Kosovo

Poor old Kosovo.

Since 1999, this little province of Serbia has been under United Nations administration. The vast majority of the Kosovo population - up to 90% by some estimates - are ethnic Albanians and want to secede from Serbia and become their own ruling country.

In theory, this is fair enough. The vast majority of the population want to break free from Serbian rule and when you're talking about such a vast percentage of the population, it's kind of reasonable to bow to democracy.

However, two obstacles stand in their way.

Firstly, the United Nations made Resolution 1244 in 1999, which said that Kosovo could not become an independent country without their thumbs up.

Secondly, Serbia itself is fiercely opposed to letting it's province break away. It's taken brutal military action in the past to ensure that Kosovo remains under their jurisdiction.

Serbia's obsession with Kosovo dates back. Way back.

The Battle of Kosovo

It was actually the Battle of Kosovo, in the year 1389, that really set this whole unfortunate situation up. Until that time, Kosovo was part of a medieval Serbian state and her population was made up of Slavic Serbs. However, the advancing armies of the Ottoman Empire had their eye on this prize piece of land and in 1389, the armies of Prince Lazar of Serbia and Sultan Murad of the Ottoman Empire clashed to decide possession.

The Ottoman's outnumbered the Serbs two-to-one and scattered the defending army. Prince Lazar himself fell to Ottoman swords. However, defeat was not total. A cunning Serbian knight, Miloš Obilić, assassinated Sultan Murad just after the battle, leaving a vacuum at the head of the opposing army.

The battle of Kosovo left the region in the hands of the Ottoman Empire. However, they'd regrouped after Murad's death and a small portion of Kosovo remained under the leadership of the Serbian House of Branković, which was little more than a vassal state under de facto Turkish authority.

Following the Battle

Kosovo remained firmly in Ottoman hands for the next five hundred years. However, the Serbs never forgot the crushing defeat of 1389 and talk had always been of one day reclaiming what they saw as Serbian territory.

In fact, Serbia had made sporadic strikes into Ottoman territory throughout the last decades of the 19th century. In 1912, under the united banner of the Balkan League (along with Montenegro Bulgaria and Greece,) they moved forward in a united push. The Kingdom of Serbia reconquered Kosovo.

However, the demographics of their prize left it hard to hold onto. The vast majority of the population was Muslim, loyal to the Ottoman Empire. The only option was a powerful surge of recolonization, matching the Albanian population with Serbs loyal to the Kingdom.

What followed was a rather brutal period of ethnic cleansing, with ethnic Albanians driven from Kosovo's towns and cities and replaced by Serbs. This was seen as 'revenge' for the 1389 Battle of Kosovo (as any James bond fan will know, the Eastern Europeans have long memories.)

So with a larger Serb population in place and Serbian troops stationed to enforce sovereignty, the Conference of Ambassadors in London (in some ways, a forerunner to the UN) acknowledged Serbian sovereignty in Kosovo.

World War I

And that should have been the end of the story, but it wasn't.

The outbreak of World War I changed everything. Serbian troops, fighting against the Austro-Hungarian Empire - were forced to retreat from Kosovo territory. This enabled the Albanians, who joined the fight in support of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians, to surge into Kosovo and 'liberate' it from the Serbians.

And it was liberation, no doubt about that. The vast majority in Kosovo was still ethnic Albanian and they heralded the 'invasion' with cheers.

It wasn't until the end of the war, in 1918, that the crippled Serbian army had recovered sufficiently to press home a counter attack.

Unable to count on the support of the Central Powers, who were themselves battling the British, French and Russian armies, the Albanians retreated and Serbs once again swept into Kosovo - committing countless atrocities and ethnic cleansing to once again lay claim to this war torn province.

Following the War

The peace treaties that ended World War I saw Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia (including Kosovo) united in a great Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

While Yugoslavia was a largely Serbian/Slavic state, the territory of Kosovo still consisted of an 80% Albanian population. In 1921, they begged the League of Nations to allow them to secede from Yugoslavia and join their countrymen as part of Albania. This request was refused and the Serbs identified Kosovo as a troublesome province that needed sorting out.

This 'sorting out' consisted of even more colonization and ethnic cleansing.

