Robert Baer: CIA agenda was to dismember Yugoslavia

[RocketMan]

Peter Dale Scott just shared this on Facebook:

Confession of a CIA Agent: They gave us millions to dismember Yugoslavia

http://www.ebritic.com/?p=551270

So there was only propaganda against the Serbs?

Yes and no. The aim of the propaganda was to divide the republics so they would break away from the motherland Yugoslavia. We had to choose a scapegoat who would be blamed for everything. Someone who would be responsible for the war and violence. Serbia was chosen because in some ways it is a successor to Yugoslavia.

Can you name the politicians in the former Yugoslavia were paid by the CIA?

Yes, although it is somewhat delicate. Stipe Mesic, Franjo Tudjman, Alija Izetbegovic, many counselors and members of the government of Yugoslavia, were paid as were Serbian generals, journalists and even some military units. Radovan Karadzic was being paid for a while but stopped accepting help when he realised he would be sacrificed and charged with war crimes committed in Bosnia. It was directed by the American administration.

You mentioned that the media was controlled and funded, how exactly did that happen?

This is already known, some CIA agents were responsible for writing the official statement that the announcers read on the news. Of course the news presenters were oblivious to it, they got the news from their boss and he got it from our man. Everyone had the same mission: to spread hatred, nationalism and the differences between people through television.

[seemslikeadream]

Robert Baer is doing that show for the History Channel...Hunting Hitler

It's been pretty good so far

[Elvis]

I wonder what the connection might be between those CIA propaganda efforts and the notorious ITN news footage of "inmates" at a purported Serbian "death camp," and particularly of Fikret Alić, the "skinny man" whose image was repeatedly flashed around the world every five minutes for a few days. Those images did more than anything else to persuade ordinary Americans (and many others) to support—demand!—U.S. intervention.



The issue has been muddied incredibly, e.g. a libel lawsuit exonerated the ITN producer, and many 'facts' have been reversed over time, so I'm not sure what is real, but here's a pretty good account of what apparently happened: http://emperors-clothes.com/villainy.htm

As far as a coverup, the exonerations, etc. go—likely just more CIA money changing hands, more CIA scripts read out, etc. Anyone have the Final Word on what happened?


Edit: here's Emporers Clothes/Jared Israel's documentary, "Judgement":

Judgment! 1/3 - The Bosnian 'Death Camp' Accusation: An Expose

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xox7TR11evI

[Joao]

Interesting; thanks. I have some personal interest in the dissolution of Yugoslavia but despite having tried to educate myself on the topic, it's only become less and less clear to me the more I've looked into it. One thing is sure, however: you can always find someone to vehemently dispute any account given.

The various Yugoslav Civil War museums across the region often have homemade guns on exhibit. It's astounding how intent people were on killing each other.

Regarding the OP, on the one hand I find the claims easy to believe but on the other it's suspicious how perfectly they fit with the standard Serb victimization narrative, especially when published by "The British Serb Magazine." The English text is apparently an awkward double-translation by way of Serbian which also leaves it sounding curiously identical to the standard propaganda from that side. (For the record, my personal connection is via somewhat distant Serbian ancestry.) I'm not familiar with Baer but without some corroboration, these allegations are just one more story to add to the muddle.

Edit: I've left a comment on George Kenney's Electric Politics blog, asking for his take on the Baer interview. Kenney was the US State Department's chief of the Yugoslav desk in the early 90s, and famously resigned over his disagreement with US policy in the region. He's also a believer in 9/11 conspiracy, has called for a "color revolution" in the US, and seems generally reasonable although certainly not omniscient or infallible. His blog and podcast have been quiet for some time, so we'll see if he has anything to say...

[Joao]

Bumping to point out that although the interview in the OP is dated Nov. 26, 2015, it's virtually word-for-word identical to another dated Oct. 10, 2012 on the same site. Not a good sign.

Baer doesn't seem to have much of an online presence where we might ask for clarification or corroboration.

