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Another Great Clinton Foreign Policy Success
The American Spectator ^ | December 15, 2010 | Doug Bandow

Posted on 12/16/2010 6:49:39 PM PST by Ravnagora

It was never easy to understand why the Clinton administration intervened in Kosovo. The U.S. had not made a habit of deciding which European state was obligated to grant independence to which disaffected minority. For instance, Spain told Basques to stuff it without much comment from Washington. And the U.S. never worried about its allies using brutality against guerrillas--the Turkish campaign against the Kurds destroyed thousands of villages and killed tens of thousands of people, while the U.S. provided Ankara with arms.

However, the prospect of getting involved in a conflict with no conceivable relationship to U.S. interests drew the Clinton administration into the Balkans. So Washington joined with a majority of European states in a policy that could be defined as "the Serbs always lose": Everyone got to secede from Yugoslavia/Serbia, but Serbs could never secede from anyone else, whether Bosnia, Croatia, or Kosovo, irrespective of the principle of ethnic self-determination and threat of human rights violations.

Thus, the U.S. joined with a majority of European states to bomb Serbia for 78 days to force it to relinquish its control over Kosovo. Then the allies presided over mass ethnic-cleansing by the ethnic Albanian majority. Finally, the U.S. and European Union promoted faux negotiations with the understanding that the outcome was already set: independence for Kosovo. And the northern majority Serb areas of Kosovo were supposed to supinely accept their status rather than seek to remain with Serbia. When Belgrade refused to go along, the allies backed Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence. But Russia has blocked Kosovo's entry into the UN and the majority of states do not recognize the new nation.

*****

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: clinton; kosovo; serbs; thaci

1 posted on 12/16/2010 6:49:49 PM PST by Ravnagora
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To: Ravnagora

It was never easy to understand why the Clinton administration intervened in Kosovo...

Caspian Oil


2 posted on 12/16/2010 6:55:00 PM PST by ez ("Abashed the devil stood and felt how awful goodness is." - Milton, Paradise Lost)
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To: Ravnagora

It was the NPR approved war at the time. The PR from the left on humanitarian grounds was relentless.


3 posted on 12/16/2010 6:56:02 PM PST by lawnguy (The function of wisdom is to discriminate between good and evil-Cicero)
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To: lawnguy

It’s a terrible thing to say, and forgive me, but every time now I hear “humanitarian”, I’m instantly suspicious. That “reason” and justification for “intervention” is now a permanent red flag when it comes to politics and foreign policy.

And that’s a crime. The Liberal Left has bastardized helping the helpless.

*****


4 posted on 12/16/2010 7:00:31 PM PST by Ravnagora
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To: Ravnagora

Bubba couldn’t even pronounce Kosovo.

“Kuh sa vuh”


5 posted on 12/16/2010 7:06:22 PM PST by Mobties (Let the markets work! Reduce the government footprint!)
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To: ez
“It was never easy to understand why the Clinton administration intervened in Kosovo...”

To give the Muslims victory!!!!

Hillary hates Christians and loves Muslims!

6 posted on 12/16/2010 7:06:40 PM PST by dalereed
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To: dalereed

No, no, I thought it was for reasons of wagging the dog. Remember that? Or was it the missle strikes on the milk factory? Have I forgotten? One or the other was to gag the interest in Monica/Bill, in favor of a macho war. Also, at the time, it was Hillary who was said to want to bomb around in Bosnia, eager to engage a war experience.


7 posted on 12/16/2010 7:18:54 PM PST by RitaOK
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To: RitaOK

“gag the interest” - nice one!


8 posted on 12/16/2010 7:24:57 PM PST by Thanks RR Rest Well ("Those who rob Peter to pay Paul can always count on getting Paul's vote")
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To: Ravnagora

Had to wag the dog somewhere ...


9 posted on 12/16/2010 7:25:46 PM PST by NonValueAdded (Palin 2012: don't retreat, just reload)
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To: RitaOK

The bombing of Bosnia was directed against the Serbs!


10 posted on 12/16/2010 7:29:54 PM PST by dalereed
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To: Ravnagora
Ethnic Albanians versus Serbs.

That's all anyone ever heard.

What no one ever heard was Ethnic Albanian Muslims and Serbian Christians.

And the mass graves were lies - until the Clinton-back Ethnic Albanian Muslims finished slaughtering the Serbian Christians.

THEN there were mass graves.

11 posted on 12/16/2010 7:39:15 PM PST by Talisker (When you find a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be damn sure it didn't get there on its own.)
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To: lawnguy

More like SA approved it. Abscam had come and gone and the Arabs weren’t going to get suckered a second time.

Today, when they buy a politician they stay bought. Clinton also had an Indonesian connection pushing an Islamic solution in Bosnia. So between the House of Saud and Clintons Far East money men he was literally between a dollar and a greenback.

And the Clinton’s were the original ‘show me the money’ political couple.


12 posted on 12/16/2010 7:42:22 PM PST by 1010RD (First Do No Harm)
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