NATO Night-Time Karadzic Raid

[He219]

http://a1112.g.akamai.net/7/1112/492/03312000/news.lycos.com/news/ot_getImage.asp?op=thumb&id=576834
Indicted Bosnian Serb wartime fugitive, Radovan Karadzic

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/afp/20040401/capt.sge.dix57.010404010146.photo00.default-380x278.jpg
A German soldier, a member of NATO led peacekeeping troops in Bosnia, secures perimeter around Pale in January 2004. NATO troops arrived in Pale where explosions and automatic weapons fire were heard around an Orthodox church in the town, former stronghold of ex-Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic, reliable sources said.(AFP/File)

Two Wounded in NATO Night-Time Karadzic Raid (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040401/wl_nm/bosnia_stronghold_dc_3)


PALE, Bosnia (*******) - NATO peacekeepers mounted a night-time swoop on Bosnian Serb war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic's old stronghold Thursday during which gunfire and an explosion were heard and two people were reported wounded.

"We are looking for Karadzic," a NATO source told *******.

A ******* cameraman at the scene saw troops of the NATO-led peacekeeping force SFOR seal off the center of the small town of Pale, in mountains near the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, as helicopters hovered overhead and one landed.

Around 40 American, British and German troops fanned out in the darkness shortly after one a.m. (6 p.m. EST Wednesday) around the Serbian Orthodox church and an adjacent house where priests live. There was a sound of shattering glass.

Two stretcher parties were seen carrying loads back to the helicopter and the NATO source later said "two non-NATO people" had been wounded, but gave no further details.

Local journalists familiar with NATO operations said one of around four helicopters involved in the raid headed off north in the direction of Tuzla, where the main U.S. military base is and where war crimes suspects are often taken en route to The Hague. There was no confirmation. The others headed to Sarajevo. INTENSIFIED HUNT

At SFOR headquarters in Sarajevo, a spokesman would say only that "there is an ongoing operation in Pale" which had begun at 1:15 a.m. (6:15 p.m. EST).

SFOR has in recent months intensified its seven-year hunt for Karadzic, wanted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague on two charges of genocide for the slaughter of Bosnian Muslims in the 1992-95 war.

The former leader of the breakaway Bosnian Serb republic has a price of $5 million on his head. He and his former army commander General Ratko Mladic rank as the most wanted Balkan fugitives still at large.

Both are accused of genocide for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys, as well as the siege of Sarajevo in which some 12,000 were killed.

Karadzic is long believed to have moved between various remote hideouts in mountainous eastern Bosnia and neighboring Montenegro, with the help of a network of supporters.

In a major operation in January, NATO troops spent three days in Pale searching the church, local clinic and buildings associated with the Karadzic family.

NATO sources said they were acting on a tip that he had been forced to seek urgent medical attention in his old stronghold where his wife still lives.

Copyright © 2003 ******* Limited.

[scm77]

"Local journalists familiar with NATO operations said one of around four helicopters involved in the raid headed off north in the direction of Tuzla, where the main U.S. military base is and where war crimes suspects are often taken en route to The Hague. There was no confirmation. The others headed to Sarajevo."

Hmm... does that mean they could have got him?

[He219]

Anything is possible at this time. Remember, it's April 1 afterall.

If we did, Good Riddance.
p-)

[SerbPVO]

Finally, the Montenegrin war criminal is caught!

[Tane Angle]

Just wanted to say that I have complete confidence that everyone will be nice to one another on this thread.

[He219]

Finally, the Montenegrin war criminal is caught!
^ = "Plausible Deniability" :P ;) p-)

I did'nt know they had actually caught him ...


Radovan Karadžić (born 1945 in Petnjica near Savnik in Montenegro) is a Bosnian Serb poet, psychiatrist, and politician. Karadžić moved to Sarajevo at an early age to pursue his studies in psychiatry and work in the Koševo Hospital.

In 1989 he co-founded the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) in Bosnia-Herzegovina which aimed at gathering the republic's Serb community and protecting its interests.

He led the Republika Srpska during the 1990s, after the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991. He is accused of having ordered the ethnic cleansing of Croats and Bosnian Muslims, resulting in numerous atrocities.

