Serbs Saved US Secretary of State

You probably know my political leaning after reading many of my blog posts. I am a Democrat that leans heavily to the left. President William J. Clinton was 1st elected president in Nov of 1992. He defeated George H.W Bush in a handy victory. I remember being a freshman in high school and watching the debates and the inauguration  at my grandmother’s home. It was a happy moment for me. It felt good that a member of my political party had been elected to the highest office in the land. I liked the fact that he was a small state governor and enjoyed mocking the “southern twang” in his voice.

 

The 90’s were a great time for me. I had just entered high school, was close to getting my driver’s license, and really enjoying my younger years. We did experience a terrible situation during this decade. My birth home burned to the ground in June of 1992. I was staying up a little later than normal watching the end of Robin Hood. I smelled smoke very strongly and went to my father’s room to wake him. He jumped up and got all of us out of the house. I had to run in a few times to get my baseball cards. 🙂 They drove down to my grandma’s house to call the fire department. They arrived in a timely manner, but the house was already a total loss. We lost all of our clothes, most of our pictures, furniture, and everything that you collect over a lifetime. 😦 My father has always been very talented at building homes. He built our new, larger home on the same spot as the old one. That was the only negative that I can remember about the 1990’s.

It was a totally different situation in Eastern Europe. Yugoslavia had started to break apart. There was war, destruction, OUTRAGEOUS inflation, sanctions, the end of the socialist era, etc… Things were really hard on all the families that I spoke to during my travels around Serbia. I couldn’t imagine living with the everyday problems they had to deal with! They told of working all month and receiving their salary and it would only buy one loaf of bread!!!!! UNREAL!  A few families told me that their income was higher than it had ever been. The sanctions had made it tough to find gasoline. One of my buddies told me about his father sneaking into Bulgaria and Hungary for large amounts of gasoline. They brought it back and sold it for large sums of money. Sad, sad times. 😦

On March, 24 1999, President Clinton and Secretary of State Madeline Albright decided to use military force to stop Serbias attempt to keep the southern portion of their country, Kosovo. The strikes lasted from March 24,
to June 10. It was known as “Operation Merciful Angel” or inside the US State Department ….. as “Albright’s War”! By all accounts, it was Madeleine Albright who convinced Clinton, against the better judgement of the Pentagon, that the Serb leader would back down after a little light bombing.She claimed that he was no more than a schoolyard bully who would retreat after one good punch on the nose”.

 Did the Serbs do something personal to Albright and her family?? YES, THEY DID! They saved them from  certain death in the Nazi concentration camps. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUDm9quq8XA

Madeline Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová on May 15, 1937) was the first woman to become United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996 and was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate 99-0. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997.

Albright was born Marie Jana Korbelová in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) and raised as a Roman Catholic by her parents, Josef Korbel and Anna Spiegelova, who had converted from Judaism in order to escape persecution. She has a brother, John, who later became an economist, and a sister, Katherine. “Madeleine” was the French version of “Madlenka”, a nickname given by her grandmother. Albright adopted the new name when she attended a Swiss boarding school.

The Korbelovas fled Czechoslovakia in 1936 due to the advancing Nazi forces. They found a home with some friendly Serbs in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. From 1936 to 1939 the Korbel Family lived in Belgrade, and were given refuge and protection by Serbs. Many of her Jewish relatives in Czechoslovakia were killed in the Holocaust, including three of her grandparents. They returned to Czechoslovakia in 1939 only to flee the communists in 1948. They moved to Denver, Colorado where her father took a job at the University of Denver.

She was asked what her biggest regret was. She was  criticized for defending the sanctions of Iraq under Saddam Hussein in a 1996 interview with Lesley Stahl on CBS’s 60 Minutes. When asked by Stahl with regards to effect of sanctions against Iraq: “We have heard that half a million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?” Albright replied: “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price — we think the price is worth it.” She expressed regret for this remark in her 2003 autobiography, where she wrote,”I never should have made it, it was stupid,” and that she still supported the concept of tailored sanctions.

It is amazing how one can quickly turn on their friends. I am not going to start an “Albright bashing” campaign here.I am just pointing out some facts that many are unaware of. My country needs to adopt Ron Paul’s approach to foreign policy. Pozdrav……..