Land and housing was roughly appropriated from the Albanian population and an estimated 150,000 Albanian Muslims were forced from Kosovo soil. Vasa Cubrilovic, a Serbian intellectual, was the father of this plan - a simple solution to reduce the Albanian population of the territory by simply deporting them.

World War Two

The Serb/Kosovo conflict played an important part in the treatment of the territory during World War II.

The Nazis swept into Serbia from the north and the fascist Italians, under Mussolini, conquered Albania and Kosovo in vengeance for the Italian army's defeat at their hands in 1920.

Soviet Influence

Following the defeat of Germany and Italy at the hands of the Allies, Kosovo was once again clumped with Serbia in another European restructuring. The parliament of the newly reconstructed Yugoslavia then democratically elected a communist ruling party and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was born.

Although at first allied with the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia remained an independent communist state following president Josip Broz Tito's falling out with Stalin.

As part of his regime, Tito planned to end the hundreds of years of ethnic antagonism between Serb and Albanian by way of his Brotherhood and Unity policy - the belief that all Yugoslav ethnicities should be recognized as equal national groups and coexist peacefully in the federation.

What followed was a relatively blissful time for Kosovo. Although part of Yugoslavia, their province was pretty much autonomous and the Albanian population even had independent Albanian-speaking schools and universities to reinforce their cultural identity.

In fact, the living and economic prospects and freedoms the Albanians enjoyed in Kosovo were so good that actual Albanians fled their post-war People's Republic to come to Kosovo!

The rise of Slobodan Milošević

Tito's successful regime was based partly on his policy of subjugating the Serbian majority. While Kosovo was made up of an Albanian population, Serbs themselves made up the majority of Yugoslavia's 12 million residents and it was only by reducing their influence that the Brotherhood and Unity policy could work.

Within Yugoslavia itself, Serbia was as autonomous as Kosovo - recognized as a Republic. This led the Serbian leaders to start questioning their place in the Yugoslavian federation. In 1986, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU) decided that Serbia was contributing more than her fair share.

It was Kosovo that angered them. Since they'd started enjoying the fruits of Tito's regime, the government in Kosovo had been strengthening the position of the Albanian majority by firing Serbs from positions in government and industry. The Serbs living in Kosovo rebelled and protested.

This led a relatively unknown communist party member, Slobodan Milošević, to travel from the Republic of Serbia to meet with the Kosovo Serbs and see if he could quell their anger. There, he witnessed Kosovo police beating the protesting Serbs.

In an impromptu speech that won him the support of Serbs on both sides of the border, Milošević was seen on the Serbian evening news announcing to the Kosovan Serbs: "No one should dare to beat you again!"

He followed his new-found popularity by returning to the Serbia and organizing a coup d'etat. Slobodan Milošević became president of the Serbian Republic and leader of Yugoslavia.

Kosovo under Milošević

The regime change in Kosovo was brutal.

It went beyond countering discrimination of Serbs by the ethnic Albanians. When Milošević took power, he immediately revoked the autonomy of Kosovo and replaced her leaders with his own men - strengthening his position in Yugoslavia.

The Province of Kosovo lost it's government and political institutions. Albanian language media, such as the newspaper Rilindja and radio and television broadcasts in Albanian, were banned outright.

Serbian troops replaced the police and security forces. The Albanian-language university was disbanded, throwing over 20,000 students onto the streets. All the sovereignty and identity Kosovo had enjoyed since 1945 was eliminated overnight.

Kosovo became a police state - so tightly controlled by the Serbs that 80% of the Albanians found themselves unable to find work. Families were faced with starvation under Milošević’s rule.

The Fall of Communism

Meanwhile, as the Berlin Wall fell and communism ended across Eastern Europe, there was common cry throughout the other republics that made up the Federation of Yugoslavia. They wanted independence.

In 1991, Croatia and Slovenia both broke from the Yugoslav Federation, to be closely followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina. Slobodan Milošević strongly opposed this succession and what followed was a brutal period of violence and bloodshed known as the Yugoslav Wars.

The Battle for Independence

In order to regain control of these errant territories, Slobodan Milošević equipped Croatian and Bosnian Serbs (who made up a minority in their respective republics) with supplies, weapons, money and leadership in order to combat their governments and prevent each nation's independence.