He is currently a fugitive wanted for war crimes by the ICTY; Interpol warrant cites assault, crimes against humanity, crimes against life and health, genocide, grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva conventions, murder, plunder, violations of the laws or customs of war. In his defense, his supporters say that he is no more guilty than any other war-time political leader. His seeming ability to evade capture for over 8 years has made of him a local hero among the Serbs, most of whom boast that they would not turn him in for the $5 million reward offered on his head.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radovan_Karadzic

[SerbPVO]

Montenegrin to the bone :lol:
http://montenegro.org.au/crnogorac.jpg

[SerbPVO]

But seriously, only idiots would look for him in Bosnia.
Or they don't even want to find him.

The guy's probably somewhere like Canada, Florida or even California.

[He219]

Why would NATO be 'idiots' by looking for him at his powerbase in Pale and acting on a tip.
Your hate swells within you! You can not fool us.
:P

Looks like is is April-Fools afterall:

"We conducted a focused international operation in Pale to detain Radovan Karadzic... we did not find him," Dave Sullivan, spokesman for the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR), told AFP." He confirmed that two civilians were injured in the operation that started shortly after midnight after an SFOR helicopter landed in the courtyard of a church in the center of Pale.

Eyewitnesses in Pale said that an explosion and automatic weapons fire were heard shortly after the SFOR helicopter arrived.

"Despite all of the precautions to minimise the risk during the operation two civilans received blast injuries while inside the house," Sullivan said.

He added that SFOR used the blast devices in order to "avoid the use of lethal weapons."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040401/ts_afp/bosnia_serbs_nato_040401034740

[ibstolidude]

He owns property (atleast did) in Pale - I have been there.

Perhaps when I have time I can post photos of it. I know they are hidden among the thousands.

[RSK]

"Portparol SFOR Dejv Saliven potvrdio je da su u akciji povređni sveštenik Jeremije Starovlah i njegov sin."

SFOR spokesmen Dave Sullivan confirmed that during the action (around the Church in Pale) Rev. Jeremije Starovlach and his son were wounded by SFOR forces.

[Haiw]

Just wanted to say that I have complete confidence that everyone will be nice to one another on this thread.
Is that you, sitting in the corner with that big stick? ;)

[Commander Cool]

Here is another source:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C4369A04-3879-4E00-B79E-0A31E5FECDB0.htm

I don't know why they are wasting so much resources trying to catch this guy, when he is not a threat to anyone. Yeah he committed some war crimes, but so did the Croats and the Muslims, so why single out this guy? Europe should concentrate on catching people who actually are a threat to them, like Muslim extremists.

[Chris1]

Here is another source:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C4369A04-3879-4E00-B79E-0A31E5FECDB0.htm

I don't know why they are wasting so much resources trying to catch this guy, when he is not a threat to anyone. Yeah he committed some war crimes, but so did the Croats and the Muslims, so why single out this guy? Europe should concentrate on catching people who actually are a threat to them, like Muslim extremists.
Yeah I mean Osama's no threat, yeah he led some terrorist organisation but so did Irish, basque and Chechen why single out this guy?

[Fenna]

Here is another source:

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C4369A04-3879-4E00-B79E-0A31E5FECDB0.htm

I don't know why they are wasting so much resources trying to catch this guy, when he is not a threat to anyone. Yeah he committed some war crimes, but so did the Croats and the Muslims, so why single out this guy? Europe should concentrate on catching people who actually are a threat to them, like Muslim extremists.

Yeah exactly, terrorists didn't exist before 9/11 did they ? :bash:

Of course, terrorist = muslim!

[Commander Cool]

That's a pretty dumb comment. OBL has vowed to kill as many Americans as possible. Also he has been involved in several attacks on America and American embassies. Karadzic has never attacked anyone outside of Bosnia, nor is there any evidence to indicate that he has any desire to do so in the future. In other words, he poses absolutely no threat to anyone anymore. The same cannot be said about OBL, or any of the other of hundreds of muslim terrorists on the loose. Clearly you cannot put Serbian war criminals in the same category as muslim extremists. Sure they're both bad people, but beyond that there's just no comparisson, because one represents a real threat to the west, while the other does not.

