Tadić calls claims govt. knew where Mladić was "rubbish"

Well President Tadic let me use a very undiplomatic words: we don't believe you.

The villagers were not surprised at all that Mladic was there. Mladic was taking part in gatherings as weddings and b-days just as a normal free person. he was using his own ID. He was buying at the local butcher almost regularly, visiting military barracks when you Mr Tadic were a MoD etc.

Too many things to trust your version of the story.

If we trust you then we should trust Pakistani as well that they didn't know that Bin laden was in Abbottabad... just don't even try...

Let's think for a minute: Mladic did not alter his appearance, did not go into hiding, did not deny his identity, seems to have lived openly in a town and attended weddings and other public events and yet Tadic wants us to believe that the Serbian security forces which were ostensibly looking all over for him did not know where he was "hiding" for 16 years? If this was true - which it most certainly is not - then Serbian security forces would be amongst the worst in the world on par with those in Pakistan which also "didn't know" where Bin Laden was "hiding" for years. Given that normal criminals that commit murder, rape, and theft are routinely arrested by the Serbian police within weeks or months it makes no sense that one of the world's most wanted war criminals could live the way Mladic had done for 16 years without the police and other security agencies knowing exactly where he was and what he was doing. Tadic isn't fooling anyone by claiming not to have known about Mladic's location and activities for years if not decades. The Serbian government actively hid and aided Mladic and other war criminals and that is something that Tadic will have to admit, explain, and apologize for.

It can not be true Mr Tadic that you and your entourage didn't know where he was.

Tung

I am pretty sure that Mr Mladic is very ill and will need medical treatment which Belgrade can not give.

Selling a sick soul for money(?).

Tung

If we put this on par with bin Ladin's location and execution, we can see a few parallels.

1. Washington apparently found out where bin Ladin was hiding in Pakistan for at least three months prior to the Navy Seal operation. This would mean that Tadic may very well have known where Mladic was for at least that amount of time.

2. The prep work to scope out the location, prepare a security detail to apprehend the target, and ensure that no defensive elements would be there to either fire back or provide an escape route have to also have been taken into account. Bin Ladin went down in a gunfight. Mladic could have done the same but chose to surrender, and apparently there was no other security detail attached to him. No paramilitary ex-MUPs, no Scorpions, no Zemun Clan, hell, not even Ceca. We might chalk this up to prior years spent reducing the strength and effectiveness of the security that hid him for so many years.

3. Giving the green light to arrest him most certainly did not come yesterday but was probably planned for at least a few weeks if not months. I find it extremely hard to believe that all of this came down the pipeline in less that 24 hours.

So yes, they must have known Mladic was in Lazarevo just as Washington knew bin Ladin was in Abbotabad. Whether either Belgrade or Washington knew where Mladic and bin Ladin respectively were for the last 10 years will unfortunately remain a neverending debate on internet chat sites like this.

Congratulations again on Mladic's capture.

Obama got Osama
Tadic got Mladic :)

Serbia arrested Mladic now not because they cared for Srebrenica victims but because EU was in question.

"...many Kosovo Albanians have no issue with getting rid of Thaqi.."

They vote for him and other war criminals on every occasion.

I think my KiM Albanian friends here are correct. The government knew where he was all along and were negotiating terms with the EU regarding his "capture". Now that negotiations are over and Thaci is next in line, we all have something to celebrate, right? Fortunately, Thaci is still young and healthy so he can spend a lot of his good years behind bars. He has been very quiet lately, hasn't he?

Why you don't ask Mr. Obama why he took 10 years to find his mate Bin Laden. At least Mr. Tadic showed the world who is civilized and who follow the law and respect justice. 16 years actually less as Tadic said democratic changes took place 10-11 years ago.

Tadić calls claims govt. knew where Mladić was "rubbish"

Says the guy who paid Malladic's pension for years.

Did the govt know where Mladic was all this time??
1. For many years Mladic appeared in public without fear, public events, photographed.
2. When Mladic went into "hiding" he never left Serbia.
3. Notice was given within the last week that if Mladic was not arrested the chances of EU candidacy was nil before the end of the year, meaning also the end of the DS time in power.
4. Mladic was arrested after his health deteriated to a point that it is pretty much guaranteed he will never stand trial. A conviction would mean a conviction of Serbia itself. Much like a conviction of Milosevic would have been a conviction of Serbia, and miraculously he died before the trial was completed.
5. He was found at a relatives house and a neighbor helped him get dressed, not a surprise in the community he was there.

I guess if you believe his wife and son really thought he was dead, then you can believe the govt did not know where he was and did not assist in his hiding.

