Obama "supports Kosovo independence"

Nobody expected Obama or any other contender to change tack.

What is ironic while he speaks about multi-ehnicity and tolerance etc. is that if he knew the truth about Serbs have to live in barbed wired ghettoes and the total intolerance shown towards them, he would be personally shocked.

And why all this talk about independence anyway? I don't hear anyone speaking about being Kosovan but being Albanian. That's another country altogether.

This isn't about Kosovo being independent, but annexing territory from Serbia to make an Albanian statelet.

Those who shouted loudest for independence aren't flying the flag of Kosovo, but the flag of Albania - are these internationals totally blind?

Well we didn't expect any different from Obama once he chose an albanian lobbyist and anti-Serb hate monter for his VP candidate.
The good news, friends, is that the US is a sinking ship and their influence is getting less and less by the day. The time will come when they will run out of money to fund camp Bondsteel and other global adventures, since all of their money will be used to bail out their failing businesses. The first signs of a declining empire, just like with Rome, are a bankrupt economy. The US has stretched itself too thin and have bases all over the world.
When this corrupt and immoral empire (which is sadly what it has become) finally collapses, we Serbs will be there, ready to take back the cradle of our civilization, Kosovo.
Cheers!!

No surprises there really. The US has recognised its occupation afterall and to see a U-turn is unthinkable at this stage.

Sooner or later NATO will get the boot and the Albanians will have have to accept living on Serbian soil - but that push will most certainly originate from the East.

Frankly, I don't think that anybody expected the US to withdraw independence of Kosovo.

Of course the statement from the Serbian perspective is a bit disappointing, but nothing more.

The important thing is Obama's position with regard to potential new (or real) negotiations on the future of Kosovo.

If he is willing to act as an honest broker or mediator, rather than a supporter of only Kosovo Albanians, that will be enough for me and most Serbs.

Let me just remind my Albanian friends that all moderate Serbs want on Kosovo is some fair play and equal principles applied.

If that happens the final solution of the province will be acceptible to a majority of Serbs.

Oh-Obama momma,you just got yourself in the same company of organ snatchers and drug dealers.But what else could we expect from "democrats".
Serbs from Illinois will not support you now, for sure,regardless of you being our senator.

So Obama says;

“I support Kosovo’s independence and her desire to move towards full sovereignty."

- sure everyone knows the US position but the message is in plain English there is no no real nor perceived soverign independence - just something that Obama would lend his support to achieve and no mention of a guarantee of achieving it!!!

What next another false declaration of independnce under a possible Obama Presidency?

Brilliant the cracks are there for all to see in the so-called sham of a western created frozen conflict!!!

Clearly some Serbian Albanians in the Soverign Serbian province are only too happy for the last 9 yeas of economic mismanagement and deprivation to continue with only aid handouts keeping the ethnic-albanian masses just above starvation while the few crooks at the top rake it in!!!! I guess that is why the EU would like to send in its judges and police into the Albanian areas of Serbia's soverign province!

Oh what a tangled web...

Priština daily Koha Ditore reported Obama’s comments on its front page under the title, “Obama promises Kosovo full sovereignty“, reports Politika.

First of all, I wouldn’t give much credibility to Albanian propaganda paper “Koha Ditore”.
I just like to remind everyone, this is election year in US. If anybody knows anything about US elections, these politicians will say or tell you just about anything to get elected. He is defiantly not going against democratic policy on Kosovo at the moment. It would be political suicide for him. Once he gets into oval office it’s totally different story. As one of Chicago residents of Serbian origin I’m up to date on what’s happening in Serbian community in Chicago. Serbian community is supporting Senator Obama, he is out best bet. He will be most reasonable when it comes to Serbia-Kosovo issue. He will be soon meting with Serbian community activists in Chicago and I guarantee you he will be asked to explain himself on Serbia-Kosovo issue. Stay tuned.

Those who shouted loudest for independence aren't flying the flag of Kosovo, but the flag of Albania - are these internationals totally blind?
(kate, 23 September 2008 12:16)

Same as Serbs do with the Russian flag. At least we are not burning flags (neither Russian, nor Serb), but we are hailing flags of those countries we consider our friends/brothers. And as far as the enemies are concerned, we just ignore them. Ignorance is the strongest artillery :).

To ZK UK: You know when will NATO leave Kosova? Once our Army will be complete, and once we will be in NATO.

Thank you USA & Co.

Greets from Prishtina!

JohnMccain was the very first Senator to speak about the Albanian issue in the Congress! And Obama now makes his position clear. This is all result of Albanian lobby since 100 years in the US and all over the world!
this weeks the 100 anniversary of Sefan Nolis Church in Bostonand I invite all albanians in the US to come and celebrate with us. Cheers!

And Russian president support Abkzhazia and south Ossetia, nothing new here. Neither the US nor Russia will withdraw their recognitions.

But this does not mean that "Kosova" independence is legally valid, we will se in the GA in UN...

who expected a u-turn in US-american foreign policy so fast?

that will take more time of course.

Besides of independence, “Obama promises Kosovo full sovereignty“

Read it more carefully. What it (you see the word "sovereignty" versus "independence"?) means: "our army probably will leave Kosovo, you guys do what you want, but we can help with some economics if we solve our problems"

This is fully in line with Obama's agenda and if I would be a presidential candidate, I would write precisely the same. Serbian voters have little choice between "probably-not-so-good" versus 'really bad". Obama knows, he either has them anyway or they won't vote. Albanian voters can be swayed. 500000 Albanian voters is a good number and now every vote counts.

---"Sooner or later NATO will get the boot and the Albanians will have have to accept living on Serbian soil - but that push will most certainly originate from the East."

Not in our lifetime. My point: empty threats are childish.

Bganon,
independence is not debatable. Other than that, Serbs haven't made a proposal. Presevo for N Mitrovica and Serbian villages in Strpce would be a good one

I really don't understand why Serbia should trade one piece of her land from another? There is no logic to that and our land is non-negotiable. The only thing negotiable at this stage is for the Albanians to rule themselves on Serbian soil. There is a far greater chance that Albania will become a Serbian province than Kosovo ever becoming independent.

You only have to look at the facts - being that only the occupying nations and some micro-island-statelets dependent on US support have recognised this illegal puppet entity. The rest of the world, including the Islamic and Arab states want nothing to do with this independence non-sense.

You see, from what I read here, the Albanians have put all faith into NATO, which is currently the organisation of the unwilling! Even Russia mentioned it still would have attacked Georgia as a NATO state.

