US Politicans & People Don't Care About Kosovo - At All

This may come as a surprise to you but, in general... Serbian Politicans & People Don't Care About Kosovo - At All

Cheers,

Luigi

how to put this... Fact is we don't care about it either, I mean if someone gave it back now, we wouldn't know what to do with it...It's been like that for decades.

Dear Ms Bailey Brown, you are right, the US presidential candidates do not care about the Kosovo problem of Serbia but... Some time ago the NYT published the article of our Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic (as Op-Editorial) who was defending, of course, our official position about Kosovo. I was happy to see that article in the NYT, it doesn't happen often. But I was surprised to see many (rather negative) commentaries of American readers, say the average Americans.
And any comparison with China has no value - China and Serbia couldn't be compared at all. But we do suffer about Kosovo problem and the US is to blame. Good God knows why the Americans do it to us.
P. S. I read with interest your texts. How is your Serbian language going?

No matter how many speeches Serb politicans make on Serbian TV, or how many billboards they erect in Belgrade, nobody I know in the US is listening.

They are sending messages to the right and selected target.

They don't care of US.

Furthermore they even do not care about Serbia/Kosovo.

All they care of, is their wellbeing, power and ћар.

That explains why all efforts are focused only on voters.

I love when swimmers have t-shirts written in cyrilic Kosovo is Serbia they do like that message to get to the Serbs hahahaa not the world which has seen what the Serbs are all about...
Serbia lives back in time and they will be left in margins of Europe as always ...Thanks God that Russia is in the same boat to fuel and stir the same emotions which in the end are full of crap...

No matter how many speeches Serb politicans make on Serbian TV, or how many billboards they erect in Belgrade, nobody I know in the US is listening. If you want powerful people outside your country to care, ranting in your own language to your own countrymen doesn't accomplish diddly.

1 lb. beefsteak, with 1 pt. bitter beer every 6 hours.
1 ten-mile walk every morning.
1 bed at 11 sharp every night.

And don't stuff up your head with too much of Serbian TV.

It has nothing to do with marketing, it's a matter of political significance. China is significant to the United States and is enjoying much more airtime on tv stations. Serbia is not. Plain and simple.

Sorry Rosemary no offense but from my experience common Americans don't care about anything at all. Why would they care about Kosovo in particular?

On the other hand it is no secret that Serbian caucus and pro-Serbian members of Senate and Congress are supporting Obama's run for a White House.

@Vladimir Petrovic

I found as well good articles regarding Kosovo independence issue in the "Newsweek" (Michael Freeman) and "Washington Post" (William Pfaff from Intl. Herald Tribune).

Prior to the Michigan primary, a Serbian organization there (maybe it was SUC, I forgot) sent a letter to Obama asking about his position on Kosovo. He gave a politician's answer (trying not to piss of either side), but at least he replied.

I understand that the McCain campaign doesn't care much since Serbs constitute a significant voting block only in mostly "blue" states.

Why any of US presidential canditates need to have any opinion or plans about Kosovo?

Why US president have any concern about Kosovo?

Kosovo is Serbian land and part of Serbia.

Maybe Serbian president has opinion about Florida or Texas? I don't think so.

Kosovo is not 'Serbian Drama'. US politics about Kosovo are actual 'Serbian Drama'.

Just imagine: tommorow morning in the news you hear about some Mexicans are fighting for independence in Texas. Serbia or any other country make deal with them (they pay very good money) and we send our military force to support them. Day after tommorow morning Texas declares independence and bring inside milions of Mexicans.

Did you get my point?

There is no 'love' between Albanians from Kosovo and American people. Nobody can rule Albanians from Kosovo. After few years Kosovo will be same like Avganistan, or worse, Iraq. Disaster.

My personal opinion concerning the subject is rather simple. For USA foreign affairs Kosovo is closed issue. Kosovo is independent country now, thanks to strong support of USA, therefore there is no need for future president to deal again with this subject from any other standpoint than from present one. It is not real to expect that would be any radical turn in USA foreign policy regarding this matter.

"US Politicans & People Don't Care About Kosovo - At All"

That has been my best guess for many years already, Rosey.

By the way, are you aware of this:

Which nation is number 1 in self-esteem?

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2008&mm=03&dd=04&nav_id=48146

Maybe they just don't care about you.

One should not mix 'care' with 'trade off'. Candidates PRs merely do whatever buys more votes. They reply primarily to well represented target groups, replying to easily spinable questions. In such context of time management, a single blogger /passing the views of US Administration Candidates/ to the readers/ that are mostly Serbian is simply not worth the PRs while. I believe this is the reason for such replies (or a lack of them), not the fact that Serbian issues are not being publicized well. The interest group is too small in numbers.
And yes, it is true - Serbia has the lousiest PR in the world, next to its diplomacy. While the others seeked partners to support their interests and invested in such partnerships in any way possible (legal or illegal), the Serbs cried 'Injustice' and did not seriously try anything else to gain international strategic support,. This has largely worked for the inner politics. And it has very poorly served Serbias international goals. Providing that any of the new era Serbian politicians in power have ever had seriously defined international goals at all.

and why should they care if u dont mind me asking?

personaly i find westerners interested in balkan and its plenthora of warring tribes plain bizzare!

if i`d be an american i`d enojy the fact that my forefathers built me a stable and a progressive society in which my tallents can be developed to their full extent and spent my time exploring the limit of my tallents.....