Why you don't ask Mr. Obama why he took 10 years to find his mate Bin Laden. At least Mr. Tadic showed the world who is civilized and who follow the law and respect justice. 16 years actually less as Tadic said democratic changes took place 10-11 years ago.

Tadic isn't fooling anyone by claiming not to have known about Mladic's location and activities for years if not decades. The Serbian government actively hid and aided Mladic and other war criminals and that is something that Tadic will have to admit, explain, and apologize for.
(Fred, 27 May 2011 10:17)

Thanks, fred, but it actually is more than that. to knowingly harbor criminal fugitives is a crime, and for a war criminal like this one, it is a very major crimes indeed. i don't give a flick what lies tadic puts out. it is clear that successive belgrade regimes did knowingly harbor mass-murderer mladic for the last decade. there needs to be an international inquiry, and appropriate prosecution. these cover-up crimes need to be adjudicated.

it was amazing, and "funny" to watch and listen to newscast after newscast, with journalists trying to cope with the timing issue: how could they have "found" him exactly as the "negative" report was approaching, along w/ a high-level visit fr the EU. a coincidence... right.

everyone we asked back in march said the same thing: mladic is alive, he's here (in serbia), and he will be "found" when it is convenient for the blgd regime (my term.) which is exactly what happened. i always said, given the right pressure, one week, 2 weeks max. and so it goes.

and we're suppose to applaud tadic for his decision to stop harboring such a criminal?? what a bizarre logic.

again i wish to express my gratitiude to all people who pushed for this to happen -- all individuals, all countries, brave little netherlands. otherwise this arrest NEVER would have occured.

tung. i look forward to the extradition and trial, and will try to attend at least a few days.

Obama got Osama
Tadic got Mladic :)
(Mike, 27 May 2011 17:12)
It is ironic you compare the 2 as if very similar, but the differences are:
1. OBL was an enemy of the state, Mladic was a hero to the state.
2. OBL was hiding in a foreign country where the US had limited control, Mladic was right in the same country where Serbia had complete control.
3. OBL set off celebrations throughout the US, Mladic set off protests throughout Serbia.
4. OBL was in excellent health, Mladic apparently had become in need for hospitalization, and now he can get it.
5. OBL had vast personal wealth to facilitate his movements, Mladic had to rely on a Serbian network to move abouts.
6. Going in and getting OBL without the cooperation of Pakistan was in danger of creating an international situation. Getting Mladic was only a domestic issue.
7. Obama had nothing to gain by NOT capturing OBL, Tadic had plenty to gain by NOT capturing Mladic.
8. According to reports neighbors (Pakistani) knew nothing of the identity of OBL at his house of hiding. It is apparent it was no secret that the neighbors not only knew but assisted in Mladic's hiding.

The same people who deny Srebenica and deny any of the acusations against their Serbian heros will deny that the govt knew and/or aided Mladic's hiding, but inside will know the truth.

I think my KiM Albanian friends here are correct. The government knew where he was all along and were negotiating terms with the EU regarding his "capture". Now that negotiations are over and Thaci is next in line, we all have something to celebrate, right? Fortunately, Thaci is still young and healthy so he can spend a lot of his good years behind bars. He has been very quiet lately, hasn't he?
(Zoran, 27 May 2011 14:02)

Zoran many Kosovo Albanians have no issue with getting rid of Thaqi, however unfortunately regardless what people think he was not involved in war. He was the face of KLA and not until later that he started to get power long after the war.

In my opinion as long as he does what US tells him to do he is safe and he is doing exactly what they want.

Same with Tadic he knows where the lines are and he knows what US/EU needs from him.

lets hope future is brighter for people in BAlkan.

Voices that such thing as organ traffic existed in kosovo are also rubbish..see mr president? Voices are always rubbish...

1. OBL was an enemy of the state, Mladic was a hero to the state.

I don’t recall him ever being a “hero” to the state. Do you have any records for that beyond the rantings of a number of die-hard nationalists? I’ve heard more people say Gotovina is a Croatian hero at official levels in the post-Tudjman era than anything regarding Mladic in the post-Milosevic.

2. OBL was hiding in a foreign country where the US had limited control, Mladic was right in the same country where Serbia had complete control.

And they found him. Your point being? Serbia didn’t require any outside help to find and capture him. Additionally, Mladic was officially protected by Milosevic from 1995 - 2000, was supported by a still-strong military and organized crime element from 2000 until likely 2006 and the arrest-procedures undoubtedly hamstrung by a Kostunica-dominated government up until 2008. I really think a true search for him was only undertaken after the 2008 elections in which DSS elements were removed from the governing coaltion. Ironic also how he was captured by an SPS-led Ministry of Interior.