[seemslikeadream]

he's been spending a lot of time in Argentina looking for Hitler's hideout maybe you could find him at the History Channel

[kool maudit]

Every curious person over 35 in Pristina knows this. Nobody under 30 does. Curricula go to the victors.

[Joao]

Interesting. Are you in Priština, or what has given you that perspective? If anything, I'd expect the counter-narrative to be prevalent there (ie, Serbians as drunk criminal aggressors).

I spent time in Croatia, Serbia and BiH in 2009, but was warned by Serbians to stay away from Kosovo (predictably so--just passing that along without endorsement). The civil wars were obviously still fresh in people's minds so I mostly avoided talking about politics and especially deep politics while there. I was left with vivid memories of all the shrapnel-riddled, burned out husks of buildings in Sarajevo, as well as of warnings to avoid the landmine-laden Bosnian countryside. Nasty business.

[Joao]

Photo taken in 2009 outside the Becka Kafana restaurant in Sarajevo, with signs expressly prohibiting dogs and firearms in the establishment. Yours truly in the reflection under the blur.

[MacCruiskeen]

Fuck Robert Baer for waiting a quarter-century to tell his story, which will in any case be studiously ignored.

Milosevic had the temerity to resist the world's sole remaining imperial superpower by desiring Yugoslavia's continuing independence. Like any other fragile nation presenting the threat of a good example (or even a different example), its fate was not hard to predict:

Executive Order 12810

Blocking Property of and Prohibiting Transactions With the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)

Signed by President George Herbert Walker Bush Friday, June 5, 1992

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701, et seq.), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S C. 1601, et seq.), section 1114 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (49 U.S.C. App. 1514), section 5 of the United Nations Participation Act of 1945, as amended (22 U.S.C. 287c), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, in view of United Nations Security Council Resolution No. 757 of May 30, 1992 and in order to take additional steps with respect to the actions and policies of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and the national emergency described and declared in Executive Order No. 12808,

I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, hereby order;


Section 1.

Except to the extent provided in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses which may hereafter be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding the existence of any rights or obligations conferred or imposed by any international agreement or any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the effective date of this order, all property and interests in property of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), and property and interests in property held in the name of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or of the former Government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are for hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons including their overseas branches, are blocked.


Sec. 2.

The following are prohibited, notwithstanding the existence of any rights or obligations conferred or imposed by any international agreement or any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the effective date of this order, except to the extent provided in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses which may hereafter be issued pursuant to this order:

(a) The importation into the United States of any goods originating in, or services performed in, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), exported from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) after May 30, 1992, or any activity that promotes or is intended to, promote such importation;

(b) The exportation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), or to any entity operated from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), or owned or controlled by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), directly or indirectly, of any goods, technology (including technical data or other information controlled for export pursuant to the Export Administration Regulations, 15 C.F.R. Parts 786, et seq.), or services, either (i) from the United States, (ii) requiring the issuance of a license by a Federal agency, or (iii) involving the use of U.S. registered vessels or aircraft, or any activity that promotes or is intended to promote such exportation;

(c) Any dealing by a United States person related to property originating in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) exported from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) after May 30, 1992, or property intended for exportation from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) to any country, or exportation to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) from any country, or any activity of any kind that promotes is intended to promotes or is intended to promote such dealing;

(d) Any transaction by a United states person, or involving the use of U.S. registered vessels and aircraft, relating to transportation to or from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), the provision of transportation to or from the United States by any person in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) or any vessel or aircraft registered in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), or the sale in the United States by any person holding authority under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (49 U.S.C. 1301, et seq.), of any transportation by air that includes any stop in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

(e) The granting of permission to any aircraft to take off from, land in, or overfly the United States, if the aircraft, as part of the same flight or as a continuation of that flight, is destined to land in or has taken off from the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

(f) The performance by any United States person of any contract, including a financing contract, in support of an industrial, commercial, public utility, or governmental project in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

(g) Any commitment or transfer, direct or indirect, of funds, or other financial or economic resources by any United States person to or for the benefit of the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) or any other person in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

(h) Any transaction in the United States or by a United States person related to participation in sporting events in the United States by persons or groups representing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro);

(i) Any transaction in the United States or by a United States person related to scientific and technical cooperation and cultural exchanges involving persons or groups officially sponsored by or representing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), or related to visits to the United States by such persons or groups other than as authorized for the purpose of participation at the United Nations.


