Posted on 02/25/2008 12:29:23 PM PST by kingattax
Readers with exceptionally tenacious memories will recall that this pundit was opposed to the NATO intervention in Kosovo nine years ago. This may come as a surprise to readers without tenacious memories, since it is widely believed that I never saw a war I didn't like. Yet, believe it or not, I was opposed not only to the wanton bombing of Serbia, but also to the whole "inevitable" project of carving a new European Muslim state out of the flesh of that Orthodox Christian country.
I was not without sympathy for the "plight of the Kosovars," however. Like virtually all journalists at that time, not of Serbian ethnicity, I fell for a great deal of typically Balkan propagandist rubbish that has since been quietly withdrawn.
My rule of thumb, on wars, is to fight them with your enemies, when absolutely necessary; but never with your friends, and in particular, never in order to create new enemies. True, as we all know from personal experience, sometimes your friends are more irritating than your enemies, and the temptation to bomb them is always there. It is a temptation that must be resisted, however.
This temptation was surely in play with the Serbians, under the late Slobodan Milosevic, who seemed determined to inspire loathing and distrust, and suspicion that he was doing in Kosovo precisely what his nationalist allies had done in Bosnia: "ethnic cleansing," also known as the massacre of innocents. Although not nearly as monstrous as, say, Saddam Hussein, nor anything like Saddam's threat to the West, Milosevic missed as many opportunities to come clean with his diplomatic interrogators. The Serbs, who allowed this vicious old Communist, turned nationalist demagogue, to remain in power, showed very poor judgment.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
Can someone say “Aztlan”?...........
What war?
I was and am. F___ em, anybody in Serbia or Russia needs my permission to exterminate those savages, they got it.
Democracy’s a bitch, eh?
It’s sad that the Russians are right on this issue and we aren’t. The Russians for God’s sakes. We are handing them the moral high ground on a silver platter to beat us over the head with.
You are right...we are handing the moral high ground to Russia regarding Kosovo
Which will make it harder for us to deal w Iran....
to say that kosovo is europe’s safe house for islamoterrorists is the whole point why recognizing kosovo’s “independence” is extremely bad policy.
Hmmm, this could get interesting.
Or Montana?
Democracy, freedom, independence are great, provided you do it on your own property; problem is, Kosovo has belonged to Serbia since the early middle ages. What we are observing here is a case of land theft.
OK, so why should Quebec get to be a state?
How about Scotland?
Maybe Brittany?
Then there’s Hawaii, which with the Akaka bill is heading the same way. And Alaska, which also sometimes thinks of joining OPEC.
Any and all of these independence movements would have State Dept. support if they were muslim and had Saudi backing. . .
Same bs different packaging.
I demand the evil United States of America withdraw from the illegally-occupied Louisiana Territory, home of the indigenous French Cajun peoples who have lived there for zillions and jillions and billions and trillions of years, practicing a form of idyllic socialism which Karl Marx could only dream of.
And don't think just the measly little "State of Louisiana" will do. I demand that the entire original Louisiana Territory, to be known from henceforth as Restored Socialist Louisiana, be recognized and evacuated by foreign devil Anglo-American troops at once!
Globalism for you, nationalism for us!
[/sarcasm]
PS: I'm not Cajun. This is just a sarcastic analogy.
The only real concern about Kosovo would arise if they revealed they really aren't separatists, but have as their goal a merger with Albania. I doubt that will happen, though.
That has been one of my problems with this from the start. Law of unintended consequences. How are we going to feel when the “world community” decides by fiat that our Southwest is an independent country. My other reservation is that I cannot see the long-term benefit of setting up a Muslim state in Central Europe, from which they can launch their jihad efforts in comfort and convenience.
I am not a fan of Russia, but they are right in this case. I am not a fan of the “Bearded Christians”, but they too are right on this one.
The reason for our actions is that we’ve set up a huge military base in Kosovo and we’re not interested in giving it back. Kosovo is not a muslim base in Europe, it is an American base in Europe, for us to attack muslims in the middle east from.
The perpetuation of any jurisdiction is ultimately achieved by might. Secede, and expect to have to out-muscle your prior ruler. Whatever the reason to leave, that reason must outweigh the suffering required to achieve it.
Ms. Spears should, however, be given soveriegn independence on general principle of insufferability.
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