Vanity Fair meets Ramush Haradinaj

When I read something stupid like that I am even more proud of my surname Lazarevic (because of General Vladimir Lazarevic),which the Albanians will never forget I assume.That is a true hero,do some reporting on him.

So, tell me, did Albanians went to this Lazarovic and surronded him and in self defence he killed those Albanians? Or was it Lazarovic who went to their houses and killed them.
Lazarovic is a hero because he killed Albanians but Haradinaj is a terrorist because he defended himself from his own house.

Michael John - or should that be Homer Simpson? "Starting to learn languages at a young age is the key to its success." Albania's/Albanian's success. Define that for me. You have the highest birth rate in Europe which you are so proud of, but maybe you haven't noticed . High birth rates are a sign of a backward society, not a first world society. You're on a par with Africa not Europe in almost everything you do. High birth rates, high poverty, low educational standards. And if i were you i wouldn't mention Tirana. The world saw Tirana for what it really is like when the BBC broadcast Michael Palin's journey around eastern europe. So please provide us with more jokes about Albania's "success".

Here we go again,American romantisicm for terrorists,thats how they portrayed the Taliban in Rambo 3 with Stallone and now they are fighting them smart as they are.
As for Haradinaj,three of four of his brothers were killed in counter terrorist operations and he escaped only with luck.
The only thing he was good in was killing Albanian (considered collabateurs) and Serbian civilians in the Decani munipacilty.
Sound more a terrorist to me than a hero.
When I read something stupid like that I am even more proud of my surname Lazarevic (because of General Vladimir Lazarevic),which the Albanians will never forget I assume.That is a true hero,do some reporting on him.

Dear CG

Remember this though: Your hero Lazarevic is sitting in the Hague and facing a mighty prison sentence. Ramush is in Kosova, adored by his people, and loved by the West.

Yes Jovan, not only does our hero,Ramush speak English fluently, but he a speaks French and Italian fluently as well. Did you know that he has an I.Q. of 120. Albanians learn languages rather quickly. Most Albanian children in Tirana speak at least two foreign languages, one being English, by the time they are 13 years old. Starting to learn languages at a young age is the key to its success.

"You have the highest birth rate in Europe which you are so proud of, but maybe you haven't noticed . High birth rates are a sign of a backward society, not a first world society. You're on a par with Africa not Europe in almost everything you do. High birth rates, high poverty, low educational standards"

Serbs, your average wage is less than 400 eu a month, hardly rich, Croats and Slovenians are much richer. Also 40% of your GDP comes from Vojvodina. Albanians are poor for now, but drive and you will see 3 story villas built my immigrants. Somehow we survive and it will only get better. We need children, yes. Having 2-3 kids a couple is normal, 2.3 is the replacement rate.

Albanians are uneducated? Maybe but read this first:
"According to statistics from the Education Ministry, nearly 50 percent of Serbian citizens never finished elementary schooling. "
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/comments.php?nav_id=32559

As for Serbia's civilization: we, and the entire world has seen it. In that case, we're proud to be 'backward'

"So please provide us with more jokes about Albania's "success".
(Radoslav, 22 November 2008 19:02)

Let me entertain you a bit.

- KLA the most successful guerilla of all times. They won the war without an army but through politics and by getting NATO to be on their side. That’s called achievement.
- Despite occupation and discrimination by Serbs and suffering from injustice done to the Albanians throughout history they ended up with 2 countries. That’s called achievement.

isn´t it funny, vanity fair is writing about primitive criminals?

if this boulevard-magazine is writing about albanian "heroes" then my dear friends, you have reached the bottom of the barrel.

as for the bouncer, ...I didn´t know he speaks "fluently english" =)

American romantisicm for terrorists,thats how they portrayed the Taliban in Rambo 3 with Stallone and now they are fighting them smart as they are.
--------------------------------

My dear boy, no Taliban in Rambo was ever married to an elite news anchor like Ramush is. He is the last of a dying breed, as Albanians abandon the last vestiges of the clan structure. The process is almost complete in Albania, and is well underway in Kosovo.

@Ben

Lazarevic was commander of the third army and his units defended the Serbian-Albanian border succesfully during the bombing.
The murders and war crimes were perpetrated by paramilitaries ,the VJ had nothing to do with it.
The regular army didn`t kill any civilians.

"When Slobodan Milosevic reads this article tonight in Moskva he will smile in happiness that his nationalistic propaganda is alive and well. Furthermore, the article is 6 pages not 10 as you claim. Read it here,
[link]
(L*O*G*I*C, 22 November 2008 17:52) "

Its great right...out of a6 page article b92 decided to quote these specific parts that indeed shows that serbian nationalistic propaganda is alive and well!

