This is a very interesting article on our friend Lindsay Moran. I have not read the book and I am not surprised that Lindsay has some nice things to say about Albanians in Macedonia. This book was written before the US dumped the name FYROM in favour of just plain old Macedonia. It represented a mindset among US policy makers to take steps to prove to the "Muslim World" that the US is not anti-Muslim. Macedonia was unfortunately the recipient of this backhanded policy, as was Russia (over Chechnya).
I suspect, but am not sure, that the hard nosed conservatives who run the US foreign policy concluded that the Muslim world in general, and the Arab world in particular, don't give a camel's turd for the Albanians. The anti-Macedonian policy would destabilise the country and this would not look good because, lets face it, Clinton does the Balkans not George Bush.
I suspect, but am not sure, that the current CIA person in Macedonia is much more even handed that in the past.
Reality Macedonia : The Spying Game
The Spying Game
By Jason Miko
Earlier this year, a book written by a former CIA agent in Macedonia hit the bookshelves and amazon.com making waves in both the United States and Macedonia. “Blowing My Cover, My Life as a CIA Spy* (*And Other Misadventures),” is the title of the book written by one Lindsay Moran, a former “diplomat” and spy in the US Embassy in Skopje. She served there for roughly three years, from the middle of 2000 through the middle of 2003
Lindsay calls Skopje “unspectacular” and “…a hot, dusty and altogether discouraging place.” I can only assume this is because she was too busy playing James Bond to bother to see the city. Later, she makes the bold, sweeping statement that “Macedonians always appeared to be angry.” I can only assume that is because she never took time out to get to really, truly know any Macedonians as real friends and another statement of hers – “…I visited less and less frequently with the scant few Macedonian friends I had” – bears that out.
Her most sweeping invective, however, is reserved for the Macedonian army and police. Telling a story about a group of soldiers she ran into one day on Mt. Vodno during the 2001 crisis, she wrote, “To me, they looked like the riffraff of which the Macedonian Army was generally composed.” She later calls them the “Hapless Macedonian police or military…” and she calls the Lions “…a rouge police force composed of Macedonian ultranationalists…” and then goes on to outline the Tigers, Wolves, and Scorpions, making the confusing statement that “All these childish animal kingdom names seemed only to highlight the amateurism of the country’s entire security apparatus” failing to note that many other countries’ armed units carry the same or similar names.
Her greatest ire, however, is reserved for Ljube Boshkovski who she labels as “the whack-job interior minister” and “an erratic nutcase,” without failing to similarly crucify, let alone mention, Ali Ahmeti. It seems her hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Finally, however, she shows us her true sympathies simply stating “Instinctually, I empathized with the Albanian rebels.” Note that it is not only the Albanians she empathizes with, but the NLA itself. She also manages to get a few slurs in at the Macedonians when she states “While the Macedonians took every opportunity to rant against Americans, the Albanians were constantly blowing sunshine up our asses; it was natural to side with them over the Slavs.” So, I guess you are Slavs indeed.
Finally, she claims that, after the events of 9/11, Macedonians were greatly pleased that the United States had been attacked simply stating “Among Macedonians, there lingered the inevitable impulse to gloat.” I remember the third call I received that day offering condolences to me… it was from President Boris Trajkovski. I never met a Macedonian – or anybody – who gloated over the events of that day. But perhaps she was visiting some Saudi-funded mosque and was confused.
I suspect, but am not sure, that the hard nosed conservatives who run the US foreign policy concluded that the Muslim world in general, and the Arab world in particular, don't give a camel's turd for the Albanians. The anti-Macedonian policy would destabilise the country and this would not look good because, lets face it, Clinton does the Balkans not George Bush.
I suspect, but am not sure, that the current CIA person in Macedonia is much more even handed that in the past.
Reality Macedonia : The Spying Game
The Spying Game
By Jason Miko
Earlier this year, a book written by a former CIA agent in Macedonia hit the bookshelves and amazon.com making waves in both the United States and Macedonia. “Blowing My Cover, My Life as a CIA Spy* (*And Other Misadventures),” is the title of the book written by one Lindsay Moran, a former “diplomat” and spy in the US Embassy in Skopje. She served there for roughly three years, from the middle of 2000 through the middle of 2003
Lindsay calls Skopje “unspectacular” and “…a hot, dusty and altogether discouraging place.” I can only assume this is because she was too busy playing James Bond to bother to see the city. Later, she makes the bold, sweeping statement that “Macedonians always appeared to be angry.” I can only assume that is because she never took time out to get to really, truly know any Macedonians as real friends and another statement of hers – “…I visited less and less frequently with the scant few Macedonian friends I had” – bears that out.
Her most sweeping invective, however, is reserved for the Macedonian army and police. Telling a story about a group of soldiers she ran into one day on Mt. Vodno during the 2001 crisis, she wrote, “To me, they looked like the riffraff of which the Macedonian Army was generally composed.” She later calls them the “Hapless Macedonian police or military…” and she calls the Lions “…a rouge police force composed of Macedonian ultranationalists…” and then goes on to outline the Tigers, Wolves, and Scorpions, making the confusing statement that “All these childish animal kingdom names seemed only to highlight the amateurism of the country’s entire security apparatus” failing to note that many other countries’ armed units carry the same or similar names.
Her greatest ire, however, is reserved for Ljube Boshkovski who she labels as “the whack-job interior minister” and “an erratic nutcase,” without failing to similarly crucify, let alone mention, Ali Ahmeti. It seems her hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Finally, however, she shows us her true sympathies simply stating “Instinctually, I empathized with the Albanian rebels.” Note that it is not only the Albanians she empathizes with, but the NLA itself. She also manages to get a few slurs in at the Macedonians when she states “While the Macedonians took every opportunity to rant against Americans, the Albanians were constantly blowing sunshine up our asses; it was natural to side with them over the Slavs.” So, I guess you are Slavs indeed.
Finally, she claims that, after the events of 9/11, Macedonians were greatly pleased that the United States had been attacked simply stating “Among Macedonians, there lingered the inevitable impulse to gloat.” I remember the third call I received that day offering condolences to me… it was from President Boris Trajkovski. I never met a Macedonian – or anybody – who gloated over the events of that day. But perhaps she was visiting some Saudi-funded mosque and was confused.
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