Posted on 10/09/2003 9:58:55 AM PDT by mark502inf
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Serb and Croat nationalists are warning Washington that Bosnia's Muslims will let Al Qaeda infest the soft underbelly of Europe, unless they are called in to guarantee security should the U.S. military quit the Balkans.
Western diplomats in the region discount the threat. They believe the nationalists' real goal, as ever, is to isolate the Muslims and split Bosnia on ethnic lines, while winning kudos as America's staunch ally in some "clash of civilizations."
But they worry that scare-mongering may sway Congress.
An October article in the Washington Times says Bosnia "now serves as a base" for Al Qaeda. Croats are the best U.S. ally on the "front-lines in the war against Islamic terrorism in the Balkans" and can be its "eyes and ears," the Times says.
A new paper by U.S. think tank Strategic Forecasting also calls the Balkans a "frontier conflict...in the U.S. war against the Islamist world," but proposes that Serbs handle security.
This is news to Westerners who live in the Balkans, where ethnic rather than religious friction is the real concern. A senior diplomat notes that the September 11 hijackers planted cells in the cities of Western Europe and the United States.
MORE BARS THAN MOSQUES
Since the September 2001 attacks, Washington has mostly ignored the Balkans. The influential, neo-conservative Project for the American Century and the American Enterprise Institute have both said little about it on their Web Sites since 2000.
The idea of extracting 4,000 U.S. troops from NATO peace missions in Bosnia and Kosovo was raised in September by visiting General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, as a means of partially relieving U.S. overstretch in Iraq.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
You cannot speak of "the Serbs" as having a policy under or being synonymous with Tito. As soon as they had the autonomy to decide for themselves, the Serbs chose Milosevic, and it was a very poor choice, as his policies set the Serbs in opposition to American interests.
Before Tito? Can you explain how the Serbs were any better friends to us than anybody else in the region?
And I would remind you that the Serbs weren't the only group fighting the German occupation during WW2 - none of the ethnic groups in the Balkans were allied with the Germans in toto, as each ethnicity or nation in the region had partisans fighting against the Axis occupation, to include the Albanians.
Wonderful all-encompassing view you have there, sport.
Let me put it this way - if you are in denial about what the Serbs did to their neighbors during the 1990's, your views on WW2 are moot.
I could care less what you think if you are unable to accept what Milosevic's forces did to non-Serbs under the guise of righting wrongs committed against Serbs in the past - you do not get to enumerate the sins against you while denying your own sins.
The United States didn't enter WW1 until 1917 - the same year Greece did. How the Serbs were supporting our interests prior to that time is kind of a hard sell - you will remember the whole shooting match started because Serb nationalists gave the Austro-Hungarians the excuse they were looking for to confront Serbia over Bosnia. Was plunging Europe into World War 1 in our interests? I don't think so.
The Serbian fighting force during World War 2 was the Chetniks - not the partisans. And the Chetniks collaborated with the Nazis against the Partisans - again, it is and was you who were trying to illustrate an overlap between Serbian and American interests, so I am merely pointing out to you that Tito better represented our interests than Mihailovic, and the Serbs who fought under Tito adopted the Yugoslav ideal, rather than the ethno-racist dogma of the Chetniks, which when you get down to it is no different than any of the other ethno-racist dogmas in the neighborhood - they're all garbage.
I'm not denying the rescue of American Airmen - it was and is greatly appreciated. I neither deny what the Germans did at Kragujevac or to Belgrade, what the Croats did at Jasenovac, nor that Serbs were also victimized in the last round of ethnic blood-letting in the Balkans. But while I accept that the Serbs were sinned against, greatly in the case of World War 2, I also know that they were the greatest sinners in the 1990's in this regard, and so did those driving our foreign policy.
So you go ahead and think about what Milosevic and his minions wrought in the 1990's - I will leave you with this: achieving Serbian Nationalist aims through military force is no longer an option, and as military force was the only way they could be achieved, you had better rethink your approach to the region's people and problems.
The info in the Wtimes seems to come from Croatian sources who have their own agenda. Its not likely to be very reliable.
You wish to turn this discussion into an exclusive recapitulation of the martyrdom of the Serbs and stringently ignore the Serb's victimization of non-Serbs.
No thanks.
In what way does this "seem" so? If you're going to make an accusation like that, back it up.
I could say your ignorance of WWI and WWII is amazing, but I suspect that you know very well how the Serbs supported the allies during those wars and are simply doing your feeble best in order to serve the agenda of your present pay masters.
You did just fine. Now, can you please go back to posting articles in their entirety?
Yu soldiers were part of UN mission in Korea, but as noncombatants.
Furthermore, Yu (SFRY) was de facto US ally in the southeastern Europe. Until '70s most of the weapons used by SFRY Army was of US origin.