"Haradinaj on that opening photo with his father looks so American. Thanks God Serbia has finally border with these people."

As suppose to these people http://www.daylife.com/photo/08n16hj9Ik645 ? That is a new low, commenting on his' 60+ year old father's looks.

I propose a fight: Ramush Haradinaj vs Milorad Ulemek. Legija was great at killing unarmed civilians and being a Zemun gangster, let's how well he does in a fair fight. Not good that is.

I.Q. of 120

this is really nothing special, it falls in the middle of the international "above average" band of I.Qs, However among separatists this must be 3 or 4 times the average; and I understand why pro separatists would celebrate this

God watches and waits.

People like Ramush Haradinaj no matter what their nationality or politics will get what they deserve sooner or later.

People who are proud of Haradinaj and what he's done are no better.

To Vanity Fair:

Who are you going to interview next for your "grow them like mushrooms" subscribers? Dr. Megalomatis???

Guys - I don't know why, but if you think the article glorifies the man, you don't get it. It's a very, very sarcastic article (incidentally - why does sarcasm not translate??) For American/Brit/Australian/Canadian/you name it readers it's clear - the article is incredibly negative about Haradinaj, and about Kosovar society in general. It paints a picture of a criminal warlord sitting on a hill over a dung heap. It's so negative, that it's almost incredible to see it in print. It's close to racism - it's that bad. It's going to be cited in future by people who do work on Balkanization/Balkanism/whatever you want to call it.
In any case, anybody who reads it as "positive" about Kosovo or Haradinaj either needs to study English more, or should spend more time with Americans and/or Brits to discover how Anglo sarcasm works.

he-he

"Albanians learn languages rather quickly. Most Albanian children in Tirana speak at least two foreign languages,..."

dreams of being a superior nation ,this is hilarious!

VF may have erred terribly in assuming that Ramush or any Albanian from Kosovo or anywhere still follow the dated Clan laws of Kanun.

I have heard that in some remote mountainous areas some aspect of the Kanun may still be adhered to but come on now, the Kanun has been dead for decades now hehehe.

It's nonetheless a good story and perhaps Haradinaj is powerful and paying for the story. LOL

I expect there is a Hollywood script in the works about this. I wouldn't be surprised at all. :)

Haradinaj on that opening photo with his father looks so American. Thanks God Serbia has finally border with these people.

and what is this baloney and cheese about the "so-called" KLA? is it just me or are things on this site moving backwards at a rapid rate?


No, it's just you.

When Slobodan Milosevic reads this article tonight in Moskva he will smile in happiness that his nationalistic propaganda is alive and well. Furthermore, the article is 6 pages not 10 as you claim. Read it here,
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/12/kosovo200812

thanks to this article and the link my (albanian) colleague provided, i read the WHOle article (boy this guy can write) and altho i can't swear to its veracity, i thought it was quite interesting, and not a HIT piece at all,the way b92 implied. i thought it was fairly nuanced (esp.ly for one of my countrymen) and full of complexity. i am still not convinced of his guilt, nor innocence. but i can see why many kosovars consider him a hero.

if there are crimes against civilians, they are war crimes and need to be prosecuted. but there has to be evidence, etc, not just del-ponte type "tell-all" books. she really needed to vacate her position long before she did.

and what is this baloney and cheese about the "so-called" KLA? is it just me or are things on this site moving backwards at a rapid rate?

roberto
obama's frisco

Stephen you are right. The article paints albanians in a negative light but the albanians don't understand it. They think it is normal and that means the negative stuff is probably true.

Moral of the story: leave us alone. Albanians fought (but lost) in 1878, 1912-18, Kacaks, then through the 80's peacefully and then KLA.

I see you conveniently left out the period of WWII when the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo collaborated with the Nazis (21st SS Skanderbeg division).

Also, I would like to know how you consider ethnic cleansing from the end of WWII up to the 80s peaceful, after all the Serb population dramatically declined over that period of time in Kosovo & Metojiha. Hmmm...why was that I wonder, I seriously doubt the ethnic Albanians debated the Serbs out of the province.

No, the gist of the article is Albanians in the region that despite many occupations still ruled themselves and didn't take abuse. Then come the Serbs who humiliate Albanians and Albanians strike back. That is why he goes back to the canun who has rules about humiliations, and how to restore your honor. He killed Serbian police /occupiers, hardly a crime considering what Serbs were doing in Kosova.