If you think the bankrupt states of the West can continue to over-extend as they have now, then you only have hope I'm afraid. Remember that NATO only intends to train about 1000 or so lightly armed troops in Kosovo. They will be no match for Serbia and I doubt very much that a conflict is necessary.

Peter, the push will come from the East as the balance of world power changes. I doubt very much there will be too much conflict involved but the West will have to come to terms with the new reality. Could it be possible that the former Warsaw pact countries get it wrong twice?

DiS, I can see it happening in our lifetime but even if it doesn't, we Serbians are a patient lot. The meltdown of the West is happening much faster than anticipated. The writing is already on the wall as far as I'm concerned.

Kosovo status is debateable Dashnori i Satam 'Kosovo independence' is just a name.
Just by your saying 'Presevo for N Mitrovica' shows that the status of Kosovo is debateable and should be. God knows that if Serbs are expected to recognise the reality on the ground in Kosovo, that Kosovo Albanians have to recognise the reality on the ground in N Mitrovica and other pockets too.

There has not been a serious proposal from Belgrade, you are right. And you know why this is? Because the US says it is not acceptible and they are backed up by Kosovo Albanian government who are scared that any deal with Serbia will be seen as loss of territory.

Serbia cannot afford to be blamed for advancing some kind of land swap at this point by both the US and Kosovo Albanians.

But hey we can go to the table, you can say that Kosovo independence is not debateable and we can say the same for Serbia. Then behind the scenes something more realistic will be discussed.

And the ICJ may be just the forum which will force us to the table for real, direct negotiations, not the charade we had so far.

Impossible, first Yugoslavia does not exist, second it is far from impossible that Yugoslavia will never exist again. It could very well happen. We don't know what will happen in the future.

Dashnor i Ceces, McCain is Super Pro Albanian... If anyone wants a regular sized Albania(greater, like the serbs say) it's Johnny boy McCain..

Ment I will give you an answer to your question but your knee jerk reaction might be to not like it.

Above all its about geo-politics (not conspiracies, not anti Serbian policies specifically). Firstly the US felt that Serbian dominance in the Balkans was questionable. Milosevic was unstable, first being a US man, then being pro-Russian. They backed Croatia. Bosnia was another great one to back for similar reasons to Kosovo (yes I know neither are particularly Islamic) due to the fact that they are Muslum allies. The US needed and needs this card to impress internationally - particularly the democrats who care more about what the world thinks of them and of moderate muslums around the glob. Its part of the protect US policy. Secondly Kosovo is important because it divides Europe - machiavellians in the US polity were very keen (you can check this) on recognition of Kosovo because this and other issues will ensure that the European common foreign policy will never take off. They are concerned about world hegemony and see the EU as a threat. An independent Kosovo is just another tool. The EU knows this by the way and EU machiavellians are keen supporters of steamrolling an independent Kosovo thus getting rid of Kosovo as a divisive EU problem. Yes they say, we rolled over on this one, but the future is ours and the more we can stay united on this and other issues, the quicker we can compete with the US directly and eventually overtake them.

Of course this is only part of the story, there is far too much to list here. Suffice to say that Serbs have shot themselves in the foot countless times and dispute disunity among Bosnians, Croats and Albanians they have always been united on their common goal - something that Serbia has never had, divided between Yugoslavs and Serbs (and many subcategories).

The Ahtisaari plan was not bad in a sense but 2 huge, crucial problems with it - neither of the parties involved were consulted and it never raised status as a subject for debate.

Are we saying that Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs / Belgrade don't have a right to decide on what happens to the territory on which they live?

One might argue they were incapable, but even if this was correct previously, in the aftermath of war and bad blood, is it the case today?

Would it be the case tomorrow for example if a neutral party - the ICJ ruled that it had reservations about Kosovo independence and warns of fundamental principles of the international system being undermined? Let Serbs and Albanians take responsiblity for their futures so that in the future if something goes wrong they both will not blame internationals. To be responsible you have to make decisions about your own future.

I understand and agree that things should be inclusive, that generally people should take part, that obstructionism in the end helps nobody. However, if Serbs participate in the work of a government of a state they do not recognise, that is recognition of Kosova.

Until real negotiations are held I can't support that, although of course I do not condemn Serbs that do, or for example ethnic Serbs that take part in UN work in Kosovo.

Hand on heart, does anything I'm saying not sound like fair play? Is a fixed solution in advance supporting one side completely over the other on status, fair play?

(ZK UK,

No surprises there really. The US has recognised its occupation afterall.

And than you say: Sooner or later NATO will get the boot and the Albanians will have have to accept living on Serbian soil.

You just did my job already,Contradicting yourself there mate.K-Albanians will never live in serbian soil again let me re assure you. But i like to visit Serbian soil,especially Beograd it beautiful city, i use to go for my holidays(school holydays) when i was little my dad use to work in Beograd. he worked there for 37 years so he contributed a lot to today's Serbia. Thats all that i want,but i dont want to live in serbian soil,thats the best i can do. Thanks

It's a little disappointing that Obama has made this statement but understandable given the need to canvas every available vote. There are after all only 170,000 Serbs in the US compared to half a million Albos, though it still seems naive to isolate that many voters. I guess he's working on the premise that those Serbs will still vote for him, given the unattractive proposition of the alternative.
I like the bit from Dashnori about having to wait to see whether McCain supports the unilateral declaration. The man is a lobbyist dream and there is none more aggressive than the Albanian!

Obama must protect American investment in Bondsteel/Kosovo-still Serbia – legally.

But he has urgent things to worry about in his own yard. As I write this, they are debating in Congress – Will they declare bankruptcy NOW – that’s situation in the field, or they will prolong the announcement for some other later time (but very soon – inevitable with over 10 trillion debt). If you understand how it works and what amount of debt is that – even some Republicans can’t give approval for blank check for disaster.

America doesn’t have any more power or resources to make that kind of money anytime in future. They don’t have power to force other to pay – Saudi Arabia can pay off only part of debt – just to keep US floating. So, only way to go out of this kind of debt is big war – and to erase everything – now let’s start from beginning. But, either way, that’s not good news for anybody, especially for Albanians in province of Kosovo – again betting on wrong player.

But, that’s result of short-sighted policy of harboring terrorism/WALL STREET in heart of your own lend and chasing some street thieves in Baghdad and Afghanistan – and minding some marginal politics around the world.

Bganon

Well, your explanation does sound plausible and I should add that the final straw was the unbelievable arrogance of the Milosevic regime. Milosevic simply did not know when to quit and your country paid for it. Which reminds me... Berisha got torpedoed from power in 1997 for a very similar reason.