3. OBL set off celebrations throughout the US, Mladic set off protests throughout Serbia.

Your analogy would have worked if you used Pakistan instead of the US. OBL sets off celebrations in the US and in Bosnia. Protests in Serbia are not, and will not, be state-sponsored. The SRS may organize something, and they’ll be ridiculed for it, but don’t expect the Serbian government to go all HDZ on him issuing calls for appeals and organized rallies in support of a war hero. Whatever riots that took place are largely hooligans with no working knowledge of RM.

4. OBL was in excellent health, Mladic apparently had become in need for hospitalization, and now he can get it.

We heard for years OBL was a diabetic strapped to a dialysis machine and was probably already dead in some cave. As far as RM’s conditions were, it was anyone’s guess. Your applying arguments in hindsight.

5. OBL had vast personal wealth to facilitate his movements, Mladic had to rely on a Serbian network to move abouts.

Which was whittled down over the years to the point of eliminating what was assumed to be an extensive security apparatus. That we find him in some Podunk nowhere village in Vojvodina belies assumptions that he was firmly protected on military bases. The last few years must have contributed towards weakening his support network. Go after the money to weaken the security before you make the arrest. Additionally, make the arrest when said security apparatus has no ability to inflict retaliatory damages.

6. Going in and getting OBL without the cooperation of Pakistan was in danger of creating an international situation. Getting Mladic was only a domestic issue.

So? That they found him in Serbia means they didn’t have to rely on outside support. Praise should be given to Serbia which acted when Pakistan did not. Imagine the humiliation if outside forces got him and the Serbian politics did not.

7. Obama had nothing to gain by NOT capturing OBL, Tadic had plenty to gain by NOT capturing Mladic.

Debatable. Getting OBL certainly is welcomed and Obama will take credit for that, as is getting Mladic. It would seem that by capturing Mladic, Tadić has all but secured his position for a new government. What would he have gained by not capturing Mladic?

8. According to reports neighbors (Pakistani) knew nothing of the identity of OBL at his house of hiding. It is apparent it was no secret that the neighbors not only knew but assisted in Mladic's hiding.

Which seems to have been because a number of people were delisted soldiers from the Bosnian war. I’m sure we’ll find out more about this in the days ahead and how many people in the village knew of him. Whatever the case, I have no sympathy for him or his local neighbors to may have helped him.

A New Day, it looks like our opinions converge on a few things:

1. "Long after Milosevic, Mladic moved freely around Serbia without fear as late as 2002"

-- Agreed. This is effectively what I was trying to explain in terms of why/how he was caught 16 years after the indictments. He enjoyed full protection under Milosevic until 2000 and Kostunica, while probably disliking the man personally, was not going to cause what he saw as a high-risk gamble for instability after it took an 18-party coalition to unseat Milosevic. Mladic could definitely rely on continued support from key security sectors at least as late as 2003. An honest search did not take place until after the 2008 elections when DSS elements were removed from coalition.

2. "He will most likely never stand trial due to being unfit to aid in his defense, therefore Serbia benefits by having him treated in an international hospital for his remaining days and still no conviction for a high ranking official in the Serbian Military."

-- That does pose a risk and it remains to be seen how ill Mladic is. Personally, I hope he escapes the Grim Reaper long enough for a verdict to be rendered. But this is an entirely new issue to deal with apart from the open-ended obligation of finding him. If the Hague learned from its mistakes with Milosevic, and now apparently Seselj, his trial will be fast tracked.

3. "Eventhough the police were pulled away from these high target areas, and Tadic left the country for the state sponsored "peaceful protest" serves as evidence he was well aware of Kostunica's intentions."

-- Having lived in Belgrade at the time, and having attended the large gathering in front of the Skupstina and Sv. Sava Cathedral that afternoon/evening, I can say that the events surrounding the looting and vandalism later that evening were largely, if not exclusively, caused by similar hoodlums that "demonstrated" in NS and BG a few days earlier. A number of these kids were behind me at the rallies and were more interested in causing disprution and shooting off flares than listening to any other speeches. None of the officials on stage called for a day of rage. The Embasssy burning is an incredibly fishy story since not only were Serbian police conveniently absent (most were guarding the mosque which was usually the focus of protests), but so too were the US soldiers that were stationed in front of the embassy the previous day, and the following morning. Responsibility also lies with the Interior Ministry, which at the time was also controlled by DSS. But whether this was "state sponsored" is, in my opinion, highly doubtful.

4. "Alienating the nationalists by arresting a Mladic healthy enough to be tried and convicted at the Hague could have given Kostunica et al, the leverage needed to retake command."

