Posted on 11/28/2005 9:21:41 AM PST by kronos77
Politics is a dirty business.
That, my friend, is blowback. If Milosevic and the Serbian Communists hadn't adopted extreme nationalist measures in Kosovo, such as limiting Albanian-language schools and journals, then the KLA would have been a few kooks meeting in a bar somewhere, and there never would have been any insurgency. Then, when there was an insurgency, the Serbians tried to remove the civilian population of Kosovo and expel them to Albania, instead of handling the problem of the KLA by winning civilian support, which is essential in any insurgency or counter-insurgency tactics. This mass expulsion was against the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.
No kiddin'. It's hard to get decent slivovitz here.
This does not mean the Kosovars are saints. A good friend of mine served in the region and noted that Serbs, Bosnians, Kosovars, and Macedonians are touchy and bound to a system of honor system that guarantees blood feuds. However, the Serbs crossed the line and got smacked. If they had only shot Milosevic earlier, then the Serbs would have had only the usual nonsense to complain about.
More French Anti-American BS from a state media outlet?
1. The war is over, isn't it?
2. Just like Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Japan...... we have no problem with the people of Serbia, there were issues with their leadership.
3. The primary suppler of ammunition to the US DoD is Remington now? Gee- I wonder if someone here could check that up because it sounds like "Bullshit" to me. The way the article is written it makes it sound or tries to make it appear as if the US military is procuring arms from Serbia (Who we in our hegemonic imperialist oil rage driven quest bombed needlessly- obviously). Or at least they intentionally leave out the minor detail that this ammo will probably not be calibers like 223 and 308. On the other hand, what difference would it make if it were?
Let’s have a historical summer- France, the nation which opposed NATO intervention against Serbia and had long lasting historical ties with them, sided with Serbia politically until it was forced to tow the line with the rest on Europe/NATO now wants to spew their anti-US venom because we bombed Serbia? What a surprise! No hidden agenda right? Who exactly is behind “Agence France-Presse”?
Red6
Oh don't try that game-
Why don’t you link us to a fake NATO look a like web site that is Serb run and shows us all the horrors of the war and why it’s wrong what we did? Yea, we know about the IO campaigns.
While there is a global Islamic threat and there is Islamic influence in the Balkans, (Yes we know that whacko’s from the Middle East came there to fight!) the intent of Serbia was hardly genuine self defense. Operating pseudo concentration camps NAZI style, and sending hundreds of thousands of Bosnian refugees all over Europe (Germany alone took on 250,000) is no way to do business. The bulk of YU military leadership and firepower after breakup was Serb, as was the police and intelligence, right?
While no one is holly in that mess, it was the Serbs who had the guns and were calling the shots (literally). They were the belligerent. They were the ones taking ownership of land and property, they were the ones opposing a peaceful resolution (They had nothing to gain from peace). While from a cultural stand point we might even be more aligned with the Serbs, it was they who were opposing an end to the massive and growing Balkan crisis.
The rest is all polemics (he said-she said, he started it-no you started it).
But we already know your response- Abu Gharib, see see, we’re no different and Serbia is right!
EVERYONE has the basic right to self-defense. It's instinctual unless you're an American liberal. What was happening in the Balkans had to stop! What we have today is old hate, rumors of injustices, and is small and petty compared to what was going on in the late 90s. The US has largely withdrawn, and I believe even the other NATO forces have been reduced. The threat is NOT was it was. There IS normalcy in the streets.
Or? Do you disagree?
Red6
Yes we know that whacko’s from the Middle East came there to fight!
The former YU was more than just Serb, although the Serbs don't see it that way; probably one of the reasons why Josip Broz’s dream (A Croat) fell apart.
Surly the Germans helped accelerate the decay of YU by recognizing Croatia (Their former buddies, like Serbia is Frances/Russia’s old buddy) as a sovereign state, while on most political world maps YU was still seen as a cohesive country. But the inevitable shattering of this nation was not set in motion by them nor did they really contribute to it significantly. They were just opportunistic as the Russians who were under the table helping the Serbs.
Most of YU’s military leadership was Serb, most the planes, tanks, ADA. Although other ethnic groups belonged to YU, it was the Serbs who had all the guns and were calling the shots. They were the ones who were the belligerent, who benefited from the war (until NATO made them stop) who saw no advantage in stopping this campaign and resisted all efforts to bring about a peaceful solution.
In the US military we have people from all states. It’s not as if Texas owns the military. In YU the latter is exactly what you had. One group controlled the means of force and when they saw it to their advantage, began to beat on other ethnic groups under the “pretence” that it’s for self defense or whatever other reasons. So as people were claiming other peoples homes, taking land and property it was all for "self defense".
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=sanchez+general (We have Mexican Generals)
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=collin+powell+general (we have Black generals)
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=shalikashvili+general&spell=1 (We have Baltic generals)
You have no point. The US military is not owned by any state, race, religion or national origin. It’s not like YU where the military, Police and intel community was Serb controlled overwhelmingly. We even have "Serbs" in our military.
While we share as people more in common with the Serbs than the others, it was a case where Serbia was doing things that was destabilizing the whole region (even spreading into other places) and outsiders were becoming increasingly involved (Russian arms deliveries via river route, Muslims fighters etc). The implications of this war resulted in huge amounts of displaced people who lost everything and needed refuge in other European countries. Even in these countries the tension of migrant workers who had come from former YU was rising and causing concern. That is when Germany developed a sense of "morality" and began beating on NATO's door and asking for intervention.
Red6
Everyone here is wrong about the origin of the Yugo mess. It all started when the British punk band, The Anti-NoWhere League toured the countries drawing people to large open air concerts in the 80's. It went downhill from then on. Get the CD "Live in Yugoslavia". You will hear what I mean! They caused a "few" riots wherever they played.
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