The actual arrest seemed too easy, almost orchestrated. I find it hard to believe that the Serbian intel/military services just never knew where he was the last 10+ years...haven’t there been numerous public sightings of both he and Mladic since 1999? I think they probably knew where he was many of those 10+ years, along with other foreign intel services. Plenty has been written about the search and high-risk tracking of the PIFWCs, particularly Mladic and Karadzic. But so much of the handling of these operations became dependent on politics and I think that both he and Mladic were just deemed too hot to handle/too high risk to go after seriously until now (i.e. reference past US/NATO efforts for arresting PIFWCs). There was probably so much more going on in the background than what any of the current news articles are saying, but it seems that the climate over there may be changing for the better.
On that we agree.
I find it hard to believe that the Serbian intel/military services just never knew where he was the last 10+ years...haven’t there been numerous public sightings of both he and Mladic since 1999?
Mladic, yes, within the first few years of the NATO Bombing when average Serbs were too pissed at being bombed for 78 straight days to want to see him caught. But not, Karadzic, at least not obviously.
Apparently, you didn't see the recent Richard Gere film, selling the story that "Karadzic was being protected by a ruthless mafia in Bosnia and anyone who got near would be killed". That's the same story that has been running in the MSM for years.
But so much of the handling of these operations became dependent on politics and I think that both he and Mladic were just deemed too hot to handle/too high risk to go after seriously until now.
Right again. After the elections in Serbia a few months ago, there was power vacuum for a little while, when various parties were jockeying for alliances and power. So the US ambassador stepped in and started making deals with "how we would like to see things to turn out in Serbia". We rehabilitated Milosevic's Socialists to back our favorite "democrat" (really a socialist, too), Boris Tadic. That deal was made only a few weeks ago. It was at that point when I believe we decided to let Serbia know where Karadzic was -- to make the "nationalist" (which is what most Freepers would be considered if we lived over there) politicians who came before look like they were "hiding Karadzic" or "weren't really looking", in order to discredit them.
We have been playing a very ugly game in the Balkans. And every country who has tried this in the past has sooner or later had their butt kicked -- Austro-Hungary, Nazi Germany -- the most powerful countries of their time, too. America is my country, not Serbia. But the game that we have been playing there is wrong and dangerous. I fear that if we didn't get that message on 9/11, we never will.