-- I'm not so sure of Kostunica's ability to command an election anymore. DSS has significantly slipped in the polls over the last few years, and if there's anyone ready to capitalize it would have been Nikolic prior to his tryst with starvation. That's not to say DS doesn't have its detractors. Far from it. But DS today is seen less as a party of Western stooges and more as a party that inherited the mantle of corruption from Milosevic. Does this help Tadic at the polls? Absolutely. Does it gain him favor in international eyes? Absolutely. Does it earn him the ire of nationalists? Absolutely. Will they be able to upset the political balance? Highly unlikely. Seselj serves more as a lightening rod for the nationalists than Mladic does, and I'll venture to say that any "rallies" in favor of him will be largely attended by the once-again far right SRS. If SNS and DSS attend, I'll be really surprised.

(Mike, 27 May 2011 22:20)
While I applaud the fact you have no sympathy for Mladic, I think you have turned a blind eye toward many of your fellow countrymen.
As far as a hero: Long after Milosevic, Mladic moved freely around Serbia without fear as late as 2002. A recent poll published by B92 said more than 51% of Serbs opposed the arrest of Mladic.
"And they found him. Your point being?" Your next sentences answers that question and the one about being a national hero. The search did not even turn serious until after 2008. Up until then he was protected by Milosevic and then Kostunica leaders of the state-because they considered him a hero for Serbia. I do not think the search even turned serious then, he may not have been aided as much by the state but I do not think a legitmate search was being done.
Health-the rumors of OBL were just that no one knows he was never in the spotlight and no one actually knew anything about his health other than his close confidences, his first public adventure was afterhis death. Mladic has already been paraded around as an invalid too ill to stand trial. He will most likely never stand trial due to being unfit to aid in his defense, therefore Serbia benefits by having him treated in an international hospital for his remaining days and still no conviction for a high ranking official in the Serbian Military.

"Protests in Serbia are not, and will not, be state-sponsored" As the burnings of Embasseys and US based businesses during 2008 were not state sponsored. Eventhough the police were pulled away from these high target areas, and Tadic left the country for the state sponsored "peaceful protest" serves as evidence he was well aware of Kostunica's intentions.
Tadic's security in govt is being rocked by the fact he is unable to deliver the EU, and the fact that reality is sinking in that while Serbia can still cause problems for the Albanians, Kosovo under Serbian control is no longer a possibility. Alienating the nationalists by arresting a Mladic healthy enough to be tried and convicted at the Hague could have given Kostunica et al, the leverage needed to retake command.
In order to stay in power he needs to be able to deliver either the EU or Kosovo,

''"...many Kosovo Albanians have no issue with getting rid of Thaqi.."

They vote for him and other war criminals on every occasion.
(Wrong Kind of Dream, 27 May 2011 16:07)''

Well, it only means that Thaci is smart enough to evade the court, there is no evidence, there is no crime... Mladic was stupid enough to kill muslims of serbrenica in front of cameras and foreign observers, Thaci did not even take part in any UCK action, he was a political figure of the UCK, even if UCK rounded up unarmed serbs , Thaci can not be held responsible, because he was not acting on the field and he was not giving any orders on military acts, he was not even a military as far as i know. If you want to hunt serb terminators, start with Ceku and Haradinaj, Ceku started his serb termiantion program in Croatia and he performed quite good there, shelling mladic forces was his proffession, still you can not blame Ceku, you should blame the glorious jugoslav army that trained him...gotta applaude the jugoslav strategy of war in croatia, sending albanian officers and recruits to fight the croats, not very smart actually, they all either ran away or joined the croatian army...another advice, if you wanna take the land ''invaded by muslims and return it back to the serbian nation on the holy day of saint something'' just do it and do not declare it on a worldwide broadcast...because, nowadays, in civilised modern world, ww2 speech and ww2 acts are held as evidence of war crime ...so, if you are to commit a war crime, do it as discreetly as possible and don't brag about it.

This arrest of mladic is grotesque, i think we should release him, the guy is sick and dying, what punishment could possibly bring justice on a sick and dying man? It is clear that Serbia is taking the horseshoes from a dying horse... I feel pity for the guy, now that he is dying, at last moment, serbian state betrayed him and send him to hague, Tadic could have simply said ''we have been watching over Mldic for the last 16 years and taking good care of him, but now that he is sick and is going to die very soon anyway, we decided to sent him to Hague so we can get EU '' Shame on you serbia, exploiting a dying man, even me as an Albanian, i would feel pity for the old man, if i were to meet mladic right now, i would offer him a big bucket of hot soup and feel pity while watching him trying to drink it. Again, shame on you Tadic and Serbia, taking advantage on an old and dying man.

