Posted on 02/25/2008 9:19:41 AM PST by dschapin
...
Zoran Vujovic, a lanky, outgoing, sports-crazy college student, was the only person to die in the attack on the embassy. His death was a family tragedy. But the history of violence that has engulfed families such as the Vujovics also helps explain the burst of anti-American anger now sweeping Serbia.
This latest spasm to wrack the Balkans began with Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia on Feb. 17. The U.S. and much of Europe quickly supported the Kosovars, enraging many Serbs. But their anti-Western grievances have deeper roots.
Zoran and his family were part of the Serb minority in Kosovo, a province dominated by Albanian Muslims tucked between Serbia proper and Macedonia. They fled their home in the Kosovar capital of Pristina in August 1999, after Zoran's 82-year old great-grandmother, Ljubica, was found strangled in her bathtub. Serbian troops and police had just been driven from the province by the U.S.-led aerial bombing campaign of that year, designed to halt dictator Slobodan Milosevic's brutal attempt to drive out the province's ethnic Albanian majority.
Revenge was swift for Serbs left behind, including Zoran's family. "A British captain investigated, but no one was ever prosecuted" for the murder of Ljubica, says Zoran's uncle, Dragisa. Two years later, Zoran's grandfather, who had found Ljubica's body, committed suicide by throwing himself under a train, according to family friends who still live in Kosovo.
The memories are still raw, and the Vujovics see themselves as victims of Washington and Brussels. "The family is angered by the mention of just the word 'America,'" says Dragisa.
...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Does it explaine why the serbians decided to kill the young man?
My girlfriend is a Serb. Fortunately she’s lived in America for long enough to understand that we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t in most situations.
I don’t think there is any evidence that he was intentionally killed. Presumably he went into the embassy starting fires and got himself trapped behind the flames. He may have been drunk at the time which would have made that more likely.
And this type of stuff is why I support Ron Paul’s take on foreign intervention.
WTF business is it of ours meddling in the Balkans ? Can someone really explain to me why we went there, and why we are still there ?
I am not quite willing to go as far as Ron Paul is. However, I would guess that Ron Paul and I would probably be in total agreement when it comes to the Balkins - we simply should not be there. All we are doing is hurting Christian Serbs and infuriating Russia.
I think everyones hands are dirty on this one. But....I don’t believe we should allow muslims to take a country away from the Serbs. We are at great fault on this one.
Let’s dust off and nuke the site from orbit, just to be sure.
My girl sees Kosovo as lost and predicts it will recombine into a much larger islamic nation formed from pieces of several nations in the area.
She also offers it as a lesson that Americans had better pay attention to regaurding our open borders and the influx of non Americans.
No argument here. Absolutely none!
We sure needed the Serbs as allies in our war against the crazy muzzies. I'm afraid it'll be damned difficult for them to ever trust us again.
Nam Vet
I agree we should not be allowing the Muslims to take the country away from the Christians, but we and the UN have stood by while the Muslims have been driving out the Christians (aka “ethnic cleansing”) for a long time now.
This was a major mistake of Clinton’s and Bush should have at least washed his hands of it instead of perpetuating it, but he has sat idly by and allowed the State Department to continue their all-too-typical pro-Muslim approach based on their faulty reasoning that they can somehow win points with the Muslim terrorists by promoting Muslims in situations like this.
Nam Vet
Nam Vet
You have proof? No? So what explains your bias?
ping
My girlfriend didn’t agree with the bombing of her home (who would?) but says that international intervention was needed but it was needed 20 years earlier.
I share his rage, and I served in/around Albania (for the USA).
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