Picture of the Day - Except in Albania
All around Europe and the world, the arrival of President Bush evokes anger and protests, except for Albania.
(AP) "President Bush, getting a hero's welcome as the first American president to visit Albania.... Albania has such an affinity for America that it issued three postage stamps with Bush's picture and the Statue of Liberty and renamed a street in front of parliament in his honor."
(Reuters) "The streets were nearly empty as almost everyone stayed inside to watch day long "Bush Special" live coverage on television.....
The United States won Albania's unquestioning loyalty in 1999 when then president Bill Clinton pushed reluctant European allies to intervene in Kosovo 1999, ordering NATO bombing to stop Serbia's brutal crackdown on Albanian separatists province."
(Albanians pick up top hats fitted with American flags to celebrate the visit of the U.S. President George W. Bush in Tirana June 10, 2007. REUTERS/Arben Celi )
posted by mikevotes at
9:07 AM
8 Comments:
I wonder if we can convince the Albanians to keep him.
By
Anonymous, at 9:57 AM
So Bush is receiving the fruits of Clinton's labor.
At the same time Bush and his flying monkey character assassination squad are blaming all their incompetence on Clinton.... no matter that their arguments make no sense.
By
-epm, at 10:15 AM
Abi, I wish so. I'm just hoping he gives up this whole cowboy pretense and settles somewhere outside Texas.
EPM, It's funn that this is the one Clinton thing they haven't abrogated, screwed up. Probably because they don't give a damn about Albania.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 11:30 AM
Albania, Poland, Czech Republic... All the new "democracies" are lovin' Bush. It's those pesky old democracies, you know, the ones where the citizens actually hold think the politicians work for them that are a problem. Do you think that the new -- dare I say immature -- democracies are following a model flavored by the example of past strong, unary, take no-prisoners leaders of the Soviet era? A model of leadership with which Bush seems to feel a personally affinity?
These neo-European fledgling democracies seem to see some kindred spirit in Bush that the rest of the free world seems repulsed by. It is probably by design that Bush is using the neo-Europeans as a wedge in his European foreign policy...
By
-epm, at 1:15 PM
The Czech's don't really. At least the population. And Poland, beyond the government, is split.
I really can't speak to the Albanians.
I would say that these countries are pro-USA more than pro-Bush.
By
mikevotes, at 1:37 PM
As an Albanian, I would like to thank epm, for the characterization of my country as an immature, soviet-flavored kind of democracy, dumber perhaps than the rest of the "sophisticated" Europeans, that god-knows-how it can give a warm welcome to Bush. However Albanians were out on the streets to honor the US president, not a particular politician, I believe this point was missed by many people. We can't choose your president, we can't judge who you select in power, after all it was you who elected him twice, no? Albania celebrated US, that has been shown to be a great friend in difficult times. When the Serbs were killing Albanians by the thousands in Kosovo, and when they sent refugees streaming out of the border - a million of them in a space of few months - your "sophisticated" Europeans simply looked the other way and it was only the US who took a stand and practically saved Kosovo Albanians from extermination. To you it might be theorizing, but to us it was the difference between life and death. And since when is gratitude a bad thing? And as we speak, US alongside EU is the strongest supporter of Kosova's independence, as for Russia it would rather send Kosova back to Serbia, so that Serbs can kill a few thousand more Albanians.
If some people would choose to look beyond their nose, they would discover that the world is not as simple as they thought.
By
Anonymous, at 11:53 PM
Anon, Two things.
First, that was kinda my hunch as to the nature of the support, that's why I included the motivations in the excerpt citing US and Clinton's engagement in Kosovo.
Second, don't take too much offense at EPM's comment (although I can certainly understand how you would.)
EPM often writes in exaggeration, shorthand, and hyperbole to get his point across.
As I didn't write that comment, I can't really tell you the spirit behind it, but I feel pretty sure that there was no real offense intended.
However, thank you for the reponse. Sometimes, we, as Americans, forget the breadth and impact of our foreign policy. We get caught up in our own stuff and forget the very harsh realities at the other end of our discussions.
Thanks for bringing that back to me.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 8:04 AM
Anonymous, thanks for your insight. Assuming, as I do, that you are who you claim to be I truly appreciate your thoughts, observations and rebuke.
From my little corner in my rather sheltered universe, my view of the world is as through a porthole. My opinions are colored by my frame of reference, prejudices and limited authentic knowledge of the greater world around me, largely gleaned from the American media.
Your distinction between showing respect for an American president and a personal embrace of the Bush presidency is welcome. I apologize for being too quick and too superficial in my comments.
My reference to "immature" was not meant as an insult. I think it's simply a matter of fact that any country who has fundamentally shifted its entire political and social framework less than 20 years ago would still be considered to be in its formative years. My concern was (and to some degree still is) that the right respect these new democracies have for America writ large, may result in undue deference to the specific requests of this specific American president. That is to say, Bush may take advantage of your country's good will in a way that may not be in your countries best interest.
Mike is right: I tend to "blog" in an emotional, often exaggerated way. I use (abuse?) this particular blog to exorcise thoughts and concerns I may have, and I count on the thoughtful replies of people like yourself and Mike to help better shape my understanding of national and international issues.
I look forward to your help and enlightenment in future discussions.
By
-epm, at 12:15 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home