Wasting your money, Tomislav?
This is inside baseball, but for those of you who might be interested: former U.S. Ambassador William Montgomery’s September 2010 registration with the Justice Department as an agent for Tomislav Nikolic, President of the Serbian Progressive Party.
I would be the last to deny a retired Foreign Service officer whatever income he can find, and 7500 euros a month is not pocket change, but I would also want to know whom he represents when he gives interviews calling for the dissolution of Bosnia. To be fair he was doing this even before the date of his registration, and he is of course entitled to his views, which are contrary to mine.
The partitions Montgomery proposes are sure formulas for re-igniting conflict in the Balkans, with devastating results, including the formation of an Islamic Republic in central Bosnia. Remember Bill? We called that the “non-viable, rump Islamic Republic that would be a platform for Iranian terrorism in Europe.” Hard for me to see how that is in the U.S. or Serbian interest. But there is of course no longer a need for Bill to worry about that. He works for Nikolic.
The bigger problem may be for Nikolic: he is going to have a hard time being welcomed in Washington unless he takes a pro-Europe, One Bosnia line. Associating himself with Bill Montgomery’s advocacy of partition of Bosnia and Kosovo is no way to overcome Nikolic’s past association with the hard-line, anti-European ethnic nationalism of the Serb Radical Party, from which he split in 2008.
What does Montgomery do for Nikolic’s money? He’ll call his old friends at State, the National Security Council and Congress to get appointments. This is something that the head of a party in the Serbian parliament could and should have done by his own secretary, or by the Serbian embassy.
If that doesn’t work, I’ll help him, for free. I am vigorously in favor of Washington hearing from all parts of the political spectrum in Serbia. But it is simply outrageous that people get paid to make appointments in Washington–our public servants should all be told to tell paid agents that appointments can only be made directly, not through intermediaries.
If Nikolic wants to pay Montgomery to write his talking points, that’s fine with me. But they’ll have to say something different from what Montgomery has been saying in public.
Wasting your money, Tomislav?
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Mr. Montgomery wrote an op-ed that was published in the NYTimes a couple of years ago on something similar – essentially, go back to the drawing board and make the Serbs happy. He predicted increasing violence against Serbs in Kosovo without a partition of the country, for example. The Serbs writing to newspapers at the time saw this publication by a former US official as a welcome sign that things were beginning to go their way, especially with regards to a potential Srpska Republika. When the only response in the US press to Montgomery’s piece was a single sharp put-down (by somebody whose name I recognized but have since forgotten) – about not rewarding ethnic cleansing – the excitement eventually subsided. Still, better that Nikolic spend his money on an “American advisor” than on turning out the football hooligans.
Dear author,
I am just puzzled: would you REALLY help Nikolic, in addition, for free? We all know the role Mr. William Montgomerry played in defaming former Serbian PM Dr. Zoran Djindjic before his murder. Currently, Mr. Montgomery co-owns the “Montgomery Sadler Matić & Associates DOO” company where one of the owners Mr. Goran Matic is a well-known criminal figure in Serbia. For more information look at the following website: http://www.e-novine.com/srbija/srbija-tema/43010-Vilijem-Montgomeri-crna-eminencija.html
Place for Mr. Nikolic is in jail for reasons well known to judicial system in Serbia. Even though his imprisonment would serve mostly Serbian national interest, I am sure it would be benefitial for the US interests as well on the long run.
Yes, I would help Nikolic be heard. I regard him as a legitimately elected representative of an important segment of Serbian public opinion. His perspective should be understood in Washington. His competitors should not have a monopoly.
But I doubt somehow either Nikolic or Montgomery will be calling any time soon.
Dear author,
Thank you for your prompt response. I understand you are looking from perspective of “real politics.” On the other hand, I am looking from perspective of Mr. Nikolic connection with organized crime, his connections with various “suspicious” groups from the Russian federation, and finally his well-known dependency on local taycoons whose dirty money is originally coming from the Milosevic era. The US administration shall be very well aware of that. Otherwise, I hope that Mr. Nikolic will not trick the US administration like Milosevic did in the 90’s
“What does Montgomery do for Nikolic’s money? ”
Blic has picked up this story and it’s going great guns – they’re up to 570 comments in less than a day. (For comparison, this is way more than the current Kosovo-organ-trafficking story is getting.) They also have a link to the document filed with the US government. Montgomery is supposed to help Nikolic’s party avoid straying across any US or EU “red lines” and advise on campaign strategies for the next election. This should be interesting – the “Progressives'” strongest supporters are hardly interested in adjusting their positions to those of the US, or being seen to – I suppose the idea will be to finesse the problems with some well-chosen synonyms from Roget’s?
In view of the types of responses the article in Blic is attracting, Nikolic might have been better off investing his money in new fantomkas for the boys if the idea is to win an election in Serbia. Montgomery may be a useful idiot to Serb politicians, but he’s just an American to the broader public, it seems, and there’s no sense fooling ourselves about how they view the US. The party has denounced Blic for publishing the article and is accusing it of participating in a witch-hunt against it organized by the current government and its servants, and says that no contract has been signed (although that box is checked in Montgomery’s filing) and that no money has changed hands. It at least makes a change from the denunciations and condemnations of all things Kosovar that usually lead this time of year.
The Blic article seems to have been updated to give this site credit for being first with the story. (The comments counter has been set back (to 400) – ?)
This contract is certainly good news for people who worry about the current account balance.
Re “Nikolic … is going to have a hard time being welcomed in Washington unless he takes a pro-Europe, One Bosnia line.” Being “welcome in Washington” can’t even buy a cuppa coffee these days. Our confused reaction to the popular uprisings in the Arab world plus our now standing by and refusing to honor our responsibility to protect civilians in Libya leaves us an emperor without clothes.