With regard to Ahtisaari's plan, I called it the least bad for the same reason you mentioned. It highlighted the inability of the Serbs and Albanians to reach a compromise. As it is usual in the Balkans, we thump our chests at the "bravery" of blowing each others' heads off, but turn into complete cowards when it comes to doing the right thing peacefully. Neither side seemed (and still doesn't seem) to grasp that a "100% win" is no win at all as it only provokes outrage and resentment from the "100% loss" party and so the conflict continues...

Having said that, Kosovo considers itself independent and has most of the EU behind that declaration. In theory I don't have an issue with the whole concept of the ICJ ruling, though I find it ironic that in the same breath Tadic declared that Serbia will never recognize Kosovo's independence only a couple of days ago. That sort of invalidates the whole point of seeking a ruling in the first place.

You asked whether in a couple of years from now it will be possible to negotiate again. I am very pessimistic about that. Especially Serbia has shown no inclination at all to take reconciliatory steps towards Kosovo Albanians since the war. Serbian politicians could have agreed to disagree with the Albanians on status but cooperate in other fields in the mean time. After all, I don't see how refusing recognition of university diplomas, or medicine regulations (which the Kosovars may well have had the rights to do even if only autonomous), or Kosovo license plates, etc. is supposed to mend any bridges between the two sides.

Those who shouted loudest for independence aren't flying the flag of Kosovo, but the flag of Albania - are these internationals totally blind?
(kate, 23 September 2008 12:16)

Kate, what you are talking about was long time ago. It was the time that Kosovars were confused about their own identity and their future. However now it is clear that 90% of them want to build a prosperous, democratic, tolerant, and European country. It is something else that Serb minority that live in North of Kosovo, most of them move out of South of Kosovo, want that part of Kosovo lawless and haven for smuggling guns and goods. Differ from those Serbs, who have returned to their home on South of Kosovo, those that don’t want to, are especially those that have done many crimes to Albanian neighbors.

There you have it

What are the chances of Kosova being a part of Yugoslavia once again?

I am very disappointed to hear this. I would prefer Obama won than McCain and for a while I actually hoped that his policies would be different rather than the same that we've come to expect from the USA and if not withdraw the recognition of Kosovo then at least repair some of the damage caused.

If Obama's support for Kosovo is about getting the Albanian votes this November his strategy lacks intelligence or who ever is advising him lacks intelligence since there is over 700,000 Serbians in the USA and less than 200,000 Albanians there of which only 50,000 or so are actually from Kosovo the rest from Albania proper.
But in the end its probably just a hallow promise.

Oh and spare me the "its the right thing to do" nonsense, because if we go that way then its the right thing to do would be to denounce Bushes artificial creation of Kosovo.

And for those of you who do not believe these numbers don't bother to ask me to prove it, find it yourself its available on the internet, don't expect others to do your home work when you want to counter someone with an argument.

One can't believe a bloody thing coming out of this chap's mouth. Here's a rookie doing anything for a vote without a clue as to what is truly going on.

Aside from Bush's inexcusable term as being president, this is another reason why the US is losing ground on being a super power as it once was.

ZK UK

What East are you talking about here anyway?

1) The only way NATO can be "given the boot" is if they are forcefully removed from Kosovo. Who has the military power to do that? Nobody reacted in 1999, no one will react now and no one will react in the future, because not even Russia and China combined have the military muscle to take NATO on in a full scale war.

3) The "East" as you call it, is hardly a tightly-knit military organization like NATO is. Russia and China are more fairweather allies anyway, and China will not go to war over Kosovo due to its economic interdependence on the United States, Russia will not go to war over Kosovo due to its economic interdependence on Europe, the region in itself is in the Western sphere of influence (hence why no one stopped NATO in 1999) so the most they can do is offer diplomatic support to Serbia, but this will not get NATO out of Kosovo in any case. India is hardly an ally of Russia and China as well.

Yes, this is wonderful news! which confirms my feelings all along. obama is an intelligent and progressive leader, and his support for kosovo/a's independence is 100% consistent. and then again, look who he chose as his running mate -- joe biden, who we all pointed out has been a consistent supporter of human rights and freedom in the balkans.

i ask that all of our frnds and allies -- of ALL ethnicities -- strongly consider supporting the Democrats. Eight years of republican rule is enough and more than enough, for god's sake.

thank you again, to obama, to my Democratic colleagues, and to our frnds and allies who believe in freedom and democracy, all over the world. let our opponents call such words "platitudes"; we know well of the blood, sweat and tears that have been expended to get to where we stand today.

thank you!

roberto
frisco/sarajevo
robertoruss@yahoo.com

Bganon

You mentioned that ...

"If he is willing to act as an honest broker or mediator, rather than a supporter of only Kosovo Albanians, that will be enough for me and most Serbs."

I've asked this question before in this forum, but none of the Serbian posters answered it in a realistic manner.

The US has been largely ambivalent or even friendly towards the Balkans in general, yet something happened that triggered its hostility towards Serbia in particular. The US ended up taking the side of Slovenia, then Croatia, Bosnia (with a very controversial history in WWII), and finally Kosovo Albanians...Why?

As far as Kosovo's status is concerned, I believe that under the circumstances, the Ahtisaari plan was the least bad of the options available.
Also, if the Kosovo Serbs are constantly being asked to participate in government, parliament, police, customs and security forces, then how exactly are the Albanians ruling the Serbs? I don't believe it's anywhere in the rule book that a Serb or a Bosniak or a Turk cannot be a prime minister or even president of Kosovo. While this may sound like a long shot for now, remember that this article is about a black dude running for president...

In my opinion, if this is not fair play then what is?

well, this was expected, you cannot expect from international western community to discontinue supporting Kosovo's independence, which I strongly believe it was declared on solid basis, and in meritorious way, after all the suffer Kosovo people have undergone, the latter has to be preempted at all costs, for international community cannot allow repetition of previous happenings.

I do suggest Serbia to openly apologize for wrong doings, as it would be in benefit of reconciliation as well as EU integration. However if Serbia sees its future with Russia, I guess a time of hardship would approach for its people, and 50 years of drag down force, all this for nothing.

-- “Obama promises Kosovo full sovereignty“

Having read the letter he does say that he will work for more recognitions and to build it in a multi-ethnical society. Basically the US position is the same. I have to see if McCain supports Kosova or not.

Where is suddenly the support for Obama from Serbs who claimed that he will change policy of USA in S.E. Europe?

Yes We Can! Obama 2008, Kosovo 2008

Obama's Strings Showing

Even at a top-quality puppet show, the light will eventually fall in such a way that it exposes the strings that make the puppet dance.

