Posted on 11/20/2001 6:52:51 AM PST by Voronin
THE rapid collapse of the Taliban after weeks of bombing reminds me of Slobodan Milosevic's sudden capitulation in 1999. The military operation in Afghanistan is far from over, but otherwise the parallels are many.
When evil struck America on September 11, all of Kosovo's people were appalled by the tragedy. There were spontaneous demonstrations in the streets, as our heartfelt sympathies went out to one of the nations that stood by us in our hour of need. When we were attacked, it did not matter to America and its Nato allies that many of us were Muslims. All they saw was that we were wronged and they could help.
Now, once again, America, Britain and their coalition partners are taking determined action against international terrorists based in Afghanistan. To describe it as a war against Islam, as Osama bin Laden and his associates have done, is as senseless as describing the Nato air campaign as a war against Orthodox Christianity.
As I listen to reports of American air strikes over Afghanistan, I can remember when Nato aircraft were in action in the skies above Kosovo. We saw them as our saviours, defending us because we were at risk. But some people in Nato countries criticised their governments for intervening. Fortunately for us, they were ignored. For all Kosovo Albanians trapped inside Kosovo, the Nato air strikes held the promise of our future freedom from oppression and danger. We knew that, if the bombing stopped, Milosevic would win and we would all pay a dreadful price.
To a Kosovo Albanian, the criticisms of the military campaign in Afghanistan are strikingly familiar. When Milosevic refused to capitulate after only a few days of bombing, the critics queued up to say the military campaign was flawed and failing. I never thought Milosevic would give up on Kosovo after only a limited bombing campaign. And because of that experience, I have never thought the Afghanistan campaign would be over in a few days. But that does not mean I ever thought the coalition's military strategy was not working. On the contrary, Kosovo shows us that when victory comes, it comes quickly and with little warning. Events over the past week have made that clear again.
Another criticism of the Nato air campaign in Kosovo at the time was that it created, rather than averted, a humanitarian crisis there. People are today saying the same thing about the military campaign in Afghanistan. But in Kosovo, as in Afghanistan, what many people failed to realise was that the humanitarian crisis had begun much earlier. In Kosovo, many thousands of people were displaced by Milosevic's security forces the year before. In Afghanistan, the situation is even more stark: more than 4.5 million Afghans had been forced to flee their homes in the years of conflict before September 11.
In Kosovo, as I believe to be the case in Afghanistan, what many also failed to realise was that military action was the only way to create the conditions for resolving the humanitarian crisis. Following the successful conclusion of the Nato air campaign, nearly all the one million displaced Kosovo Albanians were able to return home and rebuild their lives in relative peace. Without Nato's intervention and determination, hundreds of thousands would still be living in refugee camps all over Europe.
The only real chance that 4.5 million Afghan refugees have of returning to their towns and villages is if America and its allies can see this action through to help create the situation where Afghanistan has a competent and representative government, which wants to live in peace. Only then will the international aid and reconstruction agencies be able to operate freely and help rebuild the country.
Many in the Muslim world are cynical about whether America and its allies will really undertake the long and expensive business of making Afghanistan a viable country again. I can speak only of our experience in Kosovo. Britain, America and their allies did not abandon us when the Nato campaign was over. In total, more than $1.5 billion has been invested in Kosovo's future by the international community over the past two years - more than $750 for each person here.
The uncomfortable reality is that military force is sometimes necessary to protect human rights and enforce the rule of law. In the Balkans, military force brought an end to four years of suffering in Bosnia. It reversed the ethnic cleansing that had begun in Kosovo on a massive scale in 1998. And Nato forces have delivered many of those indicted for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia to justice in the Hague.
To use military force in the pursuit of just objectives poses stark moral choices. But I believe that America and its allies are right to use force in Afghanistan. How else can bin Laden and his lieutenants be held to account for what even his own spokesmen all but admit they carried out on September 11? How else can the Taliban's sponsorship of terrorism be ended? How else can Afghanistan take its place again in the family of nations? Those who are against military action have no credible answers to these questions.
Of course nobody wants the campaign to go on any longer than it has to. Using force is never popular, and requires America's allies to face up to difficult choices. But I believe leaders around the world have a duty to explain what would happen if al-Qa'eda is not stopped. This is a conflict not only between moderates and extremists within Islam, but also against those who want to slam the door shut on progress in our world.
We should not forget that the allies are not only holding the perpetrators of the September 11 atrocities to account in Afghanistan. They are also defending the modern world from the forces of extremism. We should all be thankful for that.
Ibrahim Rugova's Democratic League of Kosovo won Saturday's parliamentary elections
I couldn't believe I missed this statement the first time I read this thread. But it does speak for itself and for those writing it. So ethnic cleansing is OK, if Muslims are the subject. My, how naive I was to think otherwise.
At least my points and observations are proven.
Look how long we took to do anything about ethnic cleansing in Bosnia ? The EU was even worse. They couldn't wipe their own butts without our leadership. They should have done it without us.
My point was that if the Serbs had been playing international politics wisely they could have done it with barely a whimper from the West. They screwed up and they blame us for their screw up.
No, you just don't get it. In your opinion there won't be any FRY, but they will still be recognized by the UN. That's all that counts. Buh-bye.
Don't like listening to barking dogs, eh?
And all it cost was two bottles of Vodka
Cheersh hic comrade.
Cheers Tony
Regs from last nights Karaoke Star sporting hangover,
VRN
Nothing wrong with a little eye opener or two or three in the morning.
You do know the new rules of this site don’t you, to get more hits you have to have Harry Potter in the title.
Cheers Tony
Nobody told me - THIS IS DISCRIMINATION! Am planning to go with some work colleagues to go and see said film in Saturday afternoon with all the kids. Time for another two asprins.
VRN
Tony
Montenegro will not be independent. Literally half of its citizens do NOT want to secede.
1) Djukanovic needs 55% of the voters to vote in order for the referendum to be legitimate 2) Even if he by some miracle wins, he needs 66% of the votes in the Parliament to confirm the result of the referendum (that will never happen because he won't get past #1).
48% support independence. 44% favour the union. 39% of all voters will boycott the referendum. Djukanovic doesn't stand a chance. If he presses on with it, he's 100% mad because that might be the spark that will light the flames of yet another civil war, this time within Montenegro itself.
No need to mention that literally no EU country supports Djukanovic. And as for Djukanovic himself, that Dubrovnik affair will drag him down (Adm. Jokic is in the Hague, remember?). Djindjic is preparing to cut his losses and let Djukanovic go...
As for Kosovo and Metohia - it will never be independent. Serbia of 2001 is a very different Serbia. Yugoslavia is gearing up and will become the regional powerhouse - economically, politically and militarily - by 2005. Confederation with Macedonia is not excluded. Certain moves have been made by both Skopje and Belgrade.
Should of rephrased that The Missis is going and taking me.
Have to admit I enjoyed the film.
Cheers Tony
Please forgive me for trying to move the conversation away from relitigating history, into something about what the future might portend, and what it might be wise to wish for.
Just because we would rather see Slobo dead than tried by an international court doesn't mean that we would get our way.
In your next statment. You are confusing Bosnia with Kosovo. You're the one that can't get your story strait.
We didn't want anything to do with either but the Yugo gov wasn't playing their international politics wisely.
They foolishly believed that just because we demostrated quite conclusivly that we didn't "want" to get involved that that meant they could do anything they wanted in Bosnia and we wouldn't get involved enouph to change the outcome.
Then Slobo , knowing full well that his troops would be bombed if he sent the regulars into Kosovo , foolishly believed that they might still succeed.
They screwed up royally and have no one to blame but themselves.
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