Greg Elich on Yugoslavia

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

[Greg Elich has written a long analysis of the coup in Yugoslavia that just
appeared on Usenet. I have taken the liberty to put it up on the Marxism
website at http://www.marxmail.org/yugo.htm since it is a bit too long to
send out as email. I do include the opening paragraphs below to give you a
sense of Greg's approach. He has written for Covert Action Quarterly in the
past, as well as other magazines and newspapers in an effort to counter the
disinformation campaign against Yugoslavia.]


UPHEAVAL IN YUGOSLAVIA: NATO'S COVERT WAR

By Gregory Elich

For one long decade, the West waged a fierce campaign to subjugate
Yugoslavia. Every means was utilized: support for violent secessionists,
the imposition of severe sanctions, a 78-day bombardment, followed by
forcible occupation of the region of Kosovo. The Yugoslav Federation
withstood it all, but it was Western covert operations that finally brought
disaster.

In November 1998, President Clinton launched a plan for the overthrow of
the government of Yugoslavia. The initial emphasis of the plan centered on
supporting secessionist forces in Montenegro and the right-wing opposition
in Serbia. Several months later, while NATO bombs fell on Yugoslavia,
Clinton signed a secret paper instructing the CIA to topple the Yugoslav
government. The plan called for the CIA to secretly fund opposition groups
and the recruitment of moles in the Yugoslav government and military.

There were several components to the plan, and assassination was a key
element in the Western arsenal. On July 8, 1999, U.S. and British officials
revealed that commando teams were training snatch operations to seize
alleged war criminals and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. As an
encouragement to mercenaries, the U.S. State Department also announced a $5
million bounty for President Milosevic.

Several Yugoslav government officials and prominent individuals, including
Defense Minister Pavle Bulatovic, were gunned down. Most of those crimes
remained unsolved, as the assassins managed to escape. Police apprehended
one assassin, Milivoje Gutovic, after he shot Vojvodina Executive Council
President Bosko Perosevic at an agricultural fair in Novi Sad. During
interrogations, Gutovic admitted to police that he worked for the
right-wing Serbian Renewal Movement.


Louis Proyect
Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org