Croatian report links ex-CIA chief to Gotovina

Croatian report links ex-CIA chief to Gotovina
Agence France Presse (English) - January 11, 2006 Wednesday 11:32 AM GMT

ZAGREB, Jan 11 2006 - Former CIA director George Tenet helped to plan the military operation that ended the 1991-1995 Serbo-Croatian war along with Croatian ex-general Ante Gotovina, who is on trial for war crimes, a report here said Wednesday.

"In July 1995, at the military base of Sepurine, close to Zadar (in southern Croatia), Ante Gotovina prepared the 'Summer 95' and 'Storm' operations with the former chief of the CIA, George Tenet," said the independent weekly Globus, quoting sources in Govotina's legal defence team.

Tenet, who at the time was the assistant director of the US Central Intelligence Agency, had gone to Croatia on July 20, 1995, according to the same source.

At Sepurine base, he met with then Croatian defence minister Gojko Susak, former secret service chief Miroslav Tudjman and Gotovina, who was the commander charged with carrying out Storm. [Passage Omitted]

The offensive resulted in the death of hundreds of Serb civilians and led to the exodus of about 200,000 ethnic Serbs from Croatia, according to the UN war crimes tribunal based in The Hague, Netherlands.

In 2001, the UN court accused Gotovina of war crimes. He remained at large until his capture by Spanish police on the island of Tenerife in December before being transferred to The Hague, where he pleaded not guilty.