It was a bloody struggle. Milošević's Serbs fought with ferocity and brutality. Their tactics were violent and inhuman - in Bosnia, for example, Serbs ruthlessly massacred 8,000 boys and men in the town of Srebrenica just to avoid them possibly fighting for independence.

In the end, it took the UN and NATO bombardment to quell the atrocities the Serbs were committing and bring about the independence of Bosnia and Croatia.

Kosovo Seeks Freedom

The success of the breakaway Bosnia and Croatia inspired Kosovo to break free from Milošević's oppressive rule as well. In 1995, Albanians organized into the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and launched a bitter campaign of bombings and murders against Serbian police and civilians living in Kosovo territory.

It was a situation that mirrors struggles for independence throughout the ages. To the people of Kosovo, the KLA were Freedom Fighters. To the people of Serbia, they were terrorists.

The Serbian response was brutal. In 1997, as the KLA grew in strength, Serbian police responded to attacks by killing dozens of civilians, both women and children. Over 300,000 Albanians were 'displaced' by the Serb forces. Tens of thousands of Albanians fled to the woods, where they faced a bitter winter without adequate food or shelter. Serbian security forces committed atrocities, murdering hundreds of civilians as they fought the KLA.

But after the successful independence of Croatia and Bosnia, it was difficult for Milošević to retain control of the disputed territory. The United States did not recognize the KLA as a terrorist organization and the US envoy, Richard Holbrooke, was photographed with KLA members, further strengthening the independence movement's legitimacy.

As more and more atrocities emerged, the United Nations offered Milošević a deal. Stop the military action in Kosovo or watch American bombers reduce Belgrade to rubble.

When Milošević failed to negotiate, the bombing started. The goal of NATO was clear - to get Serb forces out of Kosovo, to bring United Nations peacekeeping forces in and to allow the hundreds of thousands of Albanian refugees back home.

But Milošević did not go down easy. Serbs stepped up their campaign of ethnic cleansing, killing hundreds and driving almost a million Albanians from their homes. They called it Operation Horseshoe - a deliberate plan to ensure the 'Serbinization' of Kosovo by driving the ethnic Albanian population out.

It was only after continued bombardment that Milošević surrendered. His Serbian forces withdrew and a UN Peacekeeping Force, backed by NATO troops, entered Kosovo to help bring stability and peace.

As American tanks rolled into Kosovo, the grateful Albanian population, both young and old alike, greeted the NATO troops by cheering and throwing flowers.

The Aftermath

As the smoke cleared, UN Security Council passed Resolution 1244 - placing Kosovo under transitional UN administration until her fate could be determined.

Bruised and bloodied, Slobodan Milošević tried to consolidate his position in Yugoslavia by calling early elections - and ordering his security forces to assassinate his political opponents.

However, when the opposition party won the first round of elections, Milošević rejected the decision and in doing so, sparked 'The Bulldozer Revolution,' which saw his regime collapse. His back-up plan, a brutal coup d'etat, was foiled when the Army commanders he'd counted on to support his regime refused to support him.

Vojislav Koštunica took the presidency - and without the immunity of the highest office, Yugoslav officials arrested Milošević and delivered him to the United Nations, where he was charged with the atrocities committed by his Serbian forces during the Yugoslav and Kosovo wars.

He died from a heart attack in the detention centre of The Hague.

The Future of Kosovo

For almost eight years now, Kosovo has been under the authority of the United Nations - and during that time, the population has continued to demand independence from Serbia.

While the international community generally acknowledges Serbia's sovereignty over the province, there is widespread sympathy for Kosovo. The vast majority of the population is not Serbian and has no ties to that country. After Croatia and Bosnia successfully battled for independence, it seems grossly unfair that this small province should be denied the same right.

But there's more at stake than just the future of the ethnic Albanians.

Russia, a traditional ally of Serbia and a fellow Slavic nation, is battling her own independence problem in breakaway states such as Chechnya. If the United Nations was to accept Kosovo's right to breakaway from Serbia and become independent, it would put great pressure on Russia to allow member states to do the same.

In addition, there are still Serbs living in Kosovo. If the country did become independent, Serbia would most likely send troops to protect the minority population still living there. As recently as the 1980s, the ethnic Albanian population has show itself just as capable of discrimination as the Serbs.

Right now, there's stalemate.