Moral of the story: leave us alone. Albanians fought (but lost) in 1878, 1912-18, Kacaks, then through the 80's peacefully and then KLA. If serbs think that throwing us out would solved anything you are wrong, Albanians would have been attacking guerilla style with even better weapons until Serbia was bankrupt.

Turks learned their lesson: no taxes, respect the local elders /rulers, and leave the guns or face rebellion. Most of Albania was autonomous throughout history. Read about Prince Marko, who was he chasing? Musa the Albanian outlaw who had declared war on the Sultan.

Benny, they don't use the Canun for day to day but certain things are rooted in society.

Albanez said > " I propose a fight: Ramush Haradinaj vs Milorad Ulemek. Legija was great at killing unarmed civilians and being a Zemun gangster, let's how well he does in a fair fight. Not good that is."

Milorad Ulemek is indeed a crimanial and a mureder, but don't fool yourself into thinking that a bar room bouncer and ordinary "thug" like Haradinaj would stand a chance face to face with "Ulemek" who is Serbian special forces trained. Serbian special forces are among the best trained milterary combatants in the world, an elite class, anyone with rank in the US Army or British Army will tell you this. If you live in Kosovo ask an American or British Officer (not ordinary solider) what they think of Serbian special forces, or simply go to YOU-TUBE and see any number of videos regarding this subject matter.

I don't understand why I am censured. The fact that the serbian army was defeated by KLA in the border with Albania in Kosharja it's very well documented and the news and images were diffused in the world at that time- you can see much of it in youtube. The dead serbian soldiers, confiscated arms, ammos, bunkers, barracks etc is very well documented. Hence, your Lazarevic's strategy of cleaning ethnically the lands in the border and using the civilians as human bombs (KLA had to direct a substantial part of her forces to help civilians in providing them with food etc) did not succeed, actually beside that he was defeated. From that day the ammos and arms to kosova could be send by trucks not donkeys. This is called the power of the people that fight for their freedom.

I do agree that vanity article is not positive for Haradinaj and kosova- but it should be clear to anyone that we and ONLY we are the one that can tale who was killing us and who was defending. Hence please live us alone with these stupidities. Who did yuo expect that smuggles weapons Haradinaj or the Sorbonne scholar Rugova?

I am very very proud of the KLA.

I read the article and, as usual for the Western media, a glorifying romantic portrayal of a violent and criminal personality. There is no mention of the convenient deaths, and heavy intimidation of key prosecution witnesses in Haradinaj's trial. The prosecuters were contantly in arms over this. Without mentioning this key fact, the article would have a totally different slant on this "Rambo" character. Why would anyone want to paint a portrait of such a person as a hero, and what is Vanity Fair's interest in this? It would be interesting to investigate. Haradinaj, as pointed out to be Albanian justice, was hell bent on revenge alla the Kanun writings. How do his actions make him any different from the "Evil Serbs" he wanted to pay back? Basically, tooth for tooth. Maybe it is a just action in Albanian custom, but certainly not in a civilized Western society. Killing a murderer, makes you a murderer also. It will be a while before this nation, and its peoples, come around to the way things are done in the EU. Although, as long as there are no more sensless wars, and I hope Mr. Haradinaj doesn't believe there should be, time can heal wounds, hopefully.

I agree with TV Webber: the article draws a parallel between the Albanians and the Pushtun in Afghanistan (who like the Albanians have their own KLA (Taliban)), and who have their own code: the Pushtunwali

However, no Taliban would marry a celebrity news anchor, nor would "the elite" of Kabul resent the warrior dogs.

As I said, the clan system is almost dead. The Code is oral and there are no transmitters and no interpreters. I think Haradinaj was indulging the journalist, or he didnt even know at all that the article would start with a quote from the written Code. Incidentally, that code was written down by a catholic albanian priest(subsequently murdered by Serbs) so that there would be a record of it should it die. And it has died . NO ONE REMEMBERS IT! NO ONE!

That shooting scene inside the Haradinaj compound? Total pandering to the journalist. The Albanians have learned to give a westerner what he wants should he venture that far in their hinterland.

@Ben

You lost the battle of Kosare and the Pastrik mountain.
About 10 000 Albanians (KLA) attacked the fortified Serb positions on the Pastrik mountain and they were always thrown back and never managed to get through the road to Prizren.
Even with the help of the NATO aviation you suffered substantial losses.
It is estimated that about 5000 Albanian soldiers died in this battle,we even occupied Tropje in Northern Albania.


As for videos on youtube,of course there were some dead Serb soldiers too,but putting childish videos of this doesnt change the fact that General lazarevic was victoroius.