Tadic isn't fooling anyone by claiming not to have known about Mladic's location and activities for years if not decades. The Serbian government actively hid and aided Mladic and other war criminals and that is something that Tadic will have to admit, explain, and apologize for.
(Fred, 27 May 2011 10:17)

Thanks, fred, but it actually is more than that. to knowingly harbor criminal fugitives is a crime, and for a war criminal like this one, it is a very major crimes indeed. i don't give a flick what lies tadic puts out. it is clear that successive belgrade regimes did knowingly harbor mass-murderer mladic for the last decade. there needs to be an international inquiry, and appropriate prosecution. these cover-up crimes need to be adjudicated.

it was amazing, and "funny" to watch and listen to newscast after newscast, with journalists trying to cope with the timing issue: how could they have "found" him exactly as the "negative" report was approaching, along w/ a high-level visit fr the EU. a coincidence... right.

everyone we asked back in march said the same thing: mladic is alive, he's here (in serbia), and he will be "found" when it is convenient for the blgd regime (my term.) which is exactly what happened. i always said, given the right pressure, one week, 2 weeks max. and so it goes.

and we're suppose to applaud tadic for his decision to stop harboring such a criminal?? what a bizarre logic.

again i wish to express my gratitiude to all people who pushed for this to happen -- all individuals, all countries, brave little netherlands. otherwise this arrest NEVER would have occured.

tung. i look forward to the extradition and trial, and will try to attend at least a few days.

Well President Tadic let me use a very undiplomatic words: we don't believe you.

The villagers were not surprised at all that Mladic was there. Mladic was taking part in gatherings as weddings and b-days just as a normal free person. he was using his own ID. He was buying at the local butcher almost regularly, visiting military barracks when you Mr Tadic were a MoD etc.

Too many things to trust your version of the story.

If we trust you then we should trust Pakistani as well that they didn't know that Bin laden was in Abbottabad... just don't even try...

I am pretty sure that Mr Mladic is very ill and will need medical treatment which Belgrade can not give.

Selling a sick soul for money(?).

Tung

If we put this on par with bin Ladin's location and execution, we can see a few parallels.

1. Washington apparently found out where bin Ladin was hiding in Pakistan for at least three months prior to the Navy Seal operation. This would mean that Tadic may very well have known where Mladic was for at least that amount of time.

2. The prep work to scope out the location, prepare a security detail to apprehend the target, and ensure that no defensive elements would be there to either fire back or provide an escape route have to also have been taken into account. Bin Ladin went down in a gunfight. Mladic could have done the same but chose to surrender, and apparently there was no other security detail attached to him. No paramilitary ex-MUPs, no Scorpions, no Zemun Clan, hell, not even Ceca. We might chalk this up to prior years spent reducing the strength and effectiveness of the security that hid him for so many years.

3. Giving the green light to arrest him most certainly did not come yesterday but was probably planned for at least a few weeks if not months. I find it extremely hard to believe that all of this came down the pipeline in less that 24 hours.

So yes, they must have known Mladic was in Lazarevo just as Washington knew bin Ladin was in Abbotabad. Whether either Belgrade or Washington knew where Mladic and bin Ladin respectively were for the last 10 years will unfortunately remain a neverending debate on internet chat sites like this.

Congratulations again on Mladic's capture.

Obama got Osama
Tadic got Mladic :)

Let's think for a minute: Mladic did not alter his appearance, did not go into hiding, did not deny his identity, seems to have lived openly in a town and attended weddings and other public events and yet Tadic wants us to believe that the Serbian security forces which were ostensibly looking all over for him did not know where he was "hiding" for 16 years? If this was true - which it most certainly is not - then Serbian security forces would be amongst the worst in the world on par with those in Pakistan which also "didn't know" where Bin Laden was "hiding" for years. Given that normal criminals that commit murder, rape, and theft are routinely arrested by the Serbian police within weeks or months it makes no sense that one of the world's most wanted war criminals could live the way Mladic had done for 16 years without the police and other security agencies knowing exactly where he was and what he was doing. Tadic isn't fooling anyone by claiming not to have known about Mladic's location and activities for years if not decades. The Serbian government actively hid and aided Mladic and other war criminals and that is something that Tadic will have to admit, explain, and apologize for.

It can not be true Mr Tadic that you and your entourage didn't know where he was.

Tung

Tadić calls claims govt. knew where Mladić was "rubbish"

Says the guy who paid Malladic's pension for years.

Serbia arrested Mladic now not because they cared for Srebrenica victims but because EU was in question.