To close observers, it has been obvious since last year that Obama is under the direct control of extremist proponents of anti-Serbianism including George Soros, Zbig Brzezinski and Samantha Power. Obama's "selection" (his pick was likely imposed upon him) of demagogic Serb-hater Joseph Biden as his running mate merely confirmed that the cardboard presidential candidate called Obama is nothing more than a conveniently colored facade for the same foreign policy clique that seized upon the Balkans as the best way to expand NATO into an international legion for a U.S./EU empire stretching around the globe.

Any suggestion that Obama is somehow better than McCain on the question of Serbia or Kosovo is not merely wishful thinking... it is delusional thinking.

The Obama who was supposed to be against war is already nonexistent -- Obama is now the greatest cheerleader for expanding the war in Afghanistan.

For Serbs in America there is no acceptable candidate for president -- until a Serbian-American runs for U.S. President there never will be. And now that the Serbs have been demonized into becoming the equivalent of the "white niggers of Europe" it would be much easier to elect a Black-American as President than to elect a Serbian-American.

Serbian-Americans must come to grips with the fact that they need to fight the anti-Serbianism of both U.S. political parties if they ever wish to be treated fairly in America.

Sincerely,

John Bosnitch
Belgrade, Serbia
john.b@imcnews.com

This comment goes out to those pseudo-Europhile Youth in Belgrade who designed a poster of Obama and Kennedy together in anticipation that Obama would change his policies towards Kosovo without Serbia having to change at all! What a fatalist move in the face of desperation…cosmetics may have helped Serbia in the days when the European left devaluated itself by backing Millosevic – only to harm Serbia’s democratic front – not to even mention the atrocities of the regime! Kosovo is not the problem of Serbia, Serbia is the problem of Serbia.

Does anybody really care what this 'US citizen' really thinks...does anyone really care what anyone from the US really thinks? It is a country on its knees...

I think Bganon and Ment speak with clarity and genuine desire for resolution that leaves no side losers and both winners. Its people like those guys that are needed for Kosovo/Serbia negotiations.

As for Bosnitch – he just provides yet another example of what’s been going wrong – he says “For Serbs in America there is no acceptable candidate for president -- until a Serbian-American runs for U.S. President there never will be”. Mr Bosnitch, it’s that kind of attitude that just isolates the Serbs. The world needs to see more of folks like Ment and Bganon and a whole lot less of folks like Bosnitch.

I think it's good for him he came out said this otherwise I think he would have got the votes from us, the matter of truth is that US cant make such a U-turn regardless what the media speculates.

so i think all we need is stability and growth of economy.

I’ve heard lots of voices amongst Albanian community that Obama is a pro Serb. Kosovars should not be worried simply because whichever administration takes office supports Kosovo independence and there is no turning back. The pressing question is how you make Kosovo function as an independent state. There are great economic challenges that have to overcome. With the political process concluded, then the real work begins to create viable economic stable Kosovo. This is just the beginning of the turn around plan. Let’s see in five years if things have improved.

However I can bet money that the officials in Prishtina were told by Brussels and Washington to roll up their sleeves and get to work. The leadership in Prishtina has got to wake up and tackle the economic problems that the country faces. They need to make drastic reforms to stimulate the economy and draw foreign investment. A good start would be to fire the entire team that runs the energy company (KEK) and nominate a new management with strict instructions: You have two months to come up with a plan of how to fix the energy crisis and ten months to implement the plan. I heard bosses tell their employees hundred of times I don’t care how many hours you have to work I just want it done. That’s it. The entire aptitude of public employees needs to change. Like everything else in life if you want to move ahead you have to work hard for it. Same situation applies here if Kosovo wants to move ahead it has to work triple hard to catch up with its neighbors. “It’s the economy stupid” thats the slang that should be used in Kosovo.

TO All:Albanian & Serbian

I think Neither does Obama nor McCain have the authority to change anything when it comes to foreign policy. The American foreign policy is not determined by a single administration but by the national interests of the country. American foreign policy has long term objectives regardless of the administration. Whatever decision was made with regards to balkans in this case (Kosovo) is not a preference of the actuall administration, rather a long term goal of the American foreign policy.Succesfull lobbiying from both sides Albanian or Serbian can only speed up or slow down the objective.

This is the policy of his team; it they win they will have to deal with Serbia's policy that does not recognize Kosovo's independence. So, what is new?

Its good to see Obama stating what is a bipartisan issue in American politics.

B92, why not publish my comments? I believe I've been fair with your instructions on posting comments.

Another very eloquently written commentary by you Mr. Bosnitch. Much like an ornate vase without flowers. In other words pretty words with no substance.

Obama, Obama....
That guy has shown very little interest in anything but power, and will/does say whatever it takes to get yet another vote. His foreign policy (if any) does not focus much on protecting US borders and interests let alone Serbia's. One thing is for sure, once the election is over Kosovo will never cross Obama's mind. As far as US changing it stand on Kosovo....it already did, US is used to walking away from it's failures without making a big show of it, and it's "friends" usually find out "the hard way" that they are no longer protected (take Georgia). Here in US I have not heard a single thing about Kosovo in over 6 months, and we LOVE bringing up our successes, over and over and over again. Kosovo is obviously considered a monumental failure.

O what a big number of complaints about Obama. But its simple, you can make him say opposite things. But you have to pay! Where are the Serbian milliardaires like Karic, why are they not financing any campaigns in the USA? Why leave it to the Albanians that bought Holbrooke & Clarke earlier? Why so stingy?

Mr.Obama, do not reward those Muslim Kosovars who destroyed Christian churches,monasteries/cemeteries by giving away Serb land.

Obama calls himself a Christian, but obviously the plight of the persecuted Christians in Kosovo means nothing to Mr.Obama.

Obama "supports Kosovo independence"
Well done Obama thank you very much.
Republic of Kosova and Albania is in USA. 54 states.

Bosnitch - I agree. I think we have to give up on any sort of American support in the intermediate term. The best we can hope for is some minimal mutual respect and understanding, and hope that at least we can do business together. I think the Albanians have the US wrapped up.

i think obama is ok for us albanians but i hope McCain wins the election.McCain is a long and strong supporter of albanians.

I saw Obama talking about Kosova & Serbia but now he is talking for Croatia & BiH, why is he doing it?
If he wants to do something good for this region is better to learn history of this region and not to speak for Kosova and to mean for Croatia & BiH.

To Peter Sudyka post N°14...

Everything you wrote is a temporary situation. Dont you think this is not going to change?
In maybe 100 or 300 years. Remember we waited for 500years or more. Is that a long term option? Are we gonna see a ww3 over serbia in NEAR future? That our kids may live?

