[Bilderberg - my comment] Thomas Pickering, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, attended his first SECRET Bilderberg meeting - the "[Bilderberg] steering committee meeting in Washington, D.C. on November 3-4, 1999 [WorldNetDaily -

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19991012_xex_the_next_bil.shtml].

Since his attendance at this SECRET Bilderberg meeting, I have wondered if Pickering has SECRET knowledge of the Egypt Air Flight 990 disaster and the mission details of the US bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade and whether these issues were discussed and global policy established:

http://x46.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=552090186.1&CONTEXT=949592162.979763220&hitnum=0

My particular concern for Egypt Air Flight 990 was whether or not there was a suitcase bomb on board headed for the Middle East and that this was the basis for the struggle in the cockpit.

My particular concern for US bombing of the Chinese Embassy was that it was done as a military action by the US - a warning to China - and as a precedent to change ambassadors - ADMIRAL Joseph Prueher is the replacement.

My final concern was a simple curiosity about whether or not Gunther Russbacher flew the Chinese Embassy mission - a special pilot for sure but a special pilot with special, genetically-based capabilities???

Now, Thomas Pickering is in Albania: "In a meeting with U.S. Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering Jan. 31, Berisha reportedly accused the Albanian government of involvement in contraband and corruption, and of the murder of PD Deputy Azem Hajdari in September 1998. Pickering himself was in the country to visit NATO support units in Albania and to discuss government corruption with Albanian government officials."

--- Philip

STRATFOR.COM Global Intelligence Update 3 February 2000

Albanian Instability Threatens NATO's Kosovo Mission

Summary

Albanian media has reported that the head of the Albanian intelligence service, Fatos Klosi, secretly met with Prime Minister Ilir Meta to brief him on the possibility of armed protests against his government. Though not the first time that Albania has been threatened by armed unrest, this time it could have serious implications for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Kosovo peacekeeping force (KFOR) support operations located in Albania.

Analysis

The Albanian newspaper Koha Jone reported Jan. 29 that the head of Albania's National Intelligence Service (ShIK), Fatos Klosi, secretly met with Prime Minister Ilir Meta to brief him on the possibility of an armed protest against government corruption. As well, the Albanian newspaper Rilindja Demokratike reported four days earlier that chairman of the opposition Democratic Party of Albania (PD) Sali Berisha, in a speech to local officials in northern Albania, had called for an uprising against government corruption.

In a meeting with U.S. Undersecretary of State [Bilderberg - my comment]Thomas Pickering Jan. 31, Berisha reportedly accused the Albanian government of involvement in contraband and corruption, and of the murder of PD Deputy Azem Hajdari in September 1998. [Bilderberg - my comment] Pickering himself was in the country to visit NATO support units in Albania and to discuss government corruption with Albanian government officials.

These calls for an overthrow of the Albanian government are not the first. In August 1998, the Albanian newspaper Shekulli reported that former Albanian army officers, discharged following an attempted coup in March 1997, were planning another attempt to overthrow the government. Paving the way for the next round of factional infighting, which had subsided during the NATO aerial campaign against Kosovo, was Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko's resignation in October 1999.

[ http://www.stratfor.com/SERVICES/GIU/102799.ASP ]

However, unlike previous upsurges in instability, this new signal could have ramifications outside of Albania and inside of Kosovo. The stability of the NATO operation in Kosovo hinges on the continued stability of the Albanian government. Albania has become a major staging base for the 42,500 NATO troops deployed in Kosovo. NATO support operations in Albania, known as Communication Zone West (COMMZ W), totals 2,400 troops. Its primary mission is to protect supply routes and communication lines between Albania and Kosovo. The Italian-led mission also acts as a main logistics pipeline for NATO's Kosovo peacekeeping force (KFOR), accounting for 31 percent of total NATO support personnel divided among Albania, Macedonia and Greece.

Albanian instability is an endemic problem. In all likelihood, as before, the information in advance of planned demonstrations will allow the Albanian security services to deal with any potential threats to the government. However, if the security services cannot handle the unrest, it not only poses a threat to Albania, but also endangers NATO support operations in Albania for Kosovo, which would impact the whole of the KFOR mission.

Unrest would pose a serious problem for the COMMZ W and KFOR commanders. They would need to weigh the relative importance of the mission against interfering in yet another Balkan factional dispute. As well, the fact that COMMZ W is an Italian-led mission raises another interesting possibility. Italian support for Allied forces in the spring of 1999 was lukewarm at best. Another Balkan ethnic dispute would not be received well by Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema's domestic constituency nor by other NATO members with similar positions, such as the Greeks.

In the end, Albania, with its inability to resolve long-standing regional, ethnic and personal feuds, now threatens the security of the force that was inserted to protect the interests of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. In short, the Albanians may accomplish what the Serbs could not - undermine NATO operations in the region.

(c) 2000 WNI, Inc. http://www.stratfor.com/