To: ma bell
If you reffer to 1995, and croatian&muslims operations near Banja Luka, I think you didn't grasp the whole situation.
Yes, Arkan's men were there around Banja Luka, but to claim that they stoped the offensive is a bit overestimated. What happened was that US said "green light is off, red light is on". Just as we know now that croatian operations Bljesak and Oluja were prepared mostly by US ret. generals, with aproval of US officials (damn, US even bombed serb positions and jammed serb communication lines. I think sometimes that's the reason for chaos in serb lines during whitdrawal). So, why did US stop joint croatian muslim offensive on the door step of Banja Luka? I guess to maintain weak balance in Bosnia. It's pretty much stabile source of instability that is required to explain to your and world public why you have to have troops in Bosnia. It's secure source of constant need to be involved in the Balkans, and eventualy, to put pressure on EU. It's all in these lines.
I didn't know about Aleksic case. Can you tell something more about it? What unit was that? I'm not sure Mladic is such type of guy.
I would realy be happy, no matter my personal opinion on Arkan, if our civilians from western bosnia made it to safe. Some of them did, but some didn't. In Mrkonjic grad, out of 181 body, about 150 were decapitated. I don't blame Arkan for defeat in the western parts, to make my position clear. I don't think his actions were that important. Except for Bjeljina. I give him credit for that.
"Arkan or any Serb should never be required to answer to any official. They, in the end, answer to Serbia." Who represents Serbia? You know, we have to have a system. We can not afford our selves to be so unorganized. We suffer because of lack of organisation, obedience, and rule of law. Paramilitars, no matter how brave some of them were, shouldn't have existed. It's wrong in the start. One command, one nation, one army.
p.s. It wasn't HVO in Knin. It was regular HV coming down from Dinara. Croatian MUP (police) was advancing through Velebit, and there were two directions from the south. One of my brothers was on Dinara, and the other one was near Zadar. So, I know few inside stories.
p.p.s. I see you're a serb patriot. I just ask you not to be emotional when think about causes of our defeats, and politics in general.
I wish you well.
95 posted on
04/25/2004 5:16:18 PM PDT by
captain albala
(Kosovo is Serbian Jerusalem!)
To: *balkans; captain albala; ma bell; sjy
bump. Very intelligent and new Serbian poster joining the ranks of the Freerepublic *balkans threads.
I expect his conversations with ma bell to be very informative and head and shoulders above that ivory tower drivel the Freerepublic Serbophobes spew all over the information super highway.
96 posted on
04/26/2004 5:26:39 AM PDT by
getoffmylawn
(I would rather have a sister in a whorehouse than a brother that's a Cubs fan)
To: captain albala
"Izetbegovic never expected JNA to help him against the serbs."
Yes he did. He called on them after Bileljina and they did indeed intervene - to secure Arkan's gains.
"You can't accuse people they live in 1942"
When Croats are Ustashe and Serbs Chetniks, yes I can. Many of these fears were well founded, others not so.
Aside from linking up Krajina with the Banja Luka area, attacking Bihac was of little significance to protecting Serb populations. It simply stood in the way of complete Serb control over the area.
"Serbs were not majority in eastern Bosnia in Visegrad and Zvornik, but muslims there were arming themselves"
Everyone was arming themselves, the Serbs more so judging by their early successes in the East. If the Muslims were so well armed they would not be threatening to blow up dams and flood their own homes.
"But, you can't speak just about towns, since rural areas were full of serbs."
I accept that Serbs were mostly rural - but when you're claiming they were simply taking "what was theirs" you can't expect attacks on Muslims-majority towns to not stand out and contradict the theory.
"JNA didn't become Bosnian Serb Army"
Sure they did. That's how Serbs ended up with the best weapons.
"Yes, Bosnian Serb Army was receiving money from Serbia, but so were muslims receiving money from Saudi Arabia, iran, Turkey, and Croats from Roman catholic Church. So, what's your point?"
The point is that Milosevic insisted the whole time that he had nothing to do with the Serb offensive.
"it's not true serbians were shelling over drina, because they couldn't afford to be portrayed as agressors"
That ship had sailed the momment Arkan was unleashed. UN observers reported shells falling on Bosnia from Serbia several times during the war.
"How can you compare serbia and croatia in "agression" on bosnia? Croatians had whole combat units in bosnia (from Shibenik, Split, Drnish), while serbians were sending supplies, and volunteers TO BE UNDER BOSNIAN SERB COMMAND."
What's the difference? Either you're sending troops or you're not. Putting them under someone else's command (who is very much on the same side) is just a cosmetic change.
"Why did muslims even form "poorly armed militia in Bjeljina"? Wasn't that part of Yugoslavia, back then? Wasn't JNA our army?"
Serbs also armed their own militias. After the JNA blasted Vukovar and Dubrovnik the Muslims would've been stupid to put all their trust in the JNA. They had shown themselves to be a Serb army that would prevent any other group from leaving and taking Serbs with them.
I can fully understand why Serbs would not want to live under Croat or Muslims rule. They just went about it the wrong way.
"Now tell me, why did serbs pullout from Bihac, once they came in the center of the city?"
Not sure what time you're talking about. I do know that the Bihac troops once faked a coup/surrender and fooled Abdic into sending in ammunition (1994 I believe).
"Serbs were securing their territories and lines of communication in 1992. being superior in arms, they didn't want to take anything more then their territories."
You admitted earlier that they took Muslim-majority towns.
"Justification of serbian struggle wasn't about presence of mujaheedins"
Finally, that lie is put to rest! If I had a dollar for every time a Serb brought up the legions of Muj fighters in Bosnia I wouldn't be at work right now posting responses.
"It was alija Izetbegovic, muslim leader that first accepted it, before rejecting it."
A day AFTER the Croats rejected the deal. While negotiations were going on all sides were positioning their forces. There was no working agreement at Lisbon as Bosnia was so mixed. Peace would inevitably mean partition which would mean population shifts.
I'm leaving for Holland in a few hours (for two weeks) so I don't have time to respond to all your points, but I will say this: the international community DID often act unfairly during the war. I have stated this several times and see how this is probably why Serb nationalists lash out and deny wrongdoing or try to take brutal crimes and justify them.
I know the Muslims and Croats bear responsibilty for war as well. Just so happens that there are a few Croats/Muslims on Free Republic saying their hands were essentially clean which is why I don't point it out as much as I do with the Serbs.
97 posted on
04/26/2004 6:51:30 AM PDT by
JCB
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