I'm not convinced that only finding about 2,000 bodies proves that there wasn't genocide. The Serbs were supposedly using acid and other extreme methods for obliterating corpses. They were using refrigerator trucks to move bodies to places where they could process them out of existence.
On the other hand, even those of us who avoided criticism of the breakup of Milosevic's tyrannical regime were wondering at the time if we were making an historic mistake. It's downright erie to hear him scoff at us from prison saying that he was the fighting the original war on terror.
The crisis between the Serbs and Muslims in Kosovo presented the west with a challenge of conscience that we failed in more ways than one. We failed to plan ahead diplomatically for Tito's death, and we ignored the signs of impending disaster after he died.
I now realize the Serbian-Kosovar conflict is symptomatic of a wider clash of civilizations, something I didn't understand before 9/11. Hopefully we can defend ours without making some of the mistakes of hatred and anger that the Serbs did, and I hope we never come to look back on Milosevic as a hero. But the more we learn about the history of violent Islamic empire building, the more sympathetic Milosevic appears.
I think what gauls me the most today is the chastizing bin Laden repeats again and again that the west, specifically Americans, are responsible for the suffering of Kosovars. Like his failure to acknowledge American aid during the Afghanistan war with the Soviet Union, his understanding of history leaves out all mention of positive American involvement in matters of Muslim suffering.
Perhaps saint Mark d'Aviano, the inventor of cappuccino used a better model in defending Vienna than Milosevic's approach to ethnically cleansing Yugoslavia. He fought decisive wars against Muslim armies, and converted as many people to Christianity (and therefore the enlightenment) as he could.
Madeline, I meant to include you on this.
Your reply simply amazes me. You wrote that you are not convinced that only finding about 2,000 bodies proves that there wasn't genocide. The Serbs were supposedly using acid and other extreme methods for obliterating corpses. They were using refrigerator trucks to move bodies to places where they could process them out of existence.
It appears to me that you are only too willing to believe everything the Serbs are accused of - without taking into consideration that the vast majority of the alleged atrocities were, in fact, hoaxes such as:
The Trepca mines - a hoax exposed by Daniel Pearl in 1999 in the Wall Street Journal that over 700 "poor Albanians" had been slaughtered, ground up and thrown into the mines and incinerated! Investigators couldn't even come up with traces of ground up teeth!
Operation Horseshoe - the plan by which Milosevic allegedly intended to exterminate all the Albanians, except that the plan was a hoax also - a plan devised in Germany by Germans and Bulgarians easy enough for the stupid West to find. Isn't it amazing that when NATO began to bomb, over 200,000 ethnic Albanians ran to Belgrade for refuge to join their friends and relatives.
Racak massacre - a hoax exposed by Il Manefesto. Upon investigation, it showed that there was a fight between the KLA terrorists and Serb forces.
The claim of over 100,000 bodies that were alleged to have been murdered by the Serbs. You say that just because only 2,000 haven't been found, that doesn't mean there was a genocide. I remind you that even Elie Wiesel wrote in a NY Times article that there was no genocide in Kosovo.
You wrote:
"On the other hand, even those of us who avoided criticism of the breakup of Milosevic's tyrannical regime were wondering at the time if we were making an historic mistake. It's downright erie to hear him scoff at us from prison saying that he was the fighting the original war on terror."
Not being a defender of Milosevic, he should have been, however, tried for betraying his own people and not by some kangaroo court at The Hague of whom he is making clowns, exposing them every step of the way. Is he any worse, any more "tyranical" than Bosnian President Izetbegovic who slaughtered his own people at the breadlines on two occasions and at the Markale market place, also on two occasions, they were the excuses Clinton used to bomb the Bosnian Serbs? Izetbegovic played Clinton like a fiddle when he wrote, "There can be no peace or coexistence between Islamic faith and non-Islamic faith political institution . . . The Islamic movement must and can take place as soon as it is morally and numerically strong enough, not only to destroy the non-Islamic one, but to build up a new Islamic one (From his The Islamic Delcaration). Is Milosvic any worse than Croatian president Tudjman when he ethnically cleansed over 250,000 Serbs from the Krajina, 650,000 from all of Croatia? The Croatian government issued two daily doses of cocaine and heroine to their soldiers so that they could go out and slit the throats of Serbs without conscience.
