The Brooklyn Connection

[Maphusio]

Recently PBS put out yet another addition to their P.O.V. series called the Brooklyn Connection. This documentary described in vivid detail about the terrorists or freedom fighters in the former country of Yugoslavia. I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning a few days back to watch this.

"How does a gun purchased legally in the US end up in action in a guerilla war in Kosovo?

Florin Krasniqi's story depicts how the Kosovo Liberation Army waged war against Serb forces in the late 1990s using powerful weapons that were manufactured and bought legally in the United States. "The Brooklyn Connection" is a powerful reminder of the relationship between disparate worlds: a Brooklyn backyard barbeque and a Kosovo border village."

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/thebrooklynconnection/

Did anyone else see this? I personally thought this to be a very powerful and informative bit of film. Many who I have talked to on the web say what a horrible thing it is. That one can purchase weapons casually then ship them off to a war zone. Maybe I'm just crazy but if the UN will not do anything about the situation perhapse it is up to the people both here and there that care.

 

[Colt]

Pff. The Barrett is just a damn giant rifle, that's it. That site makes it sound like we're shipping nuclear weapons or at the very least, rocket launchers, over there. It claims the bullet that it fires is six inches long... The entire cartridge isn't even five!

Also, why would these people be getting anti-material rifles from the US? The price would be insanely high compared to perfectly good ones they could get much, much more locally. Ones that are even more powerful than the Barrett .50 rifle. Hell, the Yugoslavians even manufacture their own rifle of this type: M93 Black Arrow. You'll note that it's exported widely and even to the USA.

I didn't poke around the site much after that but I did notice they were using a little icon of what's essentially a sporting rifle based on the Kalashnikov that can only accept 10 round magazines and no automatic fire. Why would these guys be getting those of all things from here when you can get rifles with full capabilities there for cheaper? I might have to see this "documentary". - Colt

 

[Maphusio]

I think the guy the film follows moved from Kosovo to the USA. So he makes mad cash here and finds it easier to stroll into the army surplus depot in NY. Trust me that place is huge. Though I am quite aware the Yugoslavians have made a variety of formidable weapons over the years. I think it may be considerably easier to export weapons and supplies from the US rather than dig through the enemy’s back yard... In liberation army's case, the back yard is all around them.

An awesome quote at the end of the program:

“In 2004 an effort to reduce the violence in Albania NATO launched a campaign to disarm Albania by taking 20,000 weapons from the population... Only 165 were found and destroyed.”

*ponders* I wonder why NATO is insitant on taking the Serbs side?