-- “Obama promises Kosovo full sovereignty“

Having read the letter he does say that he will work for more recognitions and to build it in a multi-ethnical society. Basically the US position is the same. I have to see if McCain supports Kosova or not.

---"Sooner or later NATO will get the boot and the Albanians will have have to accept living on Serbian soil - but that push will most certainly originate from the East."

Not in our lifetime. My point: empty threats are childish.

Bganon,
independence is not debatable. Other than that, Serbs haven't made a proposal. Presevo for N Mitrovica and Serbian villages in Strpce would be a good one

There you have it

What are the chances of Kosova being a part of Yugoslavia once again?

Those who shouted loudest for independence aren't flying the flag of Kosovo, but the flag of Albania - are these internationals totally blind?
(kate, 23 September 2008 12:16)

Same as Serbs do with the Russian flag. At least we are not burning flags (neither Russian, nor Serb), but we are hailing flags of those countries we consider our friends/brothers. And as far as the enemies are concerned, we just ignore them. Ignorance is the strongest artillery :).

To ZK UK: You know when will NATO leave Kosova? Once our Army will be complete, and once we will be in NATO.

Thank you USA & Co.

Greets from Prishtina!

JohnMccain was the very first Senator to speak about the Albanian issue in the Congress! And Obama now makes his position clear. This is all result of Albanian lobby since 100 years in the US and all over the world!
this weeks the 100 anniversary of Sefan Nolis Church in Bostonand I invite all albanians in the US to come and celebrate with us. Cheers!

Where is suddenly the support for Obama from Serbs who claimed that he will change policy of USA in S.E. Europe?

Yes We Can! Obama 2008, Kosovo 2008

Oh-Obama momma,you just got yourself in the same company of organ snatchers and drug dealers.But what else could we expect from "democrats".
Serbs from Illinois will not support you now, for sure,regardless of you being our senator.

(ZK UK,

No surprises there really. The US has recognised its occupation afterall.

And than you say: Sooner or later NATO will get the boot and the Albanians will have have to accept living on Serbian soil.

You just did my job already,Contradicting yourself there mate.K-Albanians will never live in serbian soil again let me re assure you. But i like to visit Serbian soil,especially Beograd it beautiful city, i use to go for my holidays(school holydays) when i was little my dad use to work in Beograd. he worked there for 37 years so he contributed a lot to today's Serbia. Thats all that i want,but i dont want to live in serbian soil,thats the best i can do. Thanks

ZK UK

What East are you talking about here anyway?

1) The only way NATO can be "given the boot" is if they are forcefully removed from Kosovo. Who has the military power to do that? Nobody reacted in 1999, no one will react now and no one will react in the future, because not even Russia and China combined have the military muscle to take NATO on in a full scale war.

3) The "East" as you call it, is hardly a tightly-knit military organization like NATO is. Russia and China are more fairweather allies anyway, and China will not go to war over Kosovo due to its economic interdependence on the United States, Russia will not go to war over Kosovo due to its economic interdependence on Europe, the region in itself is in the Western sphere of influence (hence why no one stopped NATO in 1999) so the most they can do is offer diplomatic support to Serbia, but this will not get NATO out of Kosovo in any case. India is hardly an ally of Russia and China as well.

Those who shouted loudest for independence aren't flying the flag of Kosovo, but the flag of Albania - are these internationals totally blind?
(kate, 23 September 2008 12:16)

Kate, what you are talking about was long time ago. It was the time that Kosovars were confused about their own identity and their future. However now it is clear that 90% of them want to build a prosperous, democratic, tolerant, and European country. It is something else that Serb minority that live in North of Kosovo, most of them move out of South of Kosovo, want that part of Kosovo lawless and haven for smuggling guns and goods. Differ from those Serbs, who have returned to their home on South of Kosovo, those that don’t want to, are especially those that have done many crimes to Albanian neighbors.

Yes, this is wonderful news! which confirms my feelings all along. obama is an intelligent and progressive leader, and his support for kosovo/a's independence is 100% consistent. and then again, look who he chose as his running mate -- joe biden, who we all pointed out has been a consistent supporter of human rights and freedom in the balkans.

i ask that all of our frnds and allies -- of ALL ethnicities -- strongly consider supporting the Democrats. Eight years of republican rule is enough and more than enough, for god's sake.

thank you again, to obama, to my Democratic colleagues, and to our frnds and allies who believe in freedom and democracy, all over the world. let our opponents call such words "platitudes"; we know well of the blood, sweat and tears that have been expended to get to where we stand today.

thank you!

roberto
frisco/sarajevo
robertoruss@yahoo.com

No surprises there really. The US has recognised its occupation afterall and to see a U-turn is unthinkable at this stage.

Sooner or later NATO will get the boot and the Albanians will have have to accept living on Serbian soil - but that push will most certainly originate from the East.

Nobody expected Obama or any other contender to change tack.

What is ironic while he speaks about multi-ehnicity and tolerance etc. is that if he knew the truth about Serbs have to live in barbed wired ghettoes and the total intolerance shown towards them, he would be personally shocked.

And why all this talk about independence anyway? I don't hear anyone speaking about being Kosovan but being Albanian. That's another country altogether.

This isn't about Kosovo being independent, but annexing territory from Serbia to make an Albanian statelet.

Those who shouted loudest for independence aren't flying the flag of Kosovo, but the flag of Albania - are these internationals totally blind?

I really don't understand why Serbia should trade one piece of her land from another? There is no logic to that and our land is non-negotiable. The only thing negotiable at this stage is for the Albanians to rule themselves on Serbian soil. There is a far greater chance that Albania will become a Serbian province than Kosovo ever becoming independent.

You only have to look at the facts - being that only the occupying nations and some micro-island-statelets dependent on US support have recognised this illegal puppet entity. The rest of the world, including the Islamic and Arab states want nothing to do with this independence non-sense.

You see, from what I read here, the Albanians have put all faith into NATO, which is currently the organisation of the unwilling! Even Russia mentioned it still would have attacked Georgia as a NATO state.

If you think the bankrupt states of the West can continue to over-extend as they have now, then you only have hope I'm afraid. Remember that NATO only intends to train about 1000 or so lightly armed troops in Kosovo. They will be no match for Serbia and I doubt very much that a conflict is necessary.

Peter, the push will come from the East as the balance of world power changes. I doubt very much there will be too much conflict involved but the West will have to come to terms with the new reality. Could it be possible that the former Warsaw pact countries get it wrong twice?

DiS, I can see it happening in our lifetime but even if it doesn't, we Serbians are a patient lot. The meltdown of the West is happening much faster than anticipated. The writing is already on the wall as far as I'm concerned.