And here's some light reading, though I can't guarantee these documents are authentic:
They, along with Cuba, were active in the so-called "non-aligned" movement; a pseudonym for anti-western movement.
Riiight. First, I believe Cuba was never a member of the so-called "non-aligned" movement. Their alignment with USSR was more than obvious.
Second, most of the countries that were members of the NAM were left out of the "iron curtain", even though many of them leaned towards USSR, like Egypt. But I'd say having countries like SFRY, Egypt and India (basis of the NAM), as well as many other Asian & African countries, out of USSR's sphere of influence was not so anti-western as it seems to you.
Later, under Milosevic, Yugoslavia had great relationships with such wonderful leaders as Qadaffi & Saddam Hussein. Sold weapons to Iraq
The cooperation between SFRY and Iraq started back in mid to late '80s. You do remember that back in those days Iraq was a good guy, fighting evil Iranians? SFRY, with US approval, wanted a piece of Saddam's arms purchase cake. So they sold some weapons to Iraq. And Iran. And Kuwait. At the same time. And so did the French, the Germans, the Russians, the Checzs and the Americans of course.
awarded Qaddafi Yugoslavia's highest medal.
BS. Besides, Ol' Col was Tito's friend. Also, it seems he's off the bad guys list.
They were NOT our friends.
There are no friendships in politics, only interests. The sooner you realize that, the better.
The question is, what's in US' best interest when it comes to Balcans. Clinton thought it's supporting radical islamists. Sane folks didn't.
And in the end, it's all about communist SFRY. Not about Serbs.
If you define military support as sending noncombatants, then I guess you define firemen as guys that won’t fight fires and law enforcement as guys who won’t catch criminals. I’m sure the guys on the Pusan perimeter appreciated sharing their rations with them. Wouldn’t it have been cheaper just to send blank ammunition or rifles that wouldn’t fire?
Furthermore, Yu (SFRY) was de facto US ally in the southeastern Europe.
Revisionist horse-manure. We tried for a while in the 50s, but Tito turned back toward the USSR when Kruschev came to power. If you mean that we wanted Yugo to be prepared to defend itself against a potential Soviet takeover, then you are correct. However, by that definition, China was our ally also.
Until '70s most of the weapons used by SFRY Army was of US origin.
WWII surplus from our 1950s attempts to wean Tito from the USSR. Obviously didn’t work--as evidenced by the old Soviet stuff everybody in the former Yugo uses.
Riiight. First, I believe Cuba was never a member of the so-called "non-aligned" movement. Their alignment with USSR was more than obvious.
Wrooong. Cuba was not only a member, the 1979 meeting was hosted by Havana. Look it up.
Second, most of the countries that were members of the NAM were left out of the "iron curtain", even though many of them leaned towards USSR, like Egypt. But I'd say having countries like SFRY, Egypt and India (basis of the NAM), as well as many other Asian & African countries, out of USSR's sphere of influence was not so anti-western as it seems to you.
Wroooong again. The nonaligned movement, as anyone who was alive during that time would know, was not “out of USSR’s sphere of influence”. You posted this link to a 1984 U. S. national security decision directive signed by the president. Did you read it? Here’s a quote from it: Our policy will continue to be to encourage Yugoslavia to play a moderating rule within the Nonaligned Movement and to counter Cuban and Soviet influence in that organization. However, you do get props for posting a primary source document. Even when it proves you wrong.
The cooperation between SFRY and Iraq started back in mid to late '80s. You do remember that back in those days Iraq was a good guy, fighting evil Iranians?
You are half right, which is two times better than usual. Iraq was never a “good guy”. But the Iranians were in fact evil.
SFRY, with US approval, wanted a piece of Saddam's arms purchase cake. So they sold some weapons to Iraq. And Iran. And Kuwait. At the same time. And so did the French, the Germans, the Russians, the Checzs and the Americans of course.
Yugoslavia in the 1980s was asking U.S. for approval on its arms exports? Give me a break. OK, here we go again—the U.S. armed Iraq. Why is it that in Desert Storm & the most recent war none of the Iraqi weapons and equipment are American? Were Hussein and his military part of the conspiracy to hide American involvement? Or maybe you are referring to the research anthrax from the company in Maryland—the same company that sent the same strain to dozens and dozens of countries all over the world? Or perhaps to the industrial chemicals that may or may not have been misused for chemical weapons? Now the Bell helos the Iraqis wanted for VIP transport & pipeline inspection—I don’t believe that either, but show me how in any meaningful way that the USA “armed” Saddam Hussein.
Me: awarded Qaddafi Yugoslavia's highest medal. You: BS. Besides, Ol' Col was Tito's friend.
Wrooong. Again. As reported on 27 October, 1999. Libyan leader Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi has received Yugoