty market - for whatever that may be worth.

Very true. I happen to be deployed in Kosovo now and dealing with this situation on a daily basis. This could have been handled years ago if NATO had been firmer in their approach from the beginning. I don't want to get into details here, of course. What is sort of funny is that the road blocks make it tougher on the local population, too. We just fly over them.

Most of the people in northern Kosovo aren't interested in playing these games. They want to get on with their lives. The radicals in the area control many of the jobs, so people have to help with the road blocks if they want to keep their jobs. The police in the Serbian enclaves are also employed by the Serbian Ministry of the Interior. They are paid by both Serbia and Kosovo to be cops, so Serbia exercises some control over them. Also, if a Serbian officer does try to follow orders from from the Kosovo police administration, they and their families are often threatened. Not long ago a Serbian police commander tried to follow orders from Pristina to report to a new duty location. He was stopped and threatened by radicals and his wife's car was fire bombed.

[greenberetTFS]

Speaking of Kosovo,any of you 10th guys authorized to wear this patch?......;)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Airborne-US-Army-Kosovo-Green-Berets-10th-Special-Force-/310329599360?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item484115e580#ht_2207wt_702

Big Teddy :munchin

[Shark Bait]

Since the media can't seem to get this right:

I spent the past several days up at a border gate in northern Kosovo. Serbs had blocked in our camp with earth berms and the only way in or out was by helicopter. They had constructed a bypass to get around the gate. Yesterday morning we succeeded in breaking through the berm and shutting down their bypass. Demonstrators showed up later and taunted KFOR troops. They brought in a truck and made an attempt to use cable to pull our C-wire, which would have pulled it over many of our troops. Some US soldiers went out into the crowd to secure the truck and were attacked by the crowd. CS and nonlethal rounds were used. The crowd threw rocks, large fireworks and at least one grenade at us as the soldiers brought the truck into our perimeter. We also took some small arms fire. KFOR troops did fire at individuals who attacked US soldiers and some were hit. Many other rounds were fired, but not into the crowd. The intent was to drive the crowd away to either expose the people shooting at us or drive them away with the crowd. (My opinion only)

I can tell you all that all the KFOR troops did an outstanding job and used the minimum force necessary to protect ourselves. A lot of the media are presenting a different picture, claiming that we were firing into a crowd of innocent civilians. I guarantee you that if we had done that there would have been dozens of dead people out there. These soldiers, especially the US and Germans, made me proud. They acted with restraint and professionalism against a band of thugs and ignorant civilians.:lifter

[Bettendorf]

That's interesting , Shark Bait. Stay safe.

[Pete]

Kosovo Serbs dig in as border dispute turns bloody

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/1001/1224305086199.html

"Cultural claims persist in regions as Belgrade refuses to acknowledge independence of Kosovo

MILEVA PREMOVIC and her neighbours while away the afternoon in the shade of a broad tree. The unseasonable warmth makes it hard to imagine that the green Kapaonik mountains, rising up a few miles away in Serbia, will soon be white with snow and busy with skiers.

It would also be hard to believe that bullets were fired and blood shed here just a few days ago, were it not for the scars that blight Kosovo’s border zone............."

Looks like somebody made the on line papers........