I think it's good for him he came out said this otherwise I think he would have got the votes from us, the matter of truth is that US cant make such a U-turn regardless what the media speculates.

so i think all we need is stability and growth of economy.

well, this was expected, you cannot expect from international western community to discontinue supporting Kosovo's independence, which I strongly believe it was declared on solid basis, and in meritorious way, after all the suffer Kosovo people have undergone, the latter has to be preempted at all costs, for international community cannot allow repetition of previous happenings.

I do suggest Serbia to openly apologize for wrong doings, as it would be in benefit of reconciliation as well as EU integration. However if Serbia sees its future with Russia, I guess a time of hardship would approach for its people, and 50 years of drag down force, all this for nothing.

Frankly, I don't think that anybody expected the US to withdraw independence of Kosovo.

Of course the statement from the Serbian perspective is a bit disappointing, but nothing more.

The important thing is Obama's position with regard to potential new (or real) negotiations on the future of Kosovo.

If he is willing to act as an honest broker or mediator, rather than a supporter of only Kosovo Albanians, that will be enough for me and most Serbs.

Let me just remind my Albanian friends that all moderate Serbs want on Kosovo is some fair play and equal principles applied.

If that happens the final solution of the province will be acceptible to a majority of Serbs.

And Russian president support Abkzhazia and south Ossetia, nothing new here. Neither the US nor Russia will withdraw their recognitions.

But this does not mean that "Kosova" independence is legally valid, we will se in the GA in UN...

Kosovo status is debateable Dashnori i Satam 'Kosovo independence' is just a name.
Just by your saying 'Presevo for N Mitrovica' shows that the status of Kosovo is debateable and should be. God knows that if Serbs are expected to recognise the reality on the ground in Kosovo, that Kosovo Albanians have to recognise the reality on the ground in N Mitrovica and other pockets too.

There has not been a serious proposal from Belgrade, you are right. And you know why this is? Because the US says it is not acceptible and they are backed up by Kosovo Albanian government who are scared that any deal with Serbia will be seen as loss of territory.

Serbia cannot afford to be blamed for advancing some kind of land swap at this point by both the US and Kosovo Albanians.

But hey we can go to the table, you can say that Kosovo independence is not debateable and we can say the same for Serbia. Then behind the scenes something more realistic will be discussed.

And the ICJ may be just the forum which will force us to the table for real, direct negotiations, not the charade we had so far.

Impossible, first Yugoslavia does not exist, second it is far from impossible that Yugoslavia will never exist again. It could very well happen. We don't know what will happen in the future.

Well we didn't expect any different from Obama once he chose an albanian lobbyist and anti-Serb hate monter for his VP candidate.
The good news, friends, is that the US is a sinking ship and their influence is getting less and less by the day. The time will come when they will run out of money to fund camp Bondsteel and other global adventures, since all of their money will be used to bail out their failing businesses. The first signs of a declining empire, just like with Rome, are a bankrupt economy. The US has stretched itself too thin and have bases all over the world.
When this corrupt and immoral empire (which is sadly what it has become) finally collapses, we Serbs will be there, ready to take back the cradle of our civilization, Kosovo.
Cheers!!

Priština daily Koha Ditore reported Obama’s comments on its front page under the title, “Obama promises Kosovo full sovereignty“, reports Politika.

First of all, I wouldn’t give much credibility to Albanian propaganda paper “Koha Ditore”.
I just like to remind everyone, this is election year in US. If anybody knows anything about US elections, these politicians will say or tell you just about anything to get elected. He is defiantly not going against democratic policy on Kosovo at the moment. It would be political suicide for him. Once he gets into oval office it’s totally different story. As one of Chicago residents of Serbian origin I’m up to date on what’s happening in Serbian community in Chicago. Serbian community is supporting Senator Obama, he is out best bet. He will be most reasonable when it comes to Serbia-Kosovo issue. He will be soon meting with Serbian community activists in Chicago and I guarantee you he will be asked to explain himself on Serbia-Kosovo issue. Stay tuned.

Bganon

You mentioned that ...

"If he is willing to act as an honest broker or mediator, rather than a supporter of only Kosovo Albanians, that will be enough for me and most Serbs."

I've asked this question before in this forum, but none of the Serbian posters answered it in a realistic manner.

The US has been largely ambivalent or even friendly towards the Balkans in general, yet something happened that triggered its hostility towards Serbia in particular. The US ended up taking the side of Slovenia, then Croatia, Bosnia (with a very controversial history in WWII), and finally Kosovo Albanians...Why?

As far as Kosovo's status is concerned, I believe that under the circumstances, the Ahtisaari plan was the least bad of the options available.
Also, if the Kosovo Serbs are constantly being asked to participate in government, parliament, police, customs and security forces, then how exactly are the Albanians ruling the Serbs? I don't believe it's anywhere in the rule book that a Serb or a Bosniak or a Turk cannot be a prime minister or even president of Kosovo. While this may sound like a long shot for now, remember that this article is about a black dude running for president...

In my opinion, if this is not fair play then what is?

One can't believe a bloody thing coming out of this chap's mouth. Here's a rookie doing anything for a vote without a clue as to what is truly going on.

Aside from Bush's inexcusable term as being president, this is another reason why the US is losing ground on being a super power as it once was.

Bganon

Well, your explanation does sound plausible and I should add that the final straw was the unbelievable arrogance of the Milosevic regime. Milosevic simply did not know when to quit and your country paid for it. Which reminds me... Berisha got torpedoed from power in 1997 for a very similar reason.

With regard to Ahtisaari's plan, I called it the least bad for the same reason you mentioned. It highlighted the inability of the Serbs and Albanians to reach a compromise. As it is usual in the Balkans, we thump our chests at the "bravery" of blowing each others' heads off, but turn into complete cowards when it comes to doing the right thing peacefully. Neither side seemed (and still doesn't seem) to grasp that a "100% win" is no win at all as it only provokes outrage and resentment from the "100% loss" party and so the conflict continues...

Having said that, Kosovo considers itself independent and has most of the EU behind that declaration. In theory I don't have an issue with the whole concept of the ICJ ruling, though I find it ironic that in the same breath Tadic declared that Serbia will never recognize Kosovo's independence only a couple of days ago. That sort of invalidates the whole point of seeking a ruling in the first place.

You asked whether in a couple of years from now it will be possible to negotiate again. I am very pessimistic about that. Especially Serbia has shown no inclination at all to take reconciliatory steps towards Kosovo Albanians since the war. Serbian politicians could have agreed to disagree with the Albanians on status but cooperate in other fields in the mean time. After all, I don't see how refusing recognition of university diplomas, or medicine regulations (which the Kosovars may well have had the rights to do even if only autonomous), or Kosovo license plates, etc. is supposed to mend any bridges between the two sides.