Dear CG

I find myself having to correct your data one more time. You stated that "we even occupied Tropoje in Northern Albania". The fact of the matter is, that this is an overstatement.

All that you "occupied" were a few border villages inside the Albanian border. The reason why you occupied those villages, was because NATO gave directives to the Albanian Army to pull back from the border, so as to make the bombing of Serb targets easier, and avoid a full fledged confrontation between the two countries (Albania v. Serbia) which would have caused Turkey to immediately intervene, at least within Albania.

Now, as far as Tropoje goes, here are the reasons why occupation of it would not have been logistically possible. Firt, Tropoje is not a cillage, but a full fledged city, and occupying it is not possible without attracting the full fledged attention of the media. Second, there were detachments of American airmen along with a group of Apache Helicopters stationed at Tropoje, as they were forwarded from Rinas airport near Tirana during the final days of the campaign. Although these helicopters were never used in the conflict, their presence in the area assured that any attempt against the city itself would have met American ground force, if for the simple reason to protect the helicopters.

The fact that the mines laid out by the Serbian soldiers as a present for the civilian population, did not beyond a mile or so from the border area also speaks to the fact that the foray into Albania was very limited.

Greetings from NYC

now wait a minute, the Albanians from Albania retreated into their own territory in order to make sure that NATO can bomb the Serbs?

I didn´t expect this to get so funny, I must admit.

it´s unbelievable how our dear friends´megalomaniac-comments about their military-virtues can get out of control...

as far as I am concerned - this "12000 year old" civilization is indeed the most backward one in Europe, and all these attempts to be bigger than in reality remind me of little children bragging around...

"All that you "occupied" were a few border villages inside the Albanian border. The reason why you occupied those villages, was because NATO gave directives to the Albanian Army to pull back from the border, so as to make the bombing of Serb targets easier, and avoid a full fledged confrontation between the two countries (Albania v. Serbia) which would have caused Turkey to immediately intervene, at least within Albania. "

Thats a laughable statement Florin. Thats a very identical spin that the Italian General Graziani made about the spectacular collapse of the Italian army in North Africa 1940-41 when he said it was 'a tactical retreat'.

The Yugoslav Army could have marched into Tirana in a couple of days and dipped their toes into the Adriatic if they wanted to.

Albanian forces withdrew from the border because their superiors in Tirana knew that they were no match for the VJ and so sought to avoid war with Yugoslavia which would have brought them a crushing defeat. It was NATO who saved your hides.

Had it now been for Yeltsin capitulating, we would have seen the collapse of the NATO alliance there and then. All Yugoslavia had to do was stay firm and dig in.

Vanity Fair is a great magazine full of talented journalists. I'm sure that their intent of this article is not to paint a good light of the K-Albanian movement, but instead show the whole picture and show the many injustises both sides have faced from eachother and their own government, I bet it probely paints the kosovo albanian movement in a bad light.

can someone make a movie about Haradinaj?

BENNY said: "VF may have erred terribly in assuming that Ramush or any Albanian from Kosovo or anywhere still follow the dated Clan laws of Kanun.

I have heard that in some remote mountainous areas some aspect of the Kanun may still be adhered to but come on now, the Kanun has been dead for decades now hehehe.

It's nonetheless a good story and perhaps Haradinaj is powerful and paying for the story. LOL

I expect there is a Hollywood script in the works about this. I wouldn't be surprised at all. :)"
-----------------------------

Had I read your comment earlier, I would had recommended you an excellent belgian/italian documentary film that has been presented by the greek national TV a couple of hours ago http://tvradio.ert.gr/tv/details.asp?pid=2546298&chid=8

It was about Kanun, which, whether you want to believe it or not, is still part of the daily life of your co-patriots.

Also, someone has mentioned Milorad Ulemek vs this Haradinaj...
Look, Legija was not just member of the Serbian special forces, but he was also a legionnaire...and IMO the best looking man I've ever seen!

Kalinichta from Greece

Niall,

Which ever way you wish to spin the defeat of Serbia, it was a great humiliation.

Why did Milosevic give up after only 78 days of light bombing. The evidence shows that he was deathly frightened at the thought of a ground invasion. Slobo knew if the invasion by NATO took place, he would have to worry about the highly motivated KLA moving into Serbia with NATO. Many of the KLA fighters were once in the Yugoslav army and knew the strategy of the Serbs.

Why don't they ask this K-Albanian hero about this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/25/kosovan-albanian-guerrillas-war-crime

The tide in the media is finally turning against the K-Albanian KLA Terrorists.

