[starys]

Serbian Foreign Minister said yesterday that Germany has blocked strong worded statement from UN Security Council blaming Albanians for break of violence. He went further claiming that Germany supports Kosovo secession from Serbia, and works on it behind the scene. Any clue why?

[wonders]

Well, not being privy to what was said, I just don't know. If he actually blocked the strongly-worded statement, perhaps it was because Germany so strongly supported the 1999 bombing campaign and because of Germany's Muslim minority?

The independence issue is another matter. Holbrooke is braying for independence as well. What do Fischer and Holbrooke have in common? Many lies concerning Kosovo were told by the US and by German governments in 1999. But I really don't think that's all there is to it.

I read the German press some, but I'm really not all that up on German politics. Maybe you can help out longjack?

[jpsb]

"Any clue why?"

The Serbs have been a pain the German butt's for a long long time. It was a Serb that started WW1 by assassinating a German (I consider Austria and Germany, German) Duke. The cause of the bad blood is German attempts a dominating the Slavic peoples. Hitlers murdering a million Serbs (with Albanian help) in WW2 didn't help things.

[kosta50]

Any clue why?

Old German friendships, like Croatian nationalists, Slovene servitude, and so on. The WWII buddies -- the Nazi Veteran's Club is kept alive. The Germans never forgave the Serbs for spoiling their dreams in the 20th century.

History is very much alive and present in most of the world. Dismissing history and part of the present is what causes Americans to "misanalyze" these situations consistently. The old Latin saying says Historia est mater studiorum (history is a mother of learning). We are a product of our past experiences, individually and collectively.