Posted on 03/03/2006 8:19:18 AM PST by Ezekiel2517
The American Spectator
March 2006
SECTION: The railroading of a former U.S. ally.
LENGTH: 1511 words
HEADLINE: America, The Hague, and Ante Gotovina
BYLINE: Robin Harris
BODY: GREAT POWERS LIKE AMERICA CANNOT AFFORD to be too sentimental about foreign friends whose purpose has been served. But sometimes it pays to keep faith with individuals who collaborate successfully in one's policy goals. This is particularly so when those concerned know the inside story of U.S. covert activity and when their fate sets a precedent that jeopardizes U.S. personnel. Such is the case of the former Croatian General Ante Gotovina, arrested in Tenerife in December for alleged war crimes and now in prison at The Hague. Gotovina's arrest was widely welcomed. Even the Croatian government was delighted, since the failure to apprehend him had served as a reason, or excuse, to delay Croatian membership of the European Union. He had been on the run since 2001, when he was first indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Aptly for a man whose name translates as "Tony Cash," Ante Gotovina had a high price on his head -- $5 million from the U.S. State Department alone. Gotovina was made for the role of international ogre. At different times a French legionary, soldier of fortune in South America, "muscle" in the political underworld of Paris, he was the kind of shady swashbuckler that the world of NGOs, diplomats, and international lawyers loves to hate. Gotovina was also no fool. He had a shrewd idea that he would never gain a fair trial. So he disappeared. Or more precisely he "appeared" wherever it was convenient to locate him. The ICTY chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, claimed that she "knew" he was in Croatia. In September 2005, she also knew that the Vatican "knew" exactly which Croatian monastery he was in. This turned out to be completely wrong. When he was arrested three months later, Gotovina's passports revealed that he had been in Tahiti, Argentina, Chile, China, Russia, the Czech Republic, Mauritania, and Mauritius, but not Croatia. By now, though, Gotovina was notorious. His name was uttered in the same breath as those of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. But unlike the butchers of Sarajevo and Srebrenica, Gotovina is not accused of ordering anyone's murder, let alone genocide. The military operation, "Storm," conducted by Croatia in early August 1995 to recover territory, the so-called Serb Republic of Krajina (SRK), occupied by rebel Serbs supported by Belgrade, was an act not of aggression but of self-defense. The indictment mentions 150 Serb civilians as having died. These deaths were caused by Croat civilians bent on revenge, while Croatian police did nothing to help. That was, indeed, shameful. But it happened after the conclusion of the military campaign, not during it. Responsibility for maintaining order had been formally transferred by the Croatian government from the military to the civil authorities. Gotovina himself was no longer even in the area. He had joined Muslim and Croat forces in the continuing campaign within Bosnia. Despite these facts, which are not contested, Gotovina is now accused by the court of a series of crimes which could result in his lengthy incarceration. The explanation lies in the opening section of the indictment. This describes Operation "Storm" as part of a "joint criminal enterprise, the common purpose of which was the forcible and permanent removal of the Serb population from the Krajina region." The question, though, is: If "Storm" was indeed a "criminal enterprise," were high officials of the United States not also morally, and even criminally, culpable? IN FACT, EVEN TO POSE THE QUESTION exposes the foolishness and injustice of the case. The United States does not participate in or close its eyes to war crimes. Yet the U.S. certainly encouraged, assisted, and monitored "Storm" at every stage. The various accounts of what happened -- official and unofficial -- make that crystal clear. The CIA knew what was happening, because it had provided the intelligence and technical support to make it happen. The Pentagon knew, because approved U.S. military advisers were involved. The White House and the State Department knew, because since the previous year's Washington Agreement it had been U.S. policy to create a Croatian-Bosnian military alliance to roll back Serb territorial gains, so as to make a just peace possible. One should recall the dire position. After four years of aggression, Greater Serbia had come to occupy 70 percent of Bosnia and a third of Croatia. Britain and France had vetoed America's plan to lift the arms embargo against Bosnia and to launch air strikes at Serb forces. The UN "safe areas" in Srebrenica and Zepa had fallen. Thousands of Muslim men and boys were being massacred. Sarajevo was under continuous siege. Above all, another strategically vital "safe area" at Bihac in northwest Bosnia was under attack by Serb forces from Bosnia and from the SRK. The fall of Bihac would not only have created another humanitarian tragedy. It would have put the seal of victory on Serb aggression and prevented a viable Bosnia from surviving. Only in these circumstances was "Storm" finally launched. It was a minor military triumph, a textbook NATO-style operation based on overwhelming fire-power, real time intelligence, efficient logistic support, and the avoidance of civilian casualties. Within 72 hours Krajina was re-occupied. As Croatian and Muslim armies then attacked Serb forces inside Bosnia and U.S.