Here we go again,American romantisicm for terrorists,thats how they portrayed the Taliban in Rambo 3 with Stallone and now they are fighting them smart as they are.
As for Haradinaj,three of four of his brothers were killed in counter terrorist operations and he escaped only with luck.
The only thing he was good in was killing Albanian (considered collabateurs) and Serbian civilians in the Decani munipacilty.
Sound more a terrorist to me than a hero.
When I read something stupid like that I am even more proud of my surname Lazarevic (because of General Vladimir Lazarevic),which the Albanians will never forget I assume.That is a true hero,do some reporting on him.

Yes Jovan, not only does our hero,Ramush speak English fluently, but he a speaks French and Italian fluently as well. Did you know that he has an I.Q. of 120. Albanians learn languages rather quickly. Most Albanian children in Tirana speak at least two foreign languages, one being English, by the time they are 13 years old. Starting to learn languages at a young age is the key to its success.

"You have the highest birth rate in Europe which you are so proud of, but maybe you haven't noticed . High birth rates are a sign of a backward society, not a first world society. You're on a par with Africa not Europe in almost everything you do. High birth rates, high poverty, low educational standards"

Serbs, your average wage is less than 400 eu a month, hardly rich, Croats and Slovenians are much richer. Also 40% of your GDP comes from Vojvodina. Albanians are poor for now, but drive and you will see 3 story villas built my immigrants. Somehow we survive and it will only get better. We need children, yes. Having 2-3 kids a couple is normal, 2.3 is the replacement rate.

Albanians are uneducated? Maybe but read this first:
"According to statistics from the Education Ministry, nearly 50 percent of Serbian citizens never finished elementary schooling. "
http://www.b92.net/eng/news/comments.php?nav_id=32559

As for Serbia's civilization: we, and the entire world has seen it. In that case, we're proud to be 'backward'

When I read something stupid like that I am even more proud of my surname Lazarevic (because of General Vladimir Lazarevic),which the Albanians will never forget I assume.That is a true hero,do some reporting on him.

So, tell me, did Albanians went to this Lazarovic and surronded him and in self defence he killed those Albanians? Or was it Lazarovic who went to their houses and killed them.
Lazarovic is a hero because he killed Albanians but Haradinaj is a terrorist because he defended himself from his own house.

Michael John - or should that be Homer Simpson? "Starting to learn languages at a young age is the key to its success." Albania's/Albanian's success. Define that for me. You have the highest birth rate in Europe which you are so proud of, but maybe you haven't noticed . High birth rates are a sign of a backward society, not a first world society. You're on a par with Africa not Europe in almost everything you do. High birth rates, high poverty, low educational standards. And if i were you i wouldn't mention Tirana. The world saw Tirana for what it really is like when the BBC broadcast Michael Palin's journey around eastern europe. So please provide us with more jokes about Albania's "success".

Dear CG

Remember this though: Your hero Lazarevic is sitting in the Hague and facing a mighty prison sentence. Ramush is in Kosova, adored by his people, and loved by the West.

"So please provide us with more jokes about Albania's "success".
(Radoslav, 22 November 2008 19:02)

Let me entertain you a bit.

- KLA the most successful guerilla of all times. They won the war without an army but through politics and by getting NATO to be on their side. That’s called achievement.
- Despite occupation and discrimination by Serbs and suffering from injustice done to the Albanians throughout history they ended up with 2 countries. That’s called achievement.

isn´t it funny, vanity fair is writing about primitive criminals?

if this boulevard-magazine is writing about albanian "heroes" then my dear friends, you have reached the bottom of the barrel.

as for the bouncer, ...I didn´t know he speaks "fluently english" =)

@Ben

Lazarevic was commander of the third army and his units defended the Serbian-Albanian border succesfully during the bombing.
The murders and war crimes were perpetrated by paramilitaries ,the VJ had nothing to do with it.
The regular army didn`t kill any civilians.

When Slobodan Milosevic reads this article tonight in Moskva he will smile in happiness that his nationalistic propaganda is alive and well. Furthermore, the article is 6 pages not 10 as you claim. Read it here,
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/12/kosovo200812

To Vanity Fair:

Who are you going to interview next for your "grow them like mushrooms" subscribers? Dr. Megalomatis???

American romantisicm for terrorists,thats how they portrayed the Taliban in Rambo 3 with Stallone and now they are fighting them smart as they are.
--------------------------------

My dear boy, no Taliban in Rambo was ever married to an elite news anchor like Ramush is. He is the last of a dying breed, as Albanians abandon the last vestiges of the clan structure. The process is almost complete in Albania, and is well underway in Kosovo.