The Americans and British are backing Kosovo's independence, which is clearly the right thing to do. Kosovo has a long and bloody history as a pawn between greater powers. The nation deserves an independent run.

However, the Russia we see now is very different from that which gave grudging support to the UN in the days of Milošević. Premier Vladamir Putin is harboring a warm nostalgia amongst his people for the days of Communism - it's been just long enough for them to have forgotten what it was like really like living under the regime of the Hammer and Sickle.

Putin knows that the future of his country hands in the balance. The decision of the UN will either support or break apart his fragile hold on member states with itchy feet. Now that Russia has regained some of her former clout, this ruthless KGB officer will fight tooth and nail to ensure that the UN plays the game on his terms.

Kosovo itself in a betting chip in a newly reenacted battle between East and West.

Some More on Kosovo

Because 88% of the inhabitants of Kosovo are ethnic Albanian - and the fact that the region has been seperate from Serbia proper for the majority of the last 700 years - it's actually pretty difficult to put together a convincing arguement as to why the war-torn Balkan province should be forced under the yolk of Serbian authority.

But that's not to say people haven't tried. In fact, one Californian writes a surprisingly well-written blog making his narrow-minded opinion on the fate of the disputed region very clear. You can 'enjoy' it here - SerbBlog.

In one post in particular, he points out some rather worrying trends emerging from Kosovo that have neatly ducked under the radar of the international press.

The fact is, distracted all the ethnic cleansing and angry rhetoric of the angry Serbs, we often forget that the people of Kosovo aren't all that cuddly either.

Transparency International - an international organization dedicated to exposing corruption - recently published a list of the world's five most 'corrupt' countries. Albania was first and coming in forth and fifth were Macedonia and Kosovo respectively.

The three regions which make up 'ethnic Albania' - or rather, the demographic that makes up what might one day become 'Albania Proper.'

Under the auspices of the United Nations occupation, ethnic Albanians are funnelling drugs, weapons and even people from East to West via the disputed Balkan region. Heroin from Afghanistan, weapons and explosives (the same explosives used by al-Qiada to make the bombs in Madrid and London) and, according to Amnesty International, an increasing number of girls and women forced into prostitution across Europe.

All of this crime is being encouraged by two factors.

Firstly, the moribund state of Kosovo. The country, with most of it's infrastructure destroyed by Milosevic and his Serbian security forces, is understandably unable to rebuild while it floats in the Limbo of UN administration. There is 40% unemployment across the region and in a country without industry or law, crime is sadly the most logical way to make a living.

Secondly, the stranglehold criminal organisations have on the region. During Milosevic's brutal campaign to reclaim Kosovo, the 'freedom fighters' known as the Kosovo Liberation Army ran a guerrilla campaign against the Serbian security forces. But like many paramilitary organisations, their aims became somewhat diluted over time. Now, much like the criminal Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland, the KLA is known as much for arms dealing, smuggling and intimidation as for the 'freedom fighting' they did in the nineties.

Throw into that the spreading evil of fundamentalist Islam - which burns like wildfire through a largely Muslim population struggling with poverty, crime and oppression - and you've got a recipe for disaster.

On SerbBlog, the writer declares that this is further evidence to support rejoining Kosovo to Serbia. Personally, I think it's a very convincing argument to do just the opposite.

It's amazing to me that the Kosovo crisis has gone on for as long as it has without resolution. In Iraq, American and British troops are struggling to build an infrastructure and government to prevent the spread of crime, terrorism and anarchy. Meanwhile, practically in the heart of Europe, we have a lawless region waiting - as Kosovo has done for hundreds of years - for it's fate to be decided by the shadowy 'great powers.'

The answer seems simple to me - give Kosovo what it so richly deserves. The right to choose it's own fate as a sovereign nation. At least as a country - with it's own government and authority - it can start to tackle it's own internal crisis.

Any other option is just inviting disaster. Give Kosovo back to Serbia and we're repeating the same mistakes of the 20th century. All we'd see is more aggressive 'policing' from Serbia and a resurgence of the KLA - swelled by the legitimacy of another Serbia 'occupation.'

Whatever flimsy 'evidence' there is linking Kosovo to Serbia's history, the facts are indisputable. For well over a century, the population of Kosovo has been made up of a vast majority of ethnic Albanians. The current figure is 88% of the population. These are people who do not recognize Serbian authority over their region and have the weapons, manpower and desperation to fight bitterly against it.