[Commander Cool]

Of course, terrorist = muslim!
Sure there are terrorists who aren't muslim, but muslim terrorists pose a bigger threat to western civilization than all other terrorists combined.

Muslims were responsible for 9/11.
Muslims were responsbile for bombing the WTC in 1993.
Muslims were responsible for bombing American embassies in Kenya, and in Tanzania.
Muslims were responsible for bombing the USS Cole.
Muslims were responsible for the train bombing in Spain.
Muslims were responsible for the theater bombing in Moscow.

I could go on, but I won't bother, because my point is made.

Most muslims aren't terrorists, but most terrorists are muslim.

[Fenna]

It doesn't matter if there are more muslim terrorists than any other kind.

Just because there is now a war against terrorism doesn't mean people like Karadžić shouldn't be put on trial for what they did.

9/11 just seemed to awaken people to islamic terrorism.

[RSK]

That's a pretty dumb comment. OBL has vowed to kill as many Americans as possible. Also he has been involved in several attacks on America and American embassies. Karadzic has never attacked anyone outside of Bosnia, nor is there any evidence to indicate that he has any desire to do so in the future. In other words, he poses absolutely no threat to anyone anymore. The same cannot be said about OBL, or any of the other of hundreds of muslim terrorists on the loose. Clearly you cannot put Serbian war criminals in the same category as muslim extremists. Sure they're both bad people, but beyond that there's just no comparisson, because one represents a real threat to the west, while the other does not.

In the latest interview with Luka Karadzic (Radovan's brother) he said that the US has not kept its "promise" that Holbrooke made with Radovan. That promise was that Radovan after Dayton would step down from politics and would not be seen again and the US wouldn't try him in court. The reason why they are after them both, as Serb leaders if they are convicted in court of war crimes Republika Srpska (the Serb entity of B and H) would not be legaly entitled to soverignty because its war time leaders, if convicted of war crimes, would no be recognized because it was built of founded on war crimes.

[Commander Cool]

Fenna: I'm not saying he shouldn't be put on trial, just that catching him and putting him on trial is a very low priority compared to the other more dangerous criminals out there, because he does not represent any danger to the west, the way muslim terrorists do.

Anyways, I have a solution: They should offer to let him be tried be Serbia. He will probably agree. I think the main reason he is trying so hard now to evade capture is because it would be a big humiliation for him to be tried by the Hague because they're foreigners. If he could be tried by his own country he probably would turn himself in. Serbia is ruled by a pro-west democratic government now, so there's no reason why it can't try its own war criminals.

[Commander Cool]

In the latest interview with Luka Karadzic (Radovan's brother) he said that the US has not kept its "promise" that Holbrooke made with Radovan.
But it is the EU, not the US, which is trying so hard to catch him. The Bush administration appears to not be very interested in the Balkans, and is letting the Europeans handle everything.

[cut]

Of course, terrorist = muslim!
Sure there are terrorists who aren't muslim, but muslim terrorists pose a bigger threat to western civilization than all other terrorists combined.

Muslims were responsible for 9/11.
Muslims were responsbile for bombing the WTC in 1993.
Muslims were responsible for bombing American embassies in Kenya, and in Tanzania.
Muslims were responsible for bombing the USS Cole.
Muslims were responsible for the train bombing in Spain.
Muslims were responsible for the theater bombing in Moscow.

I could go on, but I won't bother, because my point is made.

Most muslims aren't terrorists, but most terrorists are muslim.

that's bollocks, you should get out of america a bit more. Just because you only hear about terrorism on americans that are mostly carried out by muslims doesn't mean that most terrorist attacks are by muslims.

At some point in the 90's a third of all terrorist attacks in the world, were carried out in Sri Lanka by the Tamil Tigers, hindus in a prodominantly buddist country. Many hindus hate muslims just as much as isralis.

In Europe, their have been attacks by christians on christians for decades, the republicans in northern ireland and in Britain, Basque seperatists in Spain and Corsicans in France to name a few. Just because you are hearing about terrorism regularly for the first time doesn't mean it hasn't been going on elsewhere.

[Commander Cool]

A couple points....