"When Slobodan Milosevic reads this article tonight in Moskva he will smile in happiness that his nationalistic propaganda is alive and well. Furthermore, the article is 6 pages not 10 as you claim. Read it here,
[link]
(L*O*G*I*C, 22 November 2008 17:52) "

Its great right...out of a6 page article b92 decided to quote these specific parts that indeed shows that serbian nationalistic propaganda is alive and well!

I.Q. of 120

this is really nothing special, it falls in the middle of the international "above average" band of I.Qs, However among separatists this must be 3 or 4 times the average; and I understand why pro separatists would celebrate this

Haradinaj on that opening photo with his father looks so American. Thanks God Serbia has finally border with these people.

I don't understand why I am censured. The fact that the serbian army was defeated by KLA in the border with Albania in Kosharja it's very well documented and the news and images were diffused in the world at that time- you can see much of it in youtube. The dead serbian soldiers, confiscated arms, ammos, bunkers, barracks etc is very well documented. Hence, your Lazarevic's strategy of cleaning ethnically the lands in the border and using the civilians as human bombs (KLA had to direct a substantial part of her forces to help civilians in providing them with food etc) did not succeed, actually beside that he was defeated. From that day the ammos and arms to kosova could be send by trucks not donkeys. This is called the power of the people that fight for their freedom.

I do agree that vanity article is not positive for Haradinaj and kosova- but it should be clear to anyone that we and ONLY we are the one that can tale who was killing us and who was defending. Hence please live us alone with these stupidities. Who did yuo expect that smuggles weapons Haradinaj or the Sorbonne scholar Rugova?

I am very very proud of the KLA.

he-he

"Albanians learn languages rather quickly. Most Albanian children in Tirana speak at least two foreign languages,..."

dreams of being a superior nation ,this is hilarious!

Albanez said > " I propose a fight: Ramush Haradinaj vs Milorad Ulemek. Legija was great at killing unarmed civilians and being a Zemun gangster, let's how well he does in a fair fight. Not good that is."

Milorad Ulemek is indeed a crimanial and a mureder, but don't fool yourself into thinking that a bar room bouncer and ordinary "thug" like Haradinaj would stand a chance face to face with "Ulemek" who is Serbian special forces trained. Serbian special forces are among the best trained milterary combatants in the world, an elite class, anyone with rank in the US Army or British Army will tell you this. If you live in Kosovo ask an American or British Officer (not ordinary solider) what they think of Serbian special forces, or simply go to YOU-TUBE and see any number of videos regarding this subject matter.

I read the article and, as usual for the Western media, a glorifying romantic portrayal of a violent and criminal personality. There is no mention of the convenient deaths, and heavy intimidation of key prosecution witnesses in Haradinaj's trial. The prosecuters were contantly in arms over this. Without mentioning this key fact, the article would have a totally different slant on this "Rambo" character. Why would anyone want to paint a portrait of such a person as a hero, and what is Vanity Fair's interest in this? It would be interesting to investigate. Haradinaj, as pointed out to be Albanian justice, was hell bent on revenge alla the Kanun writings. How do his actions make him any different from the "Evil Serbs" he wanted to pay back? Basically, tooth for tooth. Maybe it is a just action in Albanian custom, but certainly not in a civilized Western society. Killing a murderer, makes you a murderer also. It will be a while before this nation, and its peoples, come around to the way things are done in the EU. Although, as long as there are no more sensless wars, and I hope Mr. Haradinaj doesn't believe there should be, time can heal wounds, hopefully.

thanks to this article and the link my (albanian) colleague provided, i read the WHOle article (boy this guy can write) and altho i can't swear to its veracity, i thought it was quite interesting, and not a HIT piece at all,the way b92 implied. i thought it was fairly nuanced (esp.ly for one of my countrymen) and full of complexity. i am still not convinced of his guilt, nor innocence. but i can see why many kosovars consider him a hero.

if there are crimes against civilians, they are war crimes and need to be prosecuted. but there has to be evidence, etc, not just del-ponte type "tell-all" books. she really needed to vacate her position long before she did.

and what is this baloney and cheese about the "so-called" KLA? is it just me or are things on this site moving backwards at a rapid rate?

roberto
obama's frisco

"Haradinaj on that opening photo with his father looks so American. Thanks God Serbia has finally border with these people."

As suppose to these people http://www.daylife.com/photo/08n16hj9Ik645 ? That is a new low, commenting on his' 60+ year old father's looks.

