From Hotline

Clark To Return To Kosovo

This week, Ret. Gen. Wes Clark (D), who led the allied bombing of Serbia that helped secure independence for Kosovar Albanians, will return to Kosovo for the first time since the war's end in '99.

Clark will be the guest of the country's government and will be greeted by a special session of parliament.

Last month, Kosovo celebrated the seventh anniversary of NATO's Operation Allied Force, which was led against Serbia by General Clark as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.

"Final untying of the Balkan Gordian knot"

One of Kosovo's neighbors, Montenegro, has become independent of its relation to Serbia in the last remnant of the former Yugoslavia. Congratulations to the people of Montenegro for a peaceful electoral transition to sovereignty in that war-plagued part of the world. The vote narrowly reached above 55%, a requirement for renewed consideration for EU entry by Montenegro. Previously, Montenegro's EU entry progress had been blocked by Serbia's refusal to turn over war criminal Ratko Mladic.

From Croatia, Vedran Krivokuca, writing on the Clark Community Network in a very interesting backgrounder on the region, said the referendum results, "Together with ongoing international community efforts to solve status of Kosovo and to define future of Bosnia & Herzegovina, it could easily be the final untying of Balkan Gordian knot." Vedran noted today, "It might be interesting to follow Serbian media which tend to political radicals. They will surely find a great hidden meaning in the fact general Clark visits Kosovo in a week right after Montenegrin independence referendum."