Sec. 3.

Nothing in this order shall apply to (i) the transshipment through the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) of commodities and products originating outside the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and temporarily present in the territory of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) only for the purpose of such transshipment, ,and (ii) activities related to the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), the Conference on Yugoslavia, or the European Community Monitor Mission.


Sec. 4.

Any transaction by any United States person that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.


Sec. 5.

For the purposes of this order:

(a) The term ‘‘United, States person’’ means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, juridical person organized under the laws of the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States, and vessels and aircraft of U.S. registration;
(b) The term ‘‘the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)’’ means the territory of Serbia and Montenegro;
(c) The term ‘‘the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)’’ includes the government of the newly constituted Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Government of Serbia, and the Government of Montenegro, including any subdivisions thereof or local governments therein, their respective agencies, instrumentalities and any persons acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of any foregoing, including the National Bank of Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavia National Army, and the Yugoslavia Chamber of Economy, the National Bank of Serbia, the Serbian Chamber of Economy, the National Bank of Montenegro, and the Montenegrin Chamber of Economy.


Sec. 6.

The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the United Nations Participation Act, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. Such actions may include prohibiting or regulating payments or transfer any property, or any transactions involving the transfer of anything of economic value, by the any United States person to the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), any person in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), or any person or entity acting for or on behalf of, or owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by any of the foregoing. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government, all agencies of which are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order, including suspension or termination of licenses or other authorizations in effect as of the date of this order.


Sec. 7.

All delegations, rules, regulations, orders, licenses, and other forms of administrative action made, issued, or otherwise taken under Executive Order No. 12808 and not revoked administratively shall remain in full force and effect under this order until amended, modified, or terminated by proper authority.


Sec. 8.

Nothing contained in this order shall create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable by any party against the United States, its agencies or instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.


Sec. 9.
(a) This order is effective immediately.
(b) This order shall be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register.


Signature of George H. W. Bush
George Bush


The White House,
June 5, 1992.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Executive_Order_12810

[Joao]

Executive Order 12810

Good piece of the puzzle. FRY dissolved in 2006, of course, into the currently independent states of Serbia and Montenegro. I wonder if the EO has been updated.

Edit: For the record with regard to current status--"Executive Order 13304 of May 28, 2003: Termination of National Emergencies With Respect to Yugoslavia and Modification of Executive Order 13219 of June 26, 2001." I smell Richard Holbrooke...

[MacCruiskeen]

The aim of the propaganda was to divide the republics so they would break away from the motherland Yugoslavia. We had to choose a scapegoat who would be blamed for everything. Someone who would be responsible for the war and violence. Serbia was chosen because in some ways it is a successor to Yugoslavia.

Would Robert Baer care to say anything about the current campaign against the latest Monster, EVIL ASSAD, in Syria?

[pin drops, very loudly]

I thought not.

Maybe he'll hint at some shenanigans in another quarter-century or so, by which time he will be a truly twinkly old fucker, still playing the well-scripted and well-remunerated role of a "maverick" "former" CIA officer.

[Joao]

Sorry to keep spamming the thread but it's worth repeating that, however plausible the alleged quotes from Baer, that's also 100% party-line pro-Serbian propaganda and comes directly from one of that faction's organs. I'm speaking as one who is sympathetic to the possibility that Serbia was indeed partially scapegoated by NATO, et al.

[MacCruiskeen]

[Joao]

An evil but hilarious and masterful piece of propaganda from the 90s:

This is Serbia: Anti-Serb agitprop on the so-called "Revolution of the Logs." In August 1990, Serbs in Knin, Croatia proclaimed the town to be part of greater Serbia, and logs were rolled across the roads to create checkpoints.