I propose a fight: Ramush Haradinaj vs Milorad Ulemek. Legija was great at killing unarmed civilians and being a Zemun gangster, let's how well he does in a fair fight. Not good that is.

Stephen you are right. The article paints albanians in a negative light but the albanians don't understand it. They think it is normal and that means the negative stuff is probably true.

@Ben

You lost the battle of Kosare and the Pastrik mountain.
About 10 000 Albanians (KLA) attacked the fortified Serb positions on the Pastrik mountain and they were always thrown back and never managed to get through the road to Prizren.
Even with the help of the NATO aviation you suffered substantial losses.
It is estimated that about 5000 Albanian soldiers died in this battle,we even occupied Tropje in Northern Albania.


As for videos on youtube,of course there were some dead Serb soldiers too,but putting childish videos of this doesnt change the fact that General lazarevic was victoroius.

God watches and waits.

People like Ramush Haradinaj no matter what their nationality or politics will get what they deserve sooner or later.

People who are proud of Haradinaj and what he's done are no better.

No, the gist of the article is Albanians in the region that despite many occupations still ruled themselves and didn't take abuse. Then come the Serbs who humiliate Albanians and Albanians strike back. That is why he goes back to the canun who has rules about humiliations, and how to restore your honor. He killed Serbian police /occupiers, hardly a crime considering what Serbs were doing in Kosova.

Moral of the story: leave us alone. Albanians fought (but lost) in 1878, 1912-18, Kacaks, then through the 80's peacefully and then KLA. If serbs think that throwing us out would solved anything you are wrong, Albanians would have been attacking guerilla style with even better weapons until Serbia was bankrupt.

Turks learned their lesson: no taxes, respect the local elders /rulers, and leave the guns or face rebellion. Most of Albania was autonomous throughout history. Read about Prince Marko, who was he chasing? Musa the Albanian outlaw who had declared war on the Sultan.

Benny, they don't use the Canun for day to day but certain things are rooted in society.

I agree with TV Webber: the article draws a parallel between the Albanians and the Pushtun in Afghanistan (who like the Albanians have their own KLA (Taliban)), and who have their own code: the Pushtunwali

However, no Taliban would marry a celebrity news anchor, nor would "the elite" of Kabul resent the warrior dogs.

As I said, the clan system is almost dead. The Code is oral and there are no transmitters and no interpreters. I think Haradinaj was indulging the journalist, or he didnt even know at all that the article would start with a quote from the written Code. Incidentally, that code was written down by a catholic albanian priest(subsequently murdered by Serbs) so that there would be a record of it should it die. And it has died . NO ONE REMEMBERS IT! NO ONE!

That shooting scene inside the Haradinaj compound? Total pandering to the journalist. The Albanians have learned to give a westerner what he wants should he venture that far in their hinterland.

Moral of the story: leave us alone. Albanians fought (but lost) in 1878, 1912-18, Kacaks, then through the 80's peacefully and then KLA.

I see you conveniently left out the period of WWII when the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo collaborated with the Nazis (21st SS Skanderbeg division).

Also, I would like to know how you consider ethnic cleansing from the end of WWII up to the 80s peaceful, after all the Serb population dramatically declined over that period of time in Kosovo & Metojiha. Hmmm...why was that I wonder, I seriously doubt the ethnic Albanians debated the Serbs out of the province.

now wait a minute, the Albanians from Albania retreated into their own territory in order to make sure that NATO can bomb the Serbs?

I didn´t expect this to get so funny, I must admit.

it´s unbelievable how our dear friends´megalomaniac-comments about their military-virtues can get out of control...

as far as I am concerned - this "12000 year old" civilization is indeed the most backward one in Europe, and all these attempts to be bigger than in reality remind me of little children bragging around...

Vanity Fair is a great magazine full of talented journalists. I'm sure that their intent of this article is not to paint a good light of the K-Albanian movement, but instead show the whole picture and show the many injustises both sides have faced from eachother and their own government, I bet it probely paints the kosovo albanian movement in a bad light.

Dear CG

I find myself having to correct your data one more time. You stated that "we even occupied Tropoje in Northern Albania". The fact of the matter is, that this is an overstatement.

All that you "occupied" were a few border villages inside the Albanian border. The reason why you occupied those villages, was because NATO gave directives to the Albanian Army to pull back from the border, so as to make the bombing of Serb targets easier, and avoid a full fledged confrontation between the two countries (Albania v. Serbia) which would have caused Turkey to immediately intervene, at least within Albania.