-led NATO air strikes broke Serbia's will to resist, the outlines of a new, imposed peace settlement emerged. Flawed as the Dayton Agreement of that November was, it has since brought peace, reconstruction, and some return of refugees. A less satisfactory result of "Storm" was the mass departure of the Serb population -- probably between 80,000 and 150,000 people -- from the area. The indictment alleges that this was the whole purpose of the operation. But the exodus was ordered by the Serb leadership itself, for its own reasons. The text of the order from Milan Martic, so-called president of the SRK, was published some weeks later in the Belgrade journal Politika. It was endorsed by the SRK military chief, General Mile Mrksic, an appointee of Milosevic. The military evacuation was designed to retrieve heavy armor to be used in Bosnia. But why the civilians? The answer makes complete sense in Balkan terms. It was to advance Belgrade's policies of ethnic cleansing and re-settlement of Serbs in eastern Bosnia and Kosovo, parts of a planned Greater Serbia. Accounts given in evidence before the ICTY show exactly how the Krajina Serbs were funneled down to these areas. Whether the Croatian government was pleased or displeased to see the Serb exodus is unclear. President Franjo Tudjman had ambiguous feelings about the Serbs, as opposed to Muslims, whom he despised. But whatever Tudjman and others felt is irrelevant. The point has been made very clearly by Peter Galbraith, U.S. ambassador to Croatia at the time: "The fact is, the [Serb] population left before the Croatian army got there. You can't deport people who have already left." THE CHARGES AGAINST GOTOVINA are baseless. They are also in the widest sense politically motivated. They were brought primarily because the ICTY needed to prove to Serb opinion that it was not biased against Serbia. This, it was hoped, would make it easier to arrest Karadzic and Mladic, both still at large. But there were other motivations too. It suits many international interests to place aggressors and victims of aggression on an equal footing when rewriting the history of recent Balkan wars. The implication that all sides were equally to blame goes some way towards vindicating the egregious policy failures of the European Union and particularly Britain. Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the British Foreign Office has pursued a policy consistently favorable to Belgrade and hostile to Croatia and Bosnia. Britain has been the main block to Croatia's bid for EU membership. It is now very keen to see Gotovina sentenced. Britain is also a leading proponent of universal international jurisdiction, of which the ICTY was the forbear and the International Criminal Court is the full expression. The main loser from this trial -- apart from Gotovina -- is the United States. Its successful intervention to end the Bosnian war will be effectively criminalized. It will be exposed as an unreliable sponsor of potential surrogates in areas where it wants to exert influence. It will have its intelligence methods and sources embarrassingly revealed. On top of all that, if it is finally established that commanders of legitimate operations which incidentally lead to the exodus of civilian populations can be tried as participants in a criminal enterprise, it is difficult to see how future U.S. interventions can safely be conducted at all. So there is more at stake in The Hague than the rights of Tony Cash. Robin Harris was a member of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Policy Unit. He writes on the Balkans and is the author of Dubrovnik: A History (London: Saqi, 2003).
Paragraphs are our friends.
War criminals are not.
--War criminals are not.--
Couldn't agree more, that's why Milosevic should get life in prison (since there is no death penalty, which he truly deserves).
Those like Gotovina who defeated war criminals like Milosevic deserve gratitude.
Gotovina is a war criminal and he should get the cell next to Milosevic. He should receive no gratitude from civilized men for the killings and mass forced displacements of the Krajina Serb civilians.
And the only way Slobo would have ever seen the gallows would have been to leave him in Serbia.
The only problem with your "logic" is that Gotovina neither killed anyone nor forced the displacement of Krajina Serb civilians. As Mr. Harris ably points out:
"The indictment mentions 150 Serb civilians as having died. These deaths were caused by Croat civilians bent on revenge, while Croatian police did nothing to help. That was, indeed, shameful. But it happened after the conclusion of the military campaign, not during it. . . .The indictment alleges that this was the whole purpose of the operation. But the exodus was ordered by the Serb leadership itself, for its own reasons. The text of the order from Milan Martic, so-called president of the SRK, was published some weeks later in the Belgrade journal Politika. It
was endorsed by the SRK military chief, General Mile Mrksic, an appointee of Milosevic. The military evacuation was designed to retrieve heavy armor to be used in Bosnia. But why the civilians? The answer makes complete sense in Balkan terms. It was to advance Belgrade's policies of ethnic cleansing and re-settlement of Serbs in eastern Bosnia and Kosovo, parts of a planned Greater Serbia. . . .The point has been made very clearly by Peter Galbraith, U.S. ambassador to Croatia at the time: "The fact is, the [Serb] population left before the Croatian army got there. You can't deport people who have already left."
Gotovina should be thanked for putting an end to Milosevic's reign of terror.
I quoted facts, child, and they are not in dispute.
Mr. Harris is a lying turd. Denying the murder of hundreds of Serbs and the criminal displacement of hundreds of thousands of them doesn't change the fact that it happened.
Gotovina's murderous actions didn't harm Milosevic in any way. Only a fool could believe or suggest such a thing.
Lock up the thug and throw away the key! LOL
You quoted nothing, and you apparently cannot read. Mr. Harris did not deny murders, only that Gotovina is responsible for them. And he did not deny "criminal displacement," he only put the blame squarely on the shoulders of those responsible: Mrksic, Martic and Milosevic.
You're inability to debate the facts is very apparent. You can throw labels at Gotovina as much as you wish, but you're inability to back up those lables with any facts only demonstrates that you are arguing from the position of a propagandist.