Remember the Medak Pocket massacre whereby Canadian soldiers came under attack from Croatian forces because the Croats were slaughtering Serb civilians, young and old? They found 14 black plastic bags full of Serbian children's body parts slaughtered by Croatian forces. It was the worst battle for Canadian troops since the Korean War. With friends like these, who needs enemies? After all, Tudjman was only finishing the job that Hitler had started.
And let's not forget that the Serbs were also accused of cannibalism and people believed! Just as you believe far too easily that the story of the refrigation truck is true. I would venture to guess that this was nothing more than illegals (some sosrt of Turkish language was heard to be spoken)trying to get into Kosovo and when they were caught, as too often, the victims were dumped by their smugglers before they were caught.
Your use of the word, "Kosovars" leads me to believe that you are only too willing to hand over Serbia's Jerusalem to Osama bin Laden's KLA terrorists. Let's not forget that the Serbs were at one time the majority and the Albanians became the majority by crossing into Kosovo illegally (invited by Tito in his hatred for the Serbs) and had huge families. The latest atrocity if the butchering (literally) of two elderly Serbs and their 55 year old son (did you hear this reported on CNN?) So now let's reward Osama bin Laden's KLA terrorists for their ethnic cleansing of the Serb minority by granting them their independence as Representatives Hyde and Lantos have submitted in their HR28.
Should America be chastized for the "suffering" of the Kosovars? Aren't the Serbs suffering too? If Clinton, with his egomania, had not had a plan to destroy this tiny nation that defied his New World Order, the poor "Kosovars" would not have suffered and furthermore, should not have been in Kosovo in the first place. And this is what "gauls" me. We supported the Bosnian government at the same time Osama bin Laden was issued Bosnian passports! This is insanity! We denied the Serbs the same right to defend themselves against al-Qaeda that we reserved for ourselves."
Cheers!
You wrote:
I now realize the Serbian-Kosovar conflict is symptomatic of a wider clash of civilizations, something I didn't understand before 9/11. Hopefully we can defend ours without making some of the mistakes of hatred and anger that the Serbs did, and I hope we never come to look back on Milosevic as a hero. But the more we learn about the history of violent Islamic empire building, the more sympathetic Milosevic appears."
Are you just now starting to wake up? I believe that even if Israel did not exist, we would have our clash of civilization. You talked about "hatred and anger that the Serbs did." Totally unfair when you consider that over one and a half million Serbs, Jews and Gypsies were exterminated in Croatia's death camps (ably assisted by Bosnian Muslims and ethnic Albanians)so brutally that even the German Gestpo was appalled! Now, this is REAL hatred! And even with that the Serbs were willing to put things behind them. Not one Croatian was ever sent to Nuremberg for their hatred of the Serbs and actions against them, just as they are refusing to hand over their war criminals during this latest "hatred" for the Serbs when they welcomed German peacekeepers with the offensive "Sieg Heil," and they were not even condemned yet the Serbs held up the three-finger salute for the Holy Trinity, and were accused of giving the fascist salute.
As I previously mentioned, with U.S. military aid and technology, Croatia launched Operation Storm, ethnically cleansing Croatia of all Serbs, a "final solution" that Hitler could only dream of. In 1941, Hitler recognized the "Indepdent State of Croatia" as a reward for being his fascist puppets. Croatia today has it's pure Croatian state that Hitler could only envision. If you don't know of the history of WWII, the Croats and the Muslims, then I suggest you do some reading before you talk about hatred by the Serbs.