Why you don't ask Mr. Obama why he took 10 years to find his mate Bin Laden. At least Mr. Tadic showed the world who is civilized and who follow the law and respect justice. 16 years actually less as Tadic said democratic changes took place 10-11 years ago.

Why you don't ask Mr. Obama why he took 10 years to find his mate Bin Laden. At least Mr. Tadic showed the world who is civilized and who follow the law and respect justice. 16 years actually less as Tadic said democratic changes took place 10-11 years ago.

Voices that such thing as organ traffic existed in kosovo are also rubbish..see mr president? Voices are always rubbish...

Did the govt know where Mladic was all this time??
1. For many years Mladic appeared in public without fear, public events, photographed.
2. When Mladic went into "hiding" he never left Serbia.
3. Notice was given within the last week that if Mladic was not arrested the chances of EU candidacy was nil before the end of the year, meaning also the end of the DS time in power.
4. Mladic was arrested after his health deteriated to a point that it is pretty much guaranteed he will never stand trial. A conviction would mean a conviction of Serbia itself. Much like a conviction of Milosevic would have been a conviction of Serbia, and miraculously he died before the trial was completed.
5. He was found at a relatives house and a neighbor helped him get dressed, not a surprise in the community he was there.

I guess if you believe his wife and son really thought he was dead, then you can believe the govt did not know where he was and did not assist in his hiding.

I think my KiM Albanian friends here are correct. The government knew where he was all along and were negotiating terms with the EU regarding his "capture". Now that negotiations are over and Thaci is next in line, we all have something to celebrate, right? Fortunately, Thaci is still young and healthy so he can spend a lot of his good years behind bars. He has been very quiet lately, hasn't he?

Obama got Osama
Tadic got Mladic :)
(Mike, 27 May 2011 17:12)
It is ironic you compare the 2 as if very similar, but the differences are:
1. OBL was an enemy of the state, Mladic was a hero to the state.
2. OBL was hiding in a foreign country where the US had limited control, Mladic was right in the same country where Serbia had complete control.
3. OBL set off celebrations throughout the US, Mladic set off protests throughout Serbia.
4. OBL was in excellent health, Mladic apparently had become in need for hospitalization, and now he can get it.
5. OBL had vast personal wealth to facilitate his movements, Mladic had to rely on a Serbian network to move abouts.
6. Going in and getting OBL without the cooperation of Pakistan was in danger of creating an international situation. Getting Mladic was only a domestic issue.
7. Obama had nothing to gain by NOT capturing OBL, Tadic had plenty to gain by NOT capturing Mladic.
8. According to reports neighbors (Pakistani) knew nothing of the identity of OBL at his house of hiding. It is apparent it was no secret that the neighbors not only knew but assisted in Mladic's hiding.

The same people who deny Srebenica and deny any of the acusations against their Serbian heros will deny that the govt knew and/or aided Mladic's hiding, but inside will know the truth.

I think my KiM Albanian friends here are correct. The government knew where he was all along and were negotiating terms with the EU regarding his "capture". Now that negotiations are over and Thaci is next in line, we all have something to celebrate, right? Fortunately, Thaci is still young and healthy so he can spend a lot of his good years behind bars. He has been very quiet lately, hasn't he?
(Zoran, 27 May 2011 14:02)

Zoran many Kosovo Albanians have no issue with getting rid of Thaqi, however unfortunately regardless what people think he was not involved in war. He was the face of KLA and not until later that he started to get power long after the war.

In my opinion as long as he does what US tells him to do he is safe and he is doing exactly what they want.

Same with Tadic he knows where the lines are and he knows what US/EU needs from him.

lets hope future is brighter for people in BAlkan.

"...many Kosovo Albanians have no issue with getting rid of Thaqi.."

They vote for him and other war criminals on every occasion.

''"...many Kosovo Albanians have no issue with getting rid of Thaqi.."

They vote for him and other war criminals on every occasion.
(Wrong Kind of Dream, 27 May 2011 16:07)''

Well, it only means that Thaci is smart enough to evade the court, there is no evidence, there is no crime... Mladic was stupid enough to kill muslims of serbrenica in front of cameras and foreign observers, Thaci did not even take part in any UCK action, he was a political figure of the UCK, even if UCK rounded up unarmed serbs , Thaci can not be held responsible, because he was not acting on the field and he was not giving any orders on military acts, he was not even a military as far as i know. If you want to hunt serb terminators, start with Ceku and Haradinaj, Ceku started his serb termiantion program in Croatia and he performed quite good there, shelling mladic forces was his proffession, still you can not blame Ceku, you should blame the glorious jugoslav army that trained him...gotta applaude the jugoslav strategy of war in croatia, sending albanian officers and recruits to fight the croats, not very smart actually, they all either ran away or joined the croatian army...another advice, if you wanna take the land ''invaded by muslims and return it back to the serbian nation on the holy day of saint something'' just do it and do not declare it on a worldwide broadcast...because, nowadays, in civilised modern world, ww2 speech and ww2 acts are held as evidence of war crime ...so, if you are to commit a war crime, do it as discreetly as possible and don't brag about it.