So Obama says;

“I support Kosovo’s independence and her desire to move towards full sovereignty."

- sure everyone knows the US position but the message is in plain English there is no no real nor perceived soverign independence - just something that Obama would lend his support to achieve and no mention of a guarantee of achieving it!!!

What next another false declaration of independnce under a possible Obama Presidency?

Brilliant the cracks are there for all to see in the so-called sham of a western created frozen conflict!!!

Clearly some Serbian Albanians in the Soverign Serbian province are only too happy for the last 9 yeas of economic mismanagement and deprivation to continue with only aid handouts keeping the ethnic-albanian masses just above starvation while the few crooks at the top rake it in!!!! I guess that is why the EU would like to send in its judges and police into the Albanian areas of Serbia's soverign province!

Oh what a tangled web...

It's a little disappointing that Obama has made this statement but understandable given the need to canvas every available vote. There are after all only 170,000 Serbs in the US compared to half a million Albos, though it still seems naive to isolate that many voters. I guess he's working on the premise that those Serbs will still vote for him, given the unattractive proposition of the alternative.
I like the bit from Dashnori about having to wait to see whether McCain supports the unilateral declaration. The man is a lobbyist dream and there is none more aggressive than the Albanian!

I am very disappointed to hear this. I would prefer Obama won than McCain and for a while I actually hoped that his policies would be different rather than the same that we've come to expect from the USA and if not withdraw the recognition of Kosovo then at least repair some of the damage caused.

If Obama's support for Kosovo is about getting the Albanian votes this November his strategy lacks intelligence or who ever is advising him lacks intelligence since there is over 700,000 Serbians in the USA and less than 200,000 Albanians there of which only 50,000 or so are actually from Kosovo the rest from Albania proper.
But in the end its probably just a hallow promise.

Oh and spare me the "its the right thing to do" nonsense, because if we go that way then its the right thing to do would be to denounce Bushes artificial creation of Kosovo.

And for those of you who do not believe these numbers don't bother to ask me to prove it, find it yourself its available on the internet, don't expect others to do your home work when you want to counter someone with an argument.

This comment goes out to those pseudo-Europhile Youth in Belgrade who designed a poster of Obama and Kennedy together in anticipation that Obama would change his policies towards Kosovo without Serbia having to change at all! What a fatalist move in the face of desperation…cosmetics may have helped Serbia in the days when the European left devaluated itself by backing Millosevic – only to harm Serbia’s democratic front – not to even mention the atrocities of the regime! Kosovo is not the problem of Serbia, Serbia is the problem of Serbia.

Ment I will give you an answer to your question but your knee jerk reaction might be to not like it.

Above all its about geo-politics (not conspiracies, not anti Serbian policies specifically). Firstly the US felt that Serbian dominance in the Balkans was questionable. Milosevic was unstable, first being a US man, then being pro-Russian. They backed Croatia. Bosnia was another great one to back for similar reasons to Kosovo (yes I know neither are particularly Islamic) due to the fact that they are Muslum allies. The US needed and needs this card to impress internationally - particularly the democrats who care more about what the world thinks of them and of moderate muslums around the glob. Its part of the protect US policy. Secondly Kosovo is important because it divides Europe - machiavellians in the US polity were very keen (you can check this) on recognition of Kosovo because this and other issues will ensure that the European common foreign policy will never take off. They are concerned about world hegemony and see the EU as a threat. An independent Kosovo is just another tool. The EU knows this by the way and EU machiavellians are keen supporters of steamrolling an independent Kosovo thus getting rid of Kosovo as a divisive EU problem. Yes they say, we rolled over on this one, but the future is ours and the more we can stay united on this and other issues, the quicker we can compete with the US directly and eventually overtake them.

Of course this is only part of the story, there is far too much to list here. Suffice to say that Serbs have shot themselves in the foot countless times and dispute disunity among Bosnians, Croats and Albanians they have always been united on their common goal - something that Serbia has never had, divided between Yugoslavs and Serbs (and many subcategories).

The Ahtisaari plan was not bad in a sense but 2 huge, crucial problems with it - neither of the parties involved were consulted and it never raised status as a subject for debate.

Are we saying that Kosovo Albanians and Kosovo Serbs / Belgrade don't have a right to decide on what happens to the territory on which they live?

One might argue they were incapable, but even if this was correct previously, in the aftermath of war and bad blood, is it the case today?

Would it be the case tomorrow for example if a neutral party - the ICJ ruled that it had reservations about Kosovo independence and warns of fundamental principles of the international system being undermined? Let Serbs and Albanians take responsiblity for their futures so that in the future if something goes wrong they both will not blame internationals. To be responsible you have to make decisions about your own future.

I understand and agree that things should be inclusive, that generally people should take part, that obstructionism in the end helps nobody. However, if Serbs participate in the work of a government of a state they do not recognise, that is recognition of Kosova.

Until real negotiations are held I can't support that, although of course I do not condemn Serbs that do, or for example ethnic Serbs that take part in UN work in Kosovo.

Hand on heart, does anything I'm saying not sound like fair play? Is a fixed solution in advance supporting one side completely over the other on status, fair play?

Obama's Strings Showing

Even at a top-quality puppet show, the light will eventually fall in such a way that it exposes the strings that make the puppet dance.

To close observers, it has been obvious since last year that Obama is under the direct control of extremist proponents of anti-Serbianism including George Soros, Zbig Brzezinski and Samantha Power. Obama's "selection" (his pick was likely imposed upon him) of demagogic Serb-hater Joseph Biden as his running mate merely confirmed that the cardboard presidential candidate called Obama is nothing more than a conveniently colored facade for the same foreign policy clique that seized upon the Balkans as the best way to expand NATO into an international legion for a U.S./EU empire stretching around the globe.

Any suggestion that Obama is somehow better than McCain on the question of Serbia or Kosovo is not merely wishful thinking... it is delusional thinking.

The Obama who was supposed to be against war is already nonexistent -- Obama is now the greatest cheerleader for expanding the war in Afghanistan.

For Serbs in America there is no acceptable candidate for president -- until a Serbian-American runs for U.S. President there never will be. And now that the Serbs have been demonized into becoming the equivalent of the "white niggers of Europe" it would be much easier to elect a Black-American as President than to elect a Serbian-American.

Serbian-Americans must come to grips with the fact that they need to fight the anti-Serbianism of both U.S. political parties if they ever wish to be treated fairly in America.