Give Kosovo back to the Serbs and we'll watch the region burn.

Kosovo is finally free...

The expected arrived today. A decision by breakaway Serbian province Kosovo to finally declare it's independence.

While hardly surprising, the news is still good. For the last century, Serbia's hawk-like eye has been on this former province of the Ottoman empire and the Serbs have used every tactic in the playbook - from alliances with 'the great powers' to invasion and ethnic cleansing - to get their mitts on what murky Serbian folklore has always touted as 'the heart of Serbia.'

In truth, Kosovo hasn't truly been a part of the Serbian nation since the Battle of Kosovo, way back in the fourteenth century. After five hundred years of Ottoman rule (which saw the demographic of the region change from Slavic to Albanian) the Serbs have spent a century trying to reclaim their 'lost' province - but their claim simply doesn't hold water.

Quite rightly, the UN and the European Union seem ready to support Kosovo's well deserved liberation from Serbian imperialism.

But while celebration is the order of the day in Kosovo, dark clouds are gathering on the horizon. Firstly, Serbia has shown a worrying enthusiasm for solving diplomatic problems with violent and bloodthirsty military action. Secondly, the great Russian bear is peering at the Serbia/Kosovo conundrum with a growing sense of unease. As more regions of the former Soviet bloc gear up for independence, the liberation of Kosovo would give them increased legitimacy.

At best, the liberation of Kosovo will drive a thick wedge between the West and the former Soviet Union. But at worst? Serbia could gain enough support from Russia to launch it's own military 'reclamation' and bring war right back to the heart of Europe.

Kosovo about to Declare Independence?

Foul-mouthed and opinionated blogger The Exile, who whines about the plight of the British working class while sipping Negra Modelo in the sunshine of Mexico City, posted a pretty terrifying quote from Yuri Baluyevsky, Chief of General Staff at the Kremlin.

"We do not intend to attack anyone, but we consider it necessary for all our partners in the world community to clearly understand that to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and its allies, military forces will be used, including preventively, including with the use of nuclear weapons."

What is Yuri talking about?

Well, doubtless he's referring to Kosovo's imminent declaration of independence. With the Serbian presidential election set February 3rd, the province of Kosovo is poised to declare their independence should nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolić win.

Tomislav Nikolić took over leadership of the nationalist Serbian Radical Party when former leader Vojislav Šešelj left for The Hague, to face charges of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.

If Tomislav Nikolić defeats moderate incumbent Boris Tadić, things will look bleak for the war torn province of Kosovo. It seems wise to strike out for independence while there's still a UN presence to protect them from Serbian retaliation.

But Yuri Baluyevsky's words are worrying. While most of the UN supports Kosovo's pleas for independence, Russia is highly skeptical of granting them freedom from Serbian oppression.

Not because of any concern or comradeship with the people of Serbia. Simply because Kosovo's UN-supported independence would throw an awkward spotlight on Russia's brutal treatment of breakaway provinces within their own nation.

If Baluyevsky is to be taken seriously, Russia might commit supplies, support, troops and even nuclear weapons to prevent Kosovo from achieving it's well-deserved independence.

It's a very thinly veiled threat of war - and the UN might well be left with no option but to call their bluff -or else back down and let vile vulture Vladimir Putin bully democracy into submission.

Russia shows her true colours...

Since I've written extensively about Kosovo in previous posts, I guess it would be remiss if I didn't throw in my opinion about the chaos that's overtaken Georgia at the moment (that's the former Soviet Georgia, not the one the Duke boys live in.)


The Conflict in Georgia

Georgia used to be part of the Soviet Union. In 1991, as the Iron Curtain fell, the region declared independence. However, two regions of the new Republic of Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, contained a strong separatist movement that refused to accept being part of the new Republic of Georgia. They almost immediately declared themselves independent of the Georgian government and, in 1995, 'ethnically cleansed' the two provinces of over a quarter of a million Georgian citizens.

Since that date, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have both effectively been independent provinces, despite angry noises from the Georgian government. Georgia has attempted to regain control, but the separatists have led a fierce resistance against them.