Sorry, but we've long ago establish that military commanders are responsible for the atrocities committed by those under their command.
The only propagandists here are you and Mr. Harris.
As for Gotovina, prison is a good place for him.
The United States welcomes the news that Ante Gotovina was arrested in the Canary Islands. We congratulate Croatian and Spanish authorities for their efforts that led to his arrest.With the arrest of Mr. Gotovina, Croatia has now taken a major step forward toward addressing the injustices of its recent past. With the success of its considerable efforts to locate and bring Gotovina to justice, Croatia significantly strengthens its candidacy for its eventual full Euro-Atlantic integration.
--Sorry, but we've long ago establish that military commanders are responsible for the atrocities committed by those under their command.--
As I suspected, your database of knowledge on these issues is extremely limited. Read the Blaskic appellate decision, gain some knowledge. Had you read up on the law you would not have made such an ill-informed (and thus revealing) statement.
Between 17 July 1995 and 15 November 1995, Ante GOTOVINA, acting individually and/or in concert with others, including President Franjo Tudjman, planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the crimes charged below in the course of, and after, the "Oluja" offensive. Ante GOTOVINA is individually responsible for the crimes alleged against him in this indictment pursuant to the provisions of Article 7(1) of the Statute of the Tribunal. Individual criminal responsibility includes planning, instigating, ordering, committing or otherwise aiding and abetting in the planning, preparation or execution of any crimes referred to in Articles 2 to 5 of the Statute.
And now you have made the complete circle in your circular argument. Robin Harris correctly cited facts to argue that the indictment of Gotovina is absurd. Rather than defend the indictment with facts, you are left with nothing but to cut and paste from the indictment. Your argument thus is, "The Indictment is not absurd because it says so in the Indictment."
Wow, that's weak.
That the crimes continued for three months afterwards proves the thug Gotovina's complicity.COUNTS 6 AND 7
(DEPORTATION AND FORCED DISPLACEMENT)
30. Between 5 August 1995 and 15 November 1995, Croatian forces committed numerous acts of killing, arson, looting, harassment, terror and threat of physical harm to person and property. By these acts, Croatian forces intimidated and coerced Krajina Serbs into leaving their villages, hamlets and homes. Ante GOTOVINA acting individually and/or in concert with others, including President Franjo Tudjman, planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of the deportation and forced displacement of the Krajina Serb population.
31. These crimes continued on a large scale for at least three months after the area had been secured by the Croatian authorities, and included the unlawful killing of Krajina Serbs who did not flee; the burning and destruction of Serb villages and property including homes, outbuildings, barns and livestock, and the looting of property. The cumulative effect of these acts by Croatian forces led to the large-scale displacement of an estimated 150,000 - 200,000 Krajina Serbs to Bosnia Herzegovina and Serbia.
Your argument thus is "He only abetted in the murder of Serbs and that's OK". Wow, that's evil, weak, and stupid.
Pity you don't have IHOPPY and marky to come to your assist, eh?
Anyone else think that the war criminal Gotovina is no friend of the US?
Nope, Gotovina didn't aid and abet anything. You should put the blame squarely on the shoulders of those responsible: Mrskic, Martic and Milosevic. They ethnically cleansed the Serbs from Croatia.
Again, if all you can do is cut and paste from the indictment, there really is no point in debating you since you obviously know neither the facts or the law.
Because you and Harris say so? WRONG! On with the trial!
Your formatting of the initial article was so inept that I missed this laugh line buried within: "Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the British Foreign Office has pursued a policy consistently favorable to Belgrade and hostile to Croatia and Bosnia." Good God, that would be funny if it weren't such a pathetic lie.
Fine, on with the trial.
But it is you who are defending the indictment, and you who are accusing Gotovina of being a war criminal, and you who are accusing him of abetting war crimes. One would have thought that you would have some facts to back this up. You obviously don't. You place your entire argument in the hands of Carla Del Ponte because you, quite obviously, have no idea whether there is any evidence to back up the indictment.
Robin Harris cited facts. Cited Martic's order for
Fine, on with the trial.
But it is you who are defending the indictment, and you who are accusing Gotovina of being a war criminal, and you who are accusing him of abetting war crimes. One would have thought that you would have some facts to back this up. You obviously don't. You place your entire argument in the hands of Carla Del Ponte because you, quite obviously, have no idea whether there is any evidence to back up the indictment.
Robin Harris cited facts. Cited Martic's order for evacuation. Cited Peter Galbraith's testimony. Cited the fact that crimes were committed after the military operation was over. These are undisputed.
"Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, the British Foreign Office has pursued a policy consistently favorable to Belgrade and hostile to Croatia and Bosnia." Good God, that would be funny if it weren't such a pathetic lie.
Really? Read Brendan Simms, "Unfinest Hour: Britain and the Destruction of Bosnia." It lays out over several hundred pages the secret diplomacy led by the UK between 1991-95 to aid and abet the Serbs and Milosevic. Again, the book cites facts and documents, and has not been refuted by the British Foreign Office itself.
My apologies for letting the facts stand in the way of your otherwise meritorious denial.
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