Now, as far as Tropoje goes, here are the reasons why occupation of it would not have been logistically possible. Firt, Tropoje is not a cillage, but a full fledged city, and occupying it is not possible without attracting the full fledged attention of the media. Second, there were detachments of American airmen along with a group of Apache Helicopters stationed at Tropoje, as they were forwarded from Rinas airport near Tirana during the final days of the campaign. Although these helicopters were never used in the conflict, their presence in the area assured that any attempt against the city itself would have met American ground force, if for the simple reason to protect the helicopters.

The fact that the mines laid out by the Serbian soldiers as a present for the civilian population, did not beyond a mile or so from the border area also speaks to the fact that the foray into Albania was very limited.

Greetings from NYC

VF may have erred terribly in assuming that Ramush or any Albanian from Kosovo or anywhere still follow the dated Clan laws of Kanun.

I have heard that in some remote mountainous areas some aspect of the Kanun may still be adhered to but come on now, the Kanun has been dead for decades now hehehe.

It's nonetheless a good story and perhaps Haradinaj is powerful and paying for the story. LOL

I expect there is a Hollywood script in the works about this. I wouldn't be surprised at all. :)

Guys - I don't know why, but if you think the article glorifies the man, you don't get it. It's a very, very sarcastic article (incidentally - why does sarcasm not translate??) For American/Brit/Australian/Canadian/you name it readers it's clear - the article is incredibly negative about Haradinaj, and about Kosovar society in general. It paints a picture of a criminal warlord sitting on a hill over a dung heap. It's so negative, that it's almost incredible to see it in print. It's close to racism - it's that bad. It's going to be cited in future by people who do work on Balkanization/Balkanism/whatever you want to call it.
In any case, anybody who reads it as "positive" about Kosovo or Haradinaj either needs to study English more, or should spend more time with Americans and/or Brits to discover how Anglo sarcasm works.

and what is this baloney and cheese about the "so-called" KLA? is it just me or are things on this site moving backwards at a rapid rate?


No, it's just you.

"All that you "occupied" were a few border villages inside the Albanian border. The reason why you occupied those villages, was because NATO gave directives to the Albanian Army to pull back from the border, so as to make the bombing of Serb targets easier, and avoid a full fledged confrontation between the two countries (Albania v. Serbia) which would have caused Turkey to immediately intervene, at least within Albania. "

Thats a laughable statement Florin. Thats a very identical spin that the Italian General Graziani made about the spectacular collapse of the Italian army in North Africa 1940-41 when he said it was 'a tactical retreat'.

The Yugoslav Army could have marched into Tirana in a couple of days and dipped their toes into the Adriatic if they wanted to.

Albanian forces withdrew from the border because their superiors in Tirana knew that they were no match for the VJ and so sought to avoid war with Yugoslavia which would have brought them a crushing defeat. It was NATO who saved your hides.

Had it now been for Yeltsin capitulating, we would have seen the collapse of the NATO alliance there and then. All Yugoslavia had to do was stay firm and dig in.

BENNY said: "VF may have erred terribly in assuming that Ramush or any Albanian from Kosovo or anywhere still follow the dated Clan laws of Kanun.

I have heard that in some remote mountainous areas some aspect of the Kanun may still be adhered to but come on now, the Kanun has been dead for decades now hehehe.

It's nonetheless a good story and perhaps Haradinaj is powerful and paying for the story. LOL

I expect there is a Hollywood script in the works about this. I wouldn't be surprised at all. :)"
-----------------------------

Had I read your comment earlier, I would had recommended you an excellent belgian/italian documentary film that has been presented by the greek national TV a couple of hours ago http://tvradio.ert.gr/tv/details.asp?pid=2546298&chid=8

It was about Kanun, which, whether you want to believe it or not, is still part of the daily life of your co-patriots.

Also, someone has mentioned Milorad Ulemek vs this Haradinaj...
Look, Legija was not just member of the Serbian special forces, but he was also a legionnaire...and IMO the best looking man I've ever seen!

Kalinichta from Greece

can someone make a movie about Haradinaj?

Niall,

Which ever way you wish to spin the defeat of Serbia, it was a great humiliation.

Why did Milosevic give up after only 78 days of light bombing. The evidence shows that he was deathly frightened at the thought of a ground invasion. Slobo knew if the invasion by NATO took place, he would have to worry about the highly motivated KLA moving into Serbia with NATO. Many of the KLA fighters were once in the Yugoslav army and knew the strategy of the Serbs.

Why don't they ask this K-Albanian hero about this?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/25/kosovan-albanian-guerrillas-war-crime

The tide in the media is finally turning against the K-Albanian KLA Terrorists.