Revisiting the Fort Dix Six: Answering the email bag
By John David Powell (06/09/07)
A recent column about the Fort Dix Six and the historic involvement of Albanians in the commission and funding of terrorism caused quite a stir among the Albanian population in the United States and abroad. One could characterize most of the Albanian response as hate mail or something pretty close to that. A few Albanian responses were thoughtful and expressed dismay at what they believed was a continuation of a false belief that Albanians hate America. Then, of course, readers of Serbian descent and those with interests in Kosovo had entirely different views.
As I explained to those who wrote, the column did not say all Albanians are terrorists. In past columns, I compared our today’s war with terrorists with our war with Germany and Japan. Not all Germans and Japanese were evil during the Second World War; only those who tried to kill us. The same is true in this instance. Not all Albanians are terrorists, and not all Muslims are terrorists; just those who maintain ties with terrorists, and who try to kill us.
I also pointed out that it was gratifying to see the quick response from leaders within the Albanian community in this country who condemned the alleged plans of the Fort Dix Six. The actions of those arrested damaged their families, friends, and community; however, I find it difficult to believe that no one in their families and in their Albanian community knew about their plans. The question becomes then: Why did those who knew remain silent?
In the spirit of fairness, I’ve included excerpts from some of the email.
“Shame on you, shame on your false career, constructed by lies. Albanian are the most friendly people toward USA, and your disastrous article is not capable to show anything, except increasing Serbians hopes for nothing.”
“The whole story is a big propaganda! Nothing in there is really true, most of the story is taken or written by some Serbian and reposted by you. Shame on YOU! ‘
“You are so disgusting, when you write so much **** against Albanian. Who has paid you to write those lies . . . Come in Albania, have a visit here, and than you will learn that we have more real Christians that serbs (sic) have, we have more tolerance that serbs (sic) have. We are proud to be Albanian, and we can not let are (sic) more **** emitted in internet, without saying to you, Fu*k you, your family and all your paying contributors.”
“I read your analysis ‘Albanian Terror and the Fort Dix Six’ and have to tell you that I am impressed by your knowledge of the Balkan situation. Your knowledge and arguments are a great surprise for me, since I have been following what others have been writing about the area for years now. The lack of knowledge and twisting of facts in many of the commentaries I read brought me, at times, to the point of desperation.”
“He does not know or pretends not to know the long drawn-out struggle of the Albanians in Kosova against their suppressors, the Serbs who seized Albanian land when they came to the Balkans in the 6th-7th centuries, destroyed the Albanian Catholic churches and other religious sites and on their foundations built their own Orthodox churches and monasteries, turning Kosova into ‘their cradle of Serb civilization’ . . . The author has the audacity to accuse the Clinton administration of ‘turning a blind eye to the activities’ of the Kosova Liberation Army (KLA) ‘designed to lure the Serbian government into armed conflict, thereby forcing the West to jump in under the pretext of preventing the slaughter of Muslims by Serbian Christians.’ With this statement, the author questions the real mission of the West headed by the United States, which was to save the Albanian civilians from the atrocities of the Serbian army . . . By supporting Miloshevic’s Serbia, he also becomes a champion of Panslavism, which has been used to justify and motivate the suppression of the Albanians in the Balkans . . . With his accusations against Albanians in general, the author of the article joins the anti-Albanian chorus of the most rabid anti-Americans in Europe, who are the Serbs, the Greeks and the Russians.”
“Thank you for your excellent article. It is time that we recognize that the Serbs are Christian just like you and I. The trio that led the attack in 1998 against the Serbs (our alley in both World Wars) were Albright, Cohen and Sandy Berger--none of whom are Christian.”
“I see in that region, an ethnic group such as Albanians, out of whom more than 90% supports U.S.A. and not just because of the war in Kosovo . . . I see in that region, a group of people trying so hard to survive and make it to the path of a civilized society . . .
I see in that region a group of people with a lot of religious differences, whom still tried at various parts of history to live in peace, and will always . . . I see in that region a group of people who see a brighter future ahead . . . It is the time Europe plays a role on that.”
“Of course, the US media is apologetic about this pointing out that these simply some odd and misguided group. One report had interviews with their Albanian family and friends explaining how grateful and pro-America they are in order to soften the image of Kosovo Albanians.”
“As you know in Kosovo where I come from there are three different religions and they are all getting along with each other. To tell you the truth Albanians are one of the most non believers in religions. Most of us say that Albanian religon is Albanism . . . I love this country so do my people. We stand by USA in good and worst day. Please do not let people think that Albanians are terrorists.”
John David Powell
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