Intelligence war in the Balkans; what is the role of Pristina?

The intelligence war in the Balkans is in full swing, especially after the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, and Pristina recently announced the formation of the Defense-Intelligence-Security Agency.

Ljuban Karan, a retired lieutenant colonel of the Counterintelligence Service points out for Kosovo Online that the establishment of the Defense-Intelligence-Security Agency by Pristina is a political move to legalize something that was once illegal.

"The intelligence service existed even at the time of the KLA when it was led by Kadri Veseli. He was one of the leaders of the secret intelligence service that committed many crimes. The characteristics of that service are not insignificant and due to its focus exclusively on the Serbs and Serbia, it can have some success. Secondly, that service relies on criminal clans and the Albanian mafia in the Balkans, but also in the world. We should not forget that they were created by the big intelligence services, primarily the BND and the CIA, but the main mentor is undoubtedly the Albanian Intelligence Service. Despite some of their expectations they failed to win over a large number of the Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, but one of their major successes was the discrediting of Dick Marty, i.e. the fact that they managed to deceive the Swiss services that his life was threatened, allegedly by the Serbian Security Services, which has nothing to do with the truth," Karan says and adds that the newly formed “AMIS” will certainly exchange information with foreign services that support its establishment.

Security expert Drizan Shala believes that the formation of “AMIS” represents a step forward in improving security.

"It can be said that the formation of “AMIS” (Defense-Intelligence-Security Agency) within the KSF is a step forward in fulfilling and completing the security architecture of the country on the one hand, but also on the other hand a step forward in improving security in the area of defense for the military component of Kosovo. We can say that “AMIS” should be in line with the main pillar of the country's intelligence service, which is the KIA, which has created a highly professional structure in the area of guaranteeing the country's national security," Shala tells Kosovo Online.

Darko Obradovic, program director of the Center for Strategic Analysis for Kosovo Online, says that the Kosovo side is trying to institutionalize its subversive and offensive activities against Serbia.

"In this way, they want to legalize their secret activities and present them as an intelligence-security operation by the state, not some semi-mafia organization. It is a notorious fact that such a system would try to develop a network from the Serbian side behind the terrestrial security zone in terms of intelligence attacks on our military installations, sabotage in the economy, but also the organization of subversive activities in order to undermine the determinants of Serbia's power," Obradovic says and continues.

"First of all, it is a dedicated industry that is rapidly developing, an organization of sleepers and saboteurs, and the exercise of institutional pressure on the citizens of Serbia living in Kosovo. This shows a new dynamic that creates the preconditions for attacking the Serbs, according to a well-known pattern, as legitimate actions of state authorities. Whether the Kosovo security system is formally established or not, in terms of protecting national security, our security system in a qualitative sense works to stabilize the security challenges, risks, and threats posed by Kosovo's self-proclaimed independence," Obradovic says.