This arrest of mladic is grotesque, i think we should release him, the guy is sick and dying, what punishment could possibly bring justice on a sick and dying man? It is clear that Serbia is taking the horseshoes from a dying horse... I feel pity for the guy, now that he is dying, at last moment, serbian state betrayed him and send him to hague, Tadic could have simply said ''we have been watching over Mldic for the last 16 years and taking good care of him, but now that he is sick and is going to die very soon anyway, we decided to sent him to Hague so we can get EU '' Shame on you serbia, exploiting a dying man, even me as an Albanian, i would feel pity for the old man, if i were to meet mladic right now, i would offer him a big bucket of hot soup and feel pity while watching him trying to drink it. Again, shame on you Tadic and Serbia, taking advantage on an old and dying man.

1. OBL was an enemy of the state, Mladic was a hero to the state.

I don’t recall him ever being a “hero” to the state. Do you have any records for that beyond the rantings of a number of die-hard nationalists? I’ve heard more people say Gotovina is a Croatian hero at official levels in the post-Tudjman era than anything regarding Mladic in the post-Milosevic.

2. OBL was hiding in a foreign country where the US had limited control, Mladic was right in the same country where Serbia had complete control.

And they found him. Your point being? Serbia didn’t require any outside help to find and capture him. Additionally, Mladic was officially protected by Milosevic from 1995 - 2000, was supported by a still-strong military and organized crime element from 2000 until likely 2006 and the arrest-procedures undoubtedly hamstrung by a Kostunica-dominated government up until 2008. I really think a true search for him was only undertaken after the 2008 elections in which DSS elements were removed from the governing coaltion. Ironic also how he was captured by an SPS-led Ministry of Interior.

3. OBL set off celebrations throughout the US, Mladic set off protests throughout Serbia.

Your analogy would have worked if you used Pakistan instead of the US. OBL sets off celebrations in the US and in Bosnia. Protests in Serbia are not, and will not, be state-sponsored. The SRS may organize something, and they’ll be ridiculed for it, but don’t expect the Serbian government to go all HDZ on him issuing calls for appeals and organized rallies in support of a war hero. Whatever riots that took place are largely hooligans with no working knowledge of RM.

4. OBL was in excellent health, Mladic apparently had become in need for hospitalization, and now he can get it.

We heard for years OBL was a diabetic strapped to a dialysis machine and was probably already dead in some cave. As far as RM’s conditions were, it was anyone’s guess. Your applying arguments in hindsight.

5. OBL had vast personal wealth to facilitate his movements, Mladic had to rely on a Serbian network to move abouts.

Which was whittled down over the years to the point of eliminating what was assumed to be an extensive security apparatus. That we find him in some Podunk nowhere village in Vojvodina belies assumptions that he was firmly protected on military bases. The last few years must have contributed towards weakening his support network. Go after the money to weaken the security before you make the arrest. Additionally, make the arrest when said security apparatus has no ability to inflict retaliatory damages.

6. Going in and getting OBL without the cooperation of Pakistan was in danger of creating an international situation. Getting Mladic was only a domestic issue.

So? That they found him in Serbia means they didn’t have to rely on outside support. Praise should be given to Serbia which acted when Pakistan did not. Imagine the humiliation if outside forces got him and the Serbian politics did not.

7. Obama had nothing to gain by NOT capturing OBL, Tadic had plenty to gain by NOT capturing Mladic.

Debatable. Getting OBL certainly is welcomed and Obama will take credit for that, as is getting Mladic. It would seem that by capturing Mladic, Tadić has all but secured his position for a new government. What would he have gained by not capturing Mladic?

8. According to reports neighbors (Pakistani) knew nothing of the identity of OBL at his house of hiding. It is apparent it was no secret that the neighbors not only knew but assisted in Mladic's hiding.

Which seems to have been because a number of people were delisted soldiers from the Bosnian war. I’m sure we’ll find out more about this in the days ahead and how many people in the village knew of him. Whatever the case, I have no sympathy for him or his local neighbors to may have helped him.