A few days ago, the tentative ceasefire broke down when the Georgian government accused the separatists of bombing villages in Georgia. The Georgians entered separatist territory to 'defend themselves' and reclaim their turf. However, the Georgian push was met with a frightening response.

The old bear, Mother Russia herself, sent troops and airplanes into separatist and Georgian territory - reacting with brutal military might to 'protect the independence' of the two breakaway provinces.

What we're left with is a de facto invasion by Russian forces into a neighbouring country.

Hypocrisy

The Russians may want people to believe that they're 'lending military support' to the separatist movement in Abkhazia and South Ossetia - and both breakaway governments have actively asked for their support in defending themselves from the Georgians.

However, their real intentions are utterly transparent.

Given their angry response to Kosovo's independence - Russia's never been too fond of breakaway republics ever since they got a bloody nose in Chechnya - it seems astonishing that they'd suddenly support the fight for independence in Georgia.

The truth is, Russia's not interested in independence for Abkhazia and South Ossetia at all. They're looking to absorb both provinces into Russia itself. Once the Georgian military is silenced, both provinces will be occupied by the might of the Russian army for a long, long time to come.

NOTES:

Following some emails, I'd just like to clarify the following:

1: No, I'm not 'on the Georgian's side.' Shooting at women and children, burning down villages and generally being brutal towards civilians in disputed territory is unacceptable. It was certainly unacceptable when it was Serbs doing it is Kosovo, so I don't see why it should be any different here.

2: 90% of the population of South Ossetia have Russian passports. Some emailers have argued that this means that the breakaway province might as well be part of Russia. Funnily enough, some of these emailers are the same people who argued the complete opposite when I pointed out that 90% of Kosovo's population was ethnic Albanian, so why should the province become part of Serbia?

3: I don't see how Russia's invasion of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Georgia can be called a 'liberation' by the same people who said the UN's arrival in Kosovo to stop the bloodshed was an 'unwarranted, illegal occupation.' I don't see how they can justify Russia killing thousands of civilians in bombing raids as 'within their rights' and yet criticise Bill Clinton for bombing Belgrade during the Bosnian crisis. Are these people really so blind as to not see the similarities?

Serbian Elections: Toys Angrily Ejected from Pram

Belgrade will hold it's Presidential Election next week, with incumbent president Boris Tadic facing off against several other candidates including ultra-nationalistic Radical Party candidate (and alleged war criminal) Tomislav Nikolić.

Despite a history of rigged elections under alleged war criminal Slobodan Milošević, since autumn of 2000, independent monitors from the UK and America have declared elections held in Serbia to be largely fair (despite the occasional political assassination.) However, in a rather disturbing move by factions of the Serbian government, their Electoral Committee has decided to refuse their oversight this time.

The dissenting voices include Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, ironically leader of the Democratic Party. This refusal is no doubt an angry protest aimed at America and the UK, who are in general support of the inevitable independence of Kosovo.

"The U.S. and Britain want to destroy us and take away our territory," one Serbian media outlet reported, voicing a commonly held opinion that the Kosovo province should be returned to Serbian authority - despite having a 90% non-Serbian population and very shaky historical links to the larger country.

In refusing to allow independent monitoring of the elections, the nationalists have actually shot themselves in the foot. Their angry rhetoric has fired up the nation and they stand to do very well in next week's election - possibly even toppling President Tadic.

However, if they do so, it would be a hollow victory. If Tomislav Nikolić was to beat Boris Tadic, the legitimacy of their presidency would be immediately called into question by not allowing foreign observers in to monitor the election process.

Anything other than a win by moderate Tadic will drive the wedge deeper between the United Nations and the increasingly truculent nation of Serbia.

Petite Anglaise

Although blogs are a great way to make friends online and keep your parents and friends up-to-date with your adventures, it's fairly obvious that the most dedicated (i.e. self important) of us bloggers are sometimes out there just to make a name for ourselves.

Which is why the success of bloggers-turned-authors like Belle Du Jour can be both frustrating, yet strangely affirming.

The latest blog-into-book is the blog of 35 year old expat Petite Anglaise.

Catherine Sanderson, under the nom de souris Petite Anglaise, started her blog in 2004, inspired by the likes of Belle Du Jour (which leads me to suspect that she harboured a certain self-publicist streak right from the very beginning!)

