Clinton welcomed as hero in Kosovo

[Katie]

Clinton welcomed as hero in Kosovo

Ethnic Albanians greet former president as their liberator

PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro, Sept. 19 — Basking in public adoration the United States can only dream of in Iraq, ex-president Bill Clinton got a hero’s welcome in Kosovo on Friday, four years after NATO bombing ended Serb rule.

THOUSANDS OF KOSOVO Albanians turned out to greet the man they see as their liberator from a decade of repression under then Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.
Schoolchildren got the day off and well-wishers waving the Star and Stripes thronged Pristina’s Bill Clinton Boulevard as his motorcade drove by.
Loud applause erupted when Clinton, while also preaching ethnic reconciliation with Serbs, gave what Kosovo Albanians may be keen to interpret as implicit support for their drive for complete independence from Serbia.
“I love this country,” he told a packed Pristina University hall in a speech which, like much of his visit, was broadcast live on television.


U.S. POPULAR IN MUSLIM KOSOVO
Unlike many other predominantly Muslim places in the world, the United States is genuinely popular in this landlocked territory of two million, placed under U.N.-led administration in the summer of 1999 after NATO’s 11-week air war.

“There is a holiday in Kosovo today because Clinton is here,” said local journalist Blerta Foniqi, 20, as she waited for him to arrive. “He’s one of Kosovo’s most loved people,” said her colleague.

http://www.msnbc.com/news/969035.asp?0cv=CB20

[Avalux]

1. Well

wonder why Clinton is visiting Kosovo? To prove the operation was a success? I have an idea - let's send * to Iraq and see what happens.

[Katie]

2. sparosnar wouldnt you love to see bush go to Iraq now? LOL!

LMAO! "Bring Em On" bush wouldnt dare!

[cjbuchanan]

5. Bush did visit

Remember, when he was coming back from a summit in Saudi Arabia. Air Force one flew 20,000 feet above Baghdad. They dipped the planes wings so Bush could look out his window at the city down below. He also held a "press" talk while over Iraq.

This is as close as he will ever get to an actual visit.

Edit - Grammer

[MoonAndSun]

3. I loved this part of the article:

The reception contrasted starkly with the maximum security visits to Iraq recently by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, both of whom had virtually no contact with ordinary local people.
Not only are Kosovo streets named after the former president, but some proud parents have named their new-born children Clinton or Madeleine, after Secretary of State Madeleine Albright





this will drive the freepers absolutely crazy! I love it.

[Katie]

4. MoonAndSun- yeah! Me too!

Loved these lines: "Basking in public adoration the United States can only dream of in Iraq" & U.S. POPULAR IN MUSLIM KOSOVO"

LOL! Freep that!

[nn2004]

6. Smart move by Clinton / Clark

Get the trip on the news, remind people of Clark etc.

[diplomats]

7. With the best benefit of all

it makes Bush look bad in comparison.

[Ganja Ninja]

8. Maybe Bush will browbeat the Albanians….

for some troops for Iraq. Try and squander the rest of the goodwill Clinton has created.

[Raenelle]

9. So flowers and rose water ARE a possibility when competence

and good will are involved.

[TahitiNut]

10. Dupe - Locking

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=122587

TahitiNut
DU Moderator