Balkanalysis.com

Archive for January, 2005

Classic Balkanalysis: Mining Intrigue, Enrichment and Danger (Part 2)

This article, originally published on Sept. 21, 2003, discusses the environmental disaster suffered by Romania, Serbia and Hungary when a gold mine in the former country burst its walls, sending tons of toxic cyanide into the Tisza and Danube rivers. The second of a two-part series, the article sets the [...]

Classic Balkanalysis: Mining Intrigue, Enrichment and Danger (Part 1)

This article, originally published on Sept. 20, 2003, talks about environmentalists’ outcry over planned mining in Bulgaria. The first of a two-part series, the second of which will be reprinted tomorrow, helps set the context for Tuesday’s new story from Serbia- about a recent and unlikely victory for the people over the [...]

In Brussels, Covic Presents Serbian Views on Kosovo

Surprisingly enough, Dr. Nebojsa Covic’s Jan. 25 speech before the European Parliamentary Committee for External Affairs met with an almost complete media blackout. Covic, the Serbian government’s point man on Kosovo, spoke about the dire and increasingly urgent situation that Serbian and other non-Albanians have been facing for the past 5 years [...]

Macedonian Army Out in Force in Skopje Operation

In a daring pre-dawn raid, scores of heavily armed Macedonian soldiers stormed the streets of a quiet Skopje suburb early Wednesday morning.
However, there was no shooting, for the soldiers were armed – with shovels – for an unusually crafty enemy: snow.Since Monday, Macedonia has been blanketed with its first significant snowfall [...]

Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913

Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913
By Edward J. Erickson
Praeger Publishers, 2003; 345 pp., 31 maps, 50 tables and 3 appendices
Reviewed by Christopher Deliso
Defeat in detail – a title with a clever double meaning – refers both to the author’s exhaustive treatment of a little-known yet vital part [...]

Is Iraq another Vietnam?

by Carl K. Savich
A version of this article appeared initially on December 30, 2004 in the Sterling Heights (MI) Mirror. According to the author, the fact that it won a special commendation from the paper indicates “the growing antipathy to the war in the American heartland.”
As more U.S. troops are killed and [...]

Immolation, Intoxication, Chaos: the 2005 Vevchani Carnival (Part 2)

Although it’s been linked for many centuries to the Orthodox (Julian Calendar) New Year’s holiday, the Vevchani Carnival like many others has its roots in the pagan tradition. Along with alleviating winter doldrums, the carnival also offered its participants the chance to drive away evil spirits. The symbolic exodus of such [...]

Immolation, Intoxication, Chaos: the 2005 Vevchani Carnival (Part 1)

By sundown on Friday, Vevchani had become a scene of carnage. Burning piles of debris, splintered constructions, staggering men in chains and a generally disoriented smog hung over this idyllic village in Macedonia’s southwestern pocket. No, it wasn’t another Balkan war relapse – just the merry unfolding of 2005’s annual carnival.
[...]

Shadow Wars: Special Forces in the New Battle Against Terrorism

by David Pugliese
Esprit de Corps Books (2003), 207 pp., 2 maps and 97 photos (26 color)
Reviewed by Christopher Deliso
Billed as “a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about the world of covert warfare,”  Shadow Wars is a fairly objective and clearly-written account of the role special forces [...]

Alexander the Fabulous

Alexander the Fabulous: the Man Who Brought the World to its Knees
Advocate Books, 2004, 162 pp.
Reviewed by Christopher Deliso
Alexander the Fabulous is the book for anyone seeking relief from the incessant, childish spats between Greeks and Macedonians over the rightful heritage of Alexander the Great – and perhaps even [...]

Militarizing the Black Sea, the American Way

The AFP on Tuesday presented yet another reason for why America disapproves of Europe – it’s just not militaristic enough. The criticism centers on lagging in defense spending from most European states, and the inability of these states (under NATO command) to field enough troops when and where needed.
Far from questioning [...]

ACLU Rises to Defense of FBI Whistleblower Edmonds

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) today issued a press release in which it raised the unresolved case of Sibel Edmonds, the FBI whistleblower who gave compelling evidence of catastrophic incompetence, corruption and criminal activity within the FBI and Justice Department and US military until, that is, she [...]

The European Retreat from Americaís Quagmire in Iraq

Rather than look at the accelerating pace of European military withdrawal from Iraq as an unmitigated disaster for George W. Bush’s foreign diplomacy, it may be better to examine the phenomenon in light of the interests and capabilities of all parties involved.
To the outside, antiwar-minded observer, the fabulous “Coalition of the [...]

Would Jesus Refuse The Ads?

Editor’s note: In today’s post-Patriot Act world, the Bush Administration’s tendency to censor war coverage and silence popular dissent has become all-pervasive. In this witty observation, acclaimed American sex therapist Marty Klein sets his sights on Michael (son of Colin) Powell’s FCC and the TV networks: their recent fear of [...]

AMBO Pipeline Moves Forward: Interview with Gligor Tashkovich

In this exclusive interview with Gligor Tashkovich, the Executive Vice President for Government & Media Relations for the AMBO (Albania-Macedonia-Bulgaria Oil) pipeline project, Balkanalysis.com readers are treated to the inside story on the pipeline’s progress from one of the project’s leaders. Mr. Tashkovich, contacted last week soon after the Sofia [...]

An Unorthodox Orthodox Christmas Announcement

Although most of the Christian and secular consumerist world celebrates Christmas on Dec. 25, there are still a few holdouts in the Orthodox world who celebrate it 13 days later – followers of the “old” or Julian calender, established by the great Roman emperor, Julius Caesar in 46 BC.
However, owing to its calculations [...]