It started off as the amusing anecdotes of a British woman living and working in France, dutiful wife to 'Mr Frog' and loving mother to the bilingual baby 'Tadpole.'

But within a year of starting her blog, Sanderson shifted the focus of her writing away from the amusing expat experience (like her recommendations for working with FFs (French Females) to a more introspective and personal journal. This chronicled the breakdown of her marriage and her relationship with a new man she met in the comments section of her blog.

Her blogging continued it's surprising twists and turns when her boss uncovered Sanderson's candid chronicles - and swiftly gave her the boot (not the first time a blogger has been canned for their online antics.)

Taking her employer to court for wrongful dismissal, Catherine Sanderson picked up a £30,000 settlement, as well as a tornado of media interest promoting her story (and her blog) in British and French national newspapers. It even earned her a place on Richard and Judy's well-worn pastel sofa.

And just like that, Sanderson earned the happy-ending all blogger's secretly fantasise about. The media whirlwind inspired Michael Joseph (an imprint of Penguin) to publish her blog. We'll finally see the adventures of Petite Anglaise hit the bookshelves this June.


Bookish Blogging

Seeing the success of a blogger like Petite Anglaise can inspire conflicting emotions amongst us 'undiscovered' bloggers.

In some ways, it's incredibly exciting to see a fellow blogger make 'the big time' through their online exploits. But it's also rather frustrating to see somebody else succeed when your blog still languishes in relative obscurity.

However, skirting the emotional issues, it's clear to see why Catherine Sanderson's blog succeeded where others (such as mine) would fail.

Writing a publishable blog

Sanderson's blog makes for compelling reading - it's as simple as that.

My blog is pretty unpublishable, because it contains a few snippets of my boring life (painting the nursery and cooing at shiny red cars) in amongst reviews, editorials and completely unqualified opinionating about topics I have no authority to blog about (Kosovo, for example.)

Petite Anglaise has been a focused Bridget-Jones-esque journal from day one - and her romantic misadventures make the desire to find out 'what happens next' totally addictive. Catherine Sanderson expertly writes a real-life, expat soap-opera and we want to know more about her life - even if we disapprove of it.

And it is sometimes difficult to sympathise with Sanderson. Having just settled into my forth year of marriage, I find it rather uncomfortable the way a wife and mother like Petite Anglaise so swiftly dropped her spouse for an Internet beau - although I took no satisfaction in reading about her getting similarly dumped just over a year later.

It's also easy to be cynical about the way she embraced the media firestorm following her dismissal.

Catherine Sanderson made perfect headline fodder, but the beautiful young blond settled into her new role of 'celebrity blogger' disturbingly easily (similar observations have been levelled towards the most famous blogger/author Belle du Jour, who many people think is just the fictional alter-ego of some frustrated London hack.)

But leaving aside my petty prejudices, I can see the immediate appeal of an attractive, intelligent expatriate sharing her romantic misadventures in a blog-turned-book.

Whether you approve or disapprove of the choices she's made, Catherine Sanderson has one hell of a story to tell and if her blog is any indication of her writing skills, it's going to make for entertaining reading when it hits the bookstores.

Petite Anglaise by Catherine Sanderson is available on June 17th from Amazon.com and bookstores.

Veterans Day

'Support our Troops.'

This Veterans Day - as we thank those who've served our country in wars past and present - I think it's important to take a moment to reconsider what 'support Our Troops' actually means. After all, it's emblazoned on the bumpers of millions of American cars and trucks.

Following 9-11, and during the past two presidential campaigns, 'Support our Troops' has been a slogan adopted by the right wing. 'Supporting our Troops' implied more than just supporting the brave men and women putting their lives on the line in the service of our country. It implied an unspoken approval of the two military operations they were embroiled in.

Criticize the military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, as many left-wing pundits did, and you were accused of 'betraying the troops' and your patriotism was challenged.

But 'supporting the troops' doesn't have to involve supporting foreign wars. In fact, to use another bumper-sticker slogan, many consider the best way to 'Support Our Troops' is to 'Bring Them Home.'

Every week, we read about more servicemen and women killed and crippled in Iraq and Afghanistan and no matter what your political position, you have to wonder how effectively we 'support' these heroes when we place them directly in harm's way.

How many politicians who cry 'Support Our Troops' voted to send them to Iraq or Afghanistan? You'd be surprised (or not) at the answer.