-I am talking about threats to us, ie the western world, not some distant craphole like Sri Lanka.
-There are other terrorists, but they do not primarily target civilians, the way muslims do, especially not on such a large scale.
-The civilian deaths inflicted by muslims terrorists far exceed anything any other terrorists have done, ie 9/11, Spain, the half dozen bombings in Russia, etc.

[cut]

A couple points....

-I am talking about threats to us, ie the western world, not some distant craphole like Sri Lanka.
-There are other terrorists, but they do not primarily target civilians, the way muslims do, especially not on such a large scale.
-The civilian deaths inflicted by muslims terrorists far exceed anything any other terrorists have done, ie 9/11, Spain, the half dozen bombings in Russia, etc.

-Europe not part of the western world? news to me

-The reason why they are called terrorists is because they target civilians, otherwise the french resistence would be called terrorists, or the VC in vietnam or the americans at ther start of the war of independence.
If they only target military then they are militants.
That's why if you read unbiased media they refer to attacks on the IDF as being done by militants and those that bomb civilians as terrorists.

-true but that just means that they are more effective or more desperate, not that there are more of them.

[SerbPVO]

Bloddy Nazis!!!

Priest and son in critical condition after NATO raid | 13:28 | *******

PALE -- Thursday – A priest and his son who were injured last night in a raid by NATO troops searching for war crimes fugitive Radovan Karadzic are in critical condition, according to a hospital official.

The priest, Father Jeremija Starovlah, underwent surgery for the second time this morning, while his son was still in a coma after being operated on, hospital spokeswoman Amra Odobasic said.

The two suffered heavy injuries to the head. A NATO spokesman said they had received “blast injuries”.

===========

Wouldn't be suprised if a number of SFOR/bluehelmets bite a few bullets in the next couple of days.

[big_les]

Nazis??? That's rich. It's sad that innocents were hurt, but Karodic deserves everything that's coming to him, the murdering genocidal scumbag.

[Yard Ape]

Of course, terrorist = muslim!
Sure there are terrorists who aren't muslim, but muslim terrorists pose a bigger threat to western civilization than all other terrorists combined.

I could go on, but I won't bother, because my point is made.

Most muslims aren't terrorists, but most terrorists are muslim.

that's bollocks, you should get out of america a bit more. Just because you only hear about terrorism on americans that are mostly carried out by muslims doesn't mean that most terrorist attacks are by muslims.

At some point in the 90's a third of all terrorist attacks in the world, were carried out in Sri Lanka by the Tamil Tigers, hindus in a prodominantly buddist country. Many hindus hate muslims just as much as isralis.

In Europe, their have been attacks by christians on christians for decades, the republicans in northern ireland and in Britain, Basque seperatists in Spain and Corsicans in France to name a few. Just because you are hearing about terrorism regularly for the first time doesn't mean it hasn't been going on elsewhere.We can add Timothy McVeigh & the Unibomber to the non-muslim list. How many "eco-terrorists" and anti establishment terrorists are out there? Do we remember the pro-communist terrorist groups from the Cold War? We should avoid generalisations that may hinder our efforts to fight all terrorism.

[Carlos]

Wouldn't be suprised if a number of SFOR/bluehelmets bite a few bullets in the next couple of days.

Yeah, cool - then they would be really busy and would have less time protecting serbs from being incinerated by albanians a little bit more to the south.

What a pity, eh?

:roll:

[ronin2172]

wow u r calling NATO nazi's for trying to arrest a ciminal guilty of implementing genocide. Irony is not without humor huh?

Take a minute and look at what u typed. Nazi's kick in your door ask if u r jewish, and upon comfirmation take you and your family away to a concentration camp never to be seen again ( Kinda like good ol' Karadzic's style huh?). Nazi's don't give you a trial before a jury, where u r defended by a lawyer and presumed innocent until proven guilty ( which Karadzic would get ). And if found guilty you would most likely get jail time. Unlike the jews who were worked to death, experimented on, gassed, and finally cremated in an oven. If these two completely unrelated processes makes NATO nazis than i am Hermann Goering (and i can't even fly a freakin plane!)

I suppose next you'll be calling for the pope to make Pol Pot a saint for his services to people of Cambodia! Sometimes you have to laugh at some people on here. Hatred truly blinds some of us.