and if i would, eventually, develop a sence of global responsability I would rather spend my time caring about real problems and issues - like deforestation in Amazon or population of tropical froggs in Kongo - or, for that matter, I would rather care about people that really want to be helped rather than spending my time on futile causes such as developing any sorth of engaged oppinion on various tribal societies roamin up and about the Balkans histericaly obsessed with going as further in the past as humainly possible and preferably killing/rebaptising/islamizing/albanising/ortodoxising/catholicising - ur pick - everyone different on their way to that past....

i supposed that McCain is a sensible man and the fact that he refused to answer Kosovo related on line questions just points out to the fact that the man is at least sane and realistic with real problems to deal with... and im sure his oppinions on Kosovo are shaped by the same reasons, arguments and values that shape his oppinions on other mafia runed countries or genocidal dictators or those who consequently venerate their politics....

my advice - vote McCain... That man obviously wastes no time on pish posh....

It might also be that these politicians don't want you to know that they have policies that you don't like. It might lead to you advising your readers not to vote for them. So you might try to send them another mail. Something like "I am an Albanian-American and I am very glad that Kosovo is now independent and I would like to hear your opinion towards Kosovo".

I am an American with no ties to the Balkan region, I have grown up here all my life (in California) and have spent a precious 10 days in Slovenija, Hrvatska and Bosna. I care very much about what takes place in the Balkans and try very hard to stay informed about issues in the former Jugoslavia. When I first traveled through the region, I did so alone and with little knowledge of the history and no preconceived notions, therefore my early opinions were shaped by my experiences alone. I actually am in the process now of finding work and an apartment in Sarajevo to live in after I graduate from my university this summer. I am not so naive as to believe that my 10 days spent in Sarajevo give me any kind of true insight into the lives of the Balkan people. What I learned from the people I met on the street, however, (I never visited a museum or tourist site) gave me a belief in, and a passion for the future success of Bosna (although most Bosnians laugh at me when I express this). I know that Bosna is not the topic of this article but I wanted you to understand where I am coming from.

As for the issue of Kosova and US-Serbian relations specifically, I will admit that my first experiences gave me a very poor opinion of Srbija. I was and still am horrified by the events that took place during the 1992-1996 war and while I recognize that crimes were also committed by Bosnian and Croat forces, I cannot believe that they would have taken place had Serbian forces not invaded Bosna and Hrvatska in the first place. As the Kosova story developed however, I read more into Serbian history and the more I read the more I have become torn as to my feelings toward Srbija. Serbians were our allies in two world wars, they rescued over 150 American pilots during WW2 their rebels fought bravely against the same oppression we did. As a Jew with Polish and Ukrainian ancestors, most of whom were murdered by the Nazis, I empathize with the Serbian people for the suffering they endured in the concentration camps. I have heard Serbs refer to Jews in Israel as their brothers and sisters, I don't know if this is a common attitude in Serbia but I hope it is, because it is not a common one. It is for these reasons especially that I cannot understand how Serbia could then turn and allow the crimes committed by many of their soldiers to be committed. It seems to me that they of all people should understand this.

I do not, therefore, understand the American government’s actions with Kosova. There are so many groups in the world demanding independence, and many who seem to deserve it much more. Yes, the Kosovar Albanians had crimes committed against them, but they too have blood on their hands. It seems very similar to Chechnya and no one is calling for the world to recognize Chechnya. I also cannot understand how the US can support Thaci being the former leader of a group that we ourselves called terrorists. I think we have also set up Kosova for failure because it has no economic infrastructure or civil society and I don't see how any of that will develop anytime soon. I cannot say whether the independence of Kosova would have taken place anyway, but I think the US and Russia used Kosova and Srbija for political gain and as fuel for their agendas. With those intentions at heart, I believe no good can come, and I feel sorry for both the Serbian and Kosovar Albanian people who have been denied the right to decide what is TRULY best for them. The Serbian people’s seeming hatred for Bosnian Muslims still hurts me very much and I believe that with the exception of the Arab fighters who came to Bosna during the war, the Muslims of Bosna are an important example for the world showing how moderate and secular Islam should can be practiced. I spoke to many of these people and I truly believe they are just as much Slavs as anyone else, and consider themselves Slavs before Muslims. That is just my plea as an outsider for Balkan unity, I know it seems laughable.

This is my first post and chose my words very carefully because I know that there is much I do not understand, and more that I never can. I am still learning and submit my opinions only as an outside perspective, and I do so with the utmost humbleness. Sorry I wrote so much.

Although I appreciate your blogs, I as an American person whom is deeply involved and affected by Serbia and Kosovo, feel a bit put off by this blanket statement you have made about our interests and sensitivity toward the critical situation brewing in the Balkans. While I do agree that most politicians take the back door approach to this matter, those political interests aren't what concerns me. I am more inclined to take a cultural view, vs. a political one and recognize that as much as I care about the future of these regions, this is a European matter much more so than an American issue. Of course we step into situations we have no business involving ourselves in, dictating international decision-making policies for our own strategic purposes for oil and power. In truth we as a global community are all being oppressed by interests far outside of our social and cultural ideals. It takes a whole lot of good to outweigh the bad and there are many of us, such as yourself, working very hard to make the difference.

With Peace and Love from California! Serbia...Keep Rockin the Vote!

Erin