In fact, the hypocrisy of the people crying 'Support Our Troops' goes further than that. 'Supporting our Troops' is all well and good when they're off in the desert, dodging bullets and IEDs. But what about when they come home again? What about the troops who served our country in Iraq the first time around? Or in Kosovo, or even Vietnam?

Sadly, some of the people who proclaim 'Support Our Troops' have shameful records of actually 'supporting' soldiers and veterans.

Take John McCain, for example. Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America gave the former presidential candidate a failing 'D' grade for his voting record concerning veterans. McCain voted against funding to give serving soldiers additional body armor in the field (writing it off as 'pork barrel') and similarly voted to curb funding to treat victims of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury when they got home from the battlefield.

Similarly, McCain voted against increasing the funding for veteran's Health Care four times in the last six years - despite claiming that this was his 'number one priority' during his presidential campaign. He toured Veteran's Hospitals that had been declared dirty, unsanitary and unsafe - yet voted against funding to restore them.

Similarly, 'patriotic' Republican Joe Wilson - the man who yelled 'you lie' at President Obama - claims to 'Support Our Troops,' but has voted no less than eleven times against Health Care for veterans - even cutting their health care funding by $14 million in 2003.

It seems completely disingenuous to parade our patriotism one day a year if we turn our backs on veterans for the rest of the time. This Veterans Day, instead of just muttering platitudes, why don't we really think about the incredible bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers - and how we can truly show our gratitude for it?

I think this starts by examining what it is we actually ask of them. Our soldiers serve out of duty and honor - so we should honor them by remembering our duty not to put them in harm's way unless the safety of this country truly depends on it. Is that the case in Iraq or Afghanistan? I can't say - but I have my doubts.

Secondly, we have to give them all the support we can while they're in the line of fire. Withholding funding for the wars - as Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton attempted to do a year or so ago - puts lives at risk for the sake of winning a few political points. Curbing 'pork barrel' spending, as McCain did, isn't helpful when that spending puts an extra layer of armor between our soldiers and the enemy's bullets.

And lastly, we have to remember to give our veterans the gratitude and support they deserve when they come back home. As my friend Michael Knight (not the one who drives KITT) tweeted today: "In war, there are no unwounded soldiers." Let's give those vets suffering debilitating injuries, or post traumatic stress disorder, the treatment they deserve and get them healthy and well as quickly as possible.

The fact is, in a modern democracy, we all play our part in the giant game of international chess - in which the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen are the pieces. Because we're all culpable for the risk we put them under, we're all equally responsible for the results.

So lets remember our responsibility to our soldiers and veterans. If there's a 'message' or 'moral' behind Veteran's Day, I truly believe it's that.

Men and women in uniform? Thanks for everything.

A Blogger's Manifesto

It's a bit late to call it a New Year's resolution - but as 2008 dawns, I think it's time to think critically about my blog and where I intend to direct it over the next few months.

I think it's time to adopt some very serious blogging guidelines.

So here we go. My Blogger's Manifesto:

1. I will only blog five times a week. Currently, I've been blogging several times per day and that's just ridiculous. Along with work, I've got my personal writing to do - and my fun cartooning. And I want to join and gym and get fit. So wasting my precious personal time writing diatribes about Kosovo is not the most productive use of my time.
2. I will set a blogging agenda. Out of my five weekly posts, I should determine some focus as to their contents. Therefore, I pledge to write one personal post a week (about my life in general) one post about local events in New Jersey (like the local elections) one blog about writing and getting published (and my attempts at both) and two other 'free choices' that might include reviews, cartoons, political babble. Whatever.
3. Brevity is Essential. The key to successful writing is not how much you write, but how little. Some of my blog posts would have put me in good stead as university dissertations. So from now on, I intend to make my blog posts short, snappy and relevant - so anybody clicking on them can get the information they need as quickly as possible.
4. Pimped and Polished. Since I'm using blogging to further my writing, I should make a firm commitment to keeping my editing as tight as possible. Just because this is a personal blog, I shouldn't allow spelling errors and the like to creep in if I can avoid doing so!

So there's my pledge for 2008. Fingers crossed I can stick to it! But if I can, it will hopefully mean higher quality content from Militant Ginger.