(Mike, 27 May 2011 22:20)
While I applaud the fact you have no sympathy for Mladic, I think you have turned a blind eye toward many of your fellow countrymen.
As far as a hero: Long after Milosevic, Mladic moved freely around Serbia without fear as late as 2002. A recent poll published by B92 said more than 51% of Serbs opposed the arrest of Mladic.
"And they found him. Your point being?" Your next sentences answers that question and the one about being a national hero. The search did not even turn serious until after 2008. Up until then he was protected by Milosevic and then Kostunica leaders of the state-because they considered him a hero for Serbia. I do not think the search even turned serious then, he may not have been aided as much by the state but I do not think a legitmate search was being done.
Health-the rumors of OBL were just that no one knows he was never in the spotlight and no one actually knew anything about his health other than his close confidences, his first public adventure was afterhis death. Mladic has already been paraded around as an invalid too ill to stand trial. He will most likely never stand trial due to being unfit to aid in his defense, therefore Serbia benefits by having him treated in an international hospital for his remaining days and still no conviction for a high ranking official in the Serbian Military.

"Protests in Serbia are not, and will not, be state-sponsored" As the burnings of Embasseys and US based businesses during 2008 were not state sponsored. Eventhough the police were pulled away from these high target areas, and Tadic left the country for the state sponsored "peaceful protest" serves as evidence he was well aware of Kostunica's intentions.
Tadic's security in govt is being rocked by the fact he is unable to deliver the EU, and the fact that reality is sinking in that while Serbia can still cause problems for the Albanians, Kosovo under Serbian control is no longer a possibility. Alienating the nationalists by arresting a Mladic healthy enough to be tried and convicted at the Hague could have given Kostunica et al, the leverage needed to retake command.
In order to stay in power he needs to be able to deliver either the EU or Kosovo,

A New Day, it looks like our opinions converge on a few things:

1. "Long after Milosevic, Mladic moved freely around Serbia without fear as late as 2002"

-- Agreed. This is effectively what I was trying to explain in terms of why/how he was caught 16 years after the indictments. He enjoyed full protection under Milosevic until 2000 and Kostunica, while probably disliking the man personally, was not going to cause what he saw as a high-risk gamble for instability after it took an 18-party coalition to unseat Milosevic. Mladic could definitely rely on continued support from key security sectors at least as late as 2003. An honest search did not take place until after the 2008 elections when DSS elements were removed from coalition.

2. "He will most likely never stand trial due to being unfit to aid in his defense, therefore Serbia benefits by having him treated in an international hospital for his remaining days and still no conviction for a high ranking official in the Serbian Military."

-- That does pose a risk and it remains to be seen how ill Mladic is. Personally, I hope he escapes the Grim Reaper long enough for a verdict to be rendered. But this is an entirely new issue to deal with apart from the open-ended obligation of finding him. If the Hague learned from its mistakes with Milosevic, and now apparently Seselj, his trial will be fast tracked.

3. "Eventhough the police were pulled away from these high target areas, and Tadic left the country for the state sponsored "peaceful protest" serves as evidence he was well aware of Kostunica's intentions."

-- Having lived in Belgrade at the time, and having attended the large gathering in front of the Skupstina and Sv. Sava Cathedral that afternoon/evening, I can say that the events surrounding the looting and vandalism later that evening were largely, if not exclusively, caused by similar hoodlums that "demonstrated" in NS and BG a few days earlier. A number of these kids were behind me at the rallies and were more interested in causing disprution and shooting off flares than listening to any other speeches. None of the officials on stage called for a day of rage. The Embasssy burning is an incredibly fishy story since not only were Serbian police conveniently absent (most were guarding the mosque which was usually the focus of protests), but so too were the US soldiers that were stationed in front of the embassy the previous day, and the following morning. Responsibility also lies with the Interior Ministry, which at the time was also controlled by DSS. But whether this was "state sponsored" is, in my opinion, highly doubtful.

4. "Alienating the nationalists by arresting a Mladic healthy enough to be tried and convicted at the Hague could have given Kostunica et al, the leverage needed to retake command."

-- I'm not so sure of Kostunica's ability to command an election anymore. DSS has significantly slipped in the polls over the last few years, and if there's anyone ready to capitalize it would have been Nikolic prior to his tryst with starvation. That's not to say DS doesn't have its detractors. Far from it. But DS today is seen less as a party of Western stooges and more as a party that inherited the mantle of corruption from Milosevic. Does this help Tadic at the polls? Absolutely. Does it gain him favor in international eyes? Absolutely. Does it earn him the ire of nationalists? Absolutely. Will they be able to upset the political balance? Highly unlikely. Seselj serves more as a lightening rod for the nationalists than Mladic does, and I'll venture to say that any "rallies" in favor of him will be largely attended by the once-again far right SRS. If SNS and DSS attend, I'll be really surprised.