Blago and Milosevic

By Ben-Peter Terpstra

Controversy and Blagojevich are no strangers. Six interesting points from this 1999 article:

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- Blago, the only Serbian-American in Congress, wasn't afraid to share coffee and Marlboro cigarettes with Slobodam Milosevic, the "butcher" for a peace deal.

-Blago, according to newspaper reports, was on the front lines of the Yugoslav conflict, yet Clinton's former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger didn't return his calls.

-Photographs of Blago with Jesse Jackson in Milosevic's prayer circle infuriated Islamists across the world, and Clinton's people.

- In spite of the fact that Milosevic released three American soldiers, Jackson and Blago were "derided as traitors and grandstanders, political mercenaries who flaunted the administration's stern wishes in times of war."

- How controversial was Blago? "Incensed administration officials wouldn't even provide a hot meal for the freelance diplomats after the mission was accomplished."

- Back then, Blago argued that Berger and Secretary of State Madeline Albright were pushing the war agenda. They were, in his view, personalizing the war against Milosevic.

Revealingly, Obama was happy to support and endorse the controversial figure after these events took place. Was he right? Well? In any case, we know one truth about Blago: he's willing to fight the Washington suits.