It, therefore, remains unclear who pulled
whose strings. The KLA was seen to be more adept at spin doctoring
than hubris-infested NATO. It started the war as an outcast and
ended it as an ally of NATO on the ground and the real government of
a future Kosovo. It capitalized ingeniously on Rugova's mysterious
disappearance and then on his, even less comprehensible, refusal to
visit the refugee camps and to return to liberated Kosovo. It
interfaced marvellously with both youthful prime ministers -
Albania's Pandeli Majko and Macedonia's Ljubco Georgievski. This
new-found camaraderie ended in a summit with the latter, organized
by Arben Xhaferi (Dzaferi), an influential Albanian coalition
partner in Macedonia (and, many say, Thaci's business partner in
Kosovo). Georgievski, who did more for Macedonia's regional
integration and amicable relationships with its neighbours than all
the previous governments of Macedonia combined - did not hesitate to
shake the hand of the political leader of an organization still
decried by his own Interior Ministry as "terrorist".
It was a gamble - bold and, in hindsight, farsighted - but still, a
gamble. Rugova himself was not accorded such an honour when he
finally passed through Macedonia, on his way to his demolished
homeland.
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