Sincerely,

John Bosnitch
Belgrade, Serbia
john.b@imcnews.com

who expected a u-turn in US-american foreign policy so fast?

that will take more time of course.

Besides of independence, “Obama promises Kosovo full sovereignty“

Read it more carefully. What it (you see the word "sovereignty" versus "independence"?) means: "our army probably will leave Kosovo, you guys do what you want, but we can help with some economics if we solve our problems"

This is fully in line with Obama's agenda and if I would be a presidential candidate, I would write precisely the same. Serbian voters have little choice between "probably-not-so-good" versus 'really bad". Obama knows, he either has them anyway or they won't vote. Albanian voters can be swayed. 500000 Albanian voters is a good number and now every vote counts.

Dashnor i Ceces, McCain is Super Pro Albanian... If anyone wants a regular sized Albania(greater, like the serbs say) it's Johnny boy McCain..

I’ve heard lots of voices amongst Albanian community that Obama is a pro Serb. Kosovars should not be worried simply because whichever administration takes office supports Kosovo independence and there is no turning back. The pressing question is how you make Kosovo function as an independent state. There are great economic challenges that have to overcome. With the political process concluded, then the real work begins to create viable economic stable Kosovo. This is just the beginning of the turn around plan. Let’s see in five years if things have improved.

However I can bet money that the officials in Prishtina were told by Brussels and Washington to roll up their sleeves and get to work. The leadership in Prishtina has got to wake up and tackle the economic problems that the country faces. They need to make drastic reforms to stimulate the economy and draw foreign investment. A good start would be to fire the entire team that runs the energy company (KEK) and nominate a new management with strict instructions: You have two months to come up with a plan of how to fix the energy crisis and ten months to implement the plan. I heard bosses tell their employees hundred of times I don’t care how many hours you have to work I just want it done. That’s it. The entire aptitude of public employees needs to change. Like everything else in life if you want to move ahead you have to work hard for it. Same situation applies here if Kosovo wants to move ahead it has to work triple hard to catch up with its neighbors. “It’s the economy stupid” thats the slang that should be used in Kosovo.

Its good to see Obama stating what is a bipartisan issue in American politics.

B92, why not publish my comments? I believe I've been fair with your instructions on posting comments.

Obama "supports Kosovo independence"
Well done Obama thank you very much.
Republic of Kosova and Albania is in USA. 54 states.

Another very eloquently written commentary by you Mr. Bosnitch. Much like an ornate vase without flowers. In other words pretty words with no substance.

I think Bganon and Ment speak with clarity and genuine desire for resolution that leaves no side losers and both winners. Its people like those guys that are needed for Kosovo/Serbia negotiations.

As for Bosnitch – he just provides yet another example of what’s been going wrong – he says “For Serbs in America there is no acceptable candidate for president -- until a Serbian-American runs for U.S. President there never will be”. Mr Bosnitch, it’s that kind of attitude that just isolates the Serbs. The world needs to see more of folks like Ment and Bganon and a whole lot less of folks like Bosnitch.

i think obama is ok for us albanians but i hope McCain wins the election.McCain is a long and strong supporter of albanians.

Obama must protect American investment in Bondsteel/Kosovo-still Serbia – legally.

But he has urgent things to worry about in his own yard. As I write this, they are debating in Congress – Will they declare bankruptcy NOW – that’s situation in the field, or they will prolong the announcement for some other later time (but very soon – inevitable with over 10 trillion debt). If you understand how it works and what amount of debt is that – even some Republicans can’t give approval for blank check for disaster.

America doesn’t have any more power or resources to make that kind of money anytime in future. They don’t have power to force other to pay – Saudi Arabia can pay off only part of debt – just to keep US floating. So, only way to go out of this kind of debt is big war – and to erase everything – now let’s start from beginning. But, either way, that’s not good news for anybody, especially for Albanians in province of Kosovo – again betting on wrong player.

But, that’s result of short-sighted policy of harboring terrorism/WALL STREET in heart of your own lend and chasing some street thieves in Baghdad and Afghanistan – and minding some marginal politics around the world.

This is the policy of his team; it they win they will have to deal with Serbia's policy that does not recognize Kosovo's independence. So, what is new?

Does anybody really care what this 'US citizen' really thinks...does anyone really care what anyone from the US really thinks? It is a country on its knees...

TO All:Albanian & Serbian

I think Neither does Obama nor McCain have the authority to change anything when it comes to foreign policy. The American foreign policy is not determined by a single administration but by the national interests of the country. American foreign policy has long term objectives regardless of the administration. Whatever decision was made with regards to balkans in this case (Kosovo) is not a preference of the actuall administration, rather a long term goal of the American foreign policy.Succesfull lobbiying from both sides Albanian or Serbian can only speed up or slow down the objective.

Bosnitch - I agree. I think we have to give up on any sort of American support in the intermediate term. The best we can hope for is some minimal mutual respect and understanding, and hope that at least we can do business together. I think the Albanians have the US wrapped up.

Obama, Obama....
That guy has shown very little interest in anything but power, and will/does say whatever it takes to get yet another vote. His foreign policy (if any) does not focus much on protecting US borders and interests let alone Serbia's. One thing is for sure, once the election is over Kosovo will never cross Obama's mind. As far as US changing it stand on Kosovo....it already did, US is used to walking away from it's failures without making a big show of it, and it's "friends" usually find out "the hard way" that they are no longer protected (take Georgia). Here in US I have not heard a single thing about Kosovo in over 6 months, and we LOVE bringing up our successes, over and over and over again. Kosovo is obviously considered a monumental failure.

O what a big number of complaints about Obama. But its simple, you can make him say opposite things. But you have to pay! Where are the Serbian milliardaires like Karic, why are they not financing any campaigns in the USA? Why leave it to the Albanians that bought Holbrooke & Clarke earlier? Why so stingy?

I saw Obama talking about Kosova & Serbia but now he is talking for Croatia & BiH, why is he doing it?
If he wants to do something good for this region is better to learn history of this region and not to speak for Kosova and to mean for Croatia & BiH.

Obama calls himself a Christian, but obviously the plight of the persecuted Christians in Kosovo means nothing to Mr.Obama.

Mr.Obama, do not reward those Muslim Kosovars who destroyed Christian churches,monasteries/cemeteries by giving away Serb land.

To Peter Sudyka post N°14...

Everything you wrote is a temporary situation. Dont you think this is not going to change?
In maybe 100 or 300 years. Remember we waited for 500years or more. Is that a long term option? Are we gonna see a ww3 over serbia in NEAR future? That our kids may live?