Posted on 06/02/2008 1:46:11 AM PDT by Dawnsblood
“If Yugoslavia was the laboratory of Communism, then Communism would breathe its last dying breath here in Belgrade. And to judge by what [Slobodan] Milosevic was turning into by early 1989, Communism would exit the world stage revealed for what it truly was: fascism, without fascism's ability to make the trains run on time.” - Robert D. Kaplan
“You bombed my country.” These were the nearly first words I heard after clearing passport control on arrival in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, from a taxi driver who flagged me down inside the airport. “Fifteen countries bombed my country.”
I didn't know what to say. Neither did my American friend and traveling companion Sean LaFreniere.
“Why are you here in Serbia?” the driver said.
“We're tourists,” I lied. I didn't want to say I was an American journalist on a trip through the former Yugoslavia with an end destination in Kosovo. Serbia's last war of ethnic-cleansing was fought there, and it only ended when NATO, led by the United States, bombed Belgrade's tyrant Slobodan Milosevic into submission. That was nine years ago, but just three months ago Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. A mob of Serbian nationalists answered by fire-bombing the American embassy. The U.S. responded by evacuating its non-essential employees.
“If people ask what two tourists are doing here,” the driver said, “where you are from, you say you're from Holland.”
From a distance, the latest news out of Belgrade made the place look like a reactionary Middle East capital on a bad day, but this was still Europe. How dangerous could Serbia possibly be? Tensions are higher now than at any time since the 1999 war, but I wasn't going to lie about where I'm from. Whatever ails the country right now, it hardly compares to Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at michaeltotten.com ...
Jeez! Hasn’t it become obvious to most people by now that Milosevic was fighting to clear out Al Qaida training camps!
The Serbs were protecting themselves!
I don’t claim to be an expert on the Balkans, but I have a good friend of Serbian descent. He was strongly against the US intervention in Yugoslavia, BUT was no fan of Slobo, who he saw as a thug. As best I can tell, there are few good guys in that part of the world.
Alas, most people aren't clueless, so, no.
It’s sickening to realize in hindsight we were betting on the wrong horse... :-(
“”...heading to Kosovo to see the last area that was a target of Slobo’s ethnic cleansing...”
Well, there is one falsehood in less then 3 paragraphs.
Bingo! You are correct. And no, it will never become obvious to most people since they are spoon fed propaganda from the MSM ... maddening isn't it.
Do tell.
Indeed, did he try ethnically cleanse Kosovo? Or was it Serbs that were fleeing the KLA and leaving Kosovo?
Bwaaahahaha!
You’re funny.
Thanks for the comedy break.
Indeed. As has been demonstrated past the point of any question on the issue, at least to anyone who's bothered to look into it using sources not given completely over to Serbian disinformation.
Totten has an agenda and hi writings should be taken with a large pinch of salt.
You have to understand that Hoppy is one of the few remaining pro-Jihadist posters left here on Free Republic.
While most of the Balkans posters despise Milosevic for being a commie, our Jihadist cheerleaders will never forgive him for standing up to the Muhammedan and for opposing Dhimmitude.
Yes, cc is the other pro-Jihadist poster left.
These guys hate Serbia and Serbians with a passion!
It didn’t take long for the Janjaweed top show up!
It's a vast right-wing (Serbian) conspiracy, Hillary - ahem, sorry, I mean Hoplite.
Description of Totten’s Blog by Michael Totten, himself:
Michael J. Totten · Middle East
Lively blog by this hard-headed liberal.
www.michaeltotten.com - 55k - Cached
Enough said.
I actually miss Fusion.
Sean and I met one of Belgrade's most famous writers, Filip David, at a cafe downtown across the street from a small park.
Most famous writers? Filip David isn't even on a list of "Serbia most famous Jewish writers!""Most famous Belgrade writers (still living)" would include Milorad Pavic (Dictionary of the Khazars), Matija Bekovic; and Dobrica Cosic, all of whose works were translated into English. Pavic's novels even made the NY Times Best Seller list.
Filip David crawled out from under a rock for this interview and then disappeared back under it.
And if Totten couldn't even bother to know who was who on something this obvious, it's hard to take anything else he had to say, seriously.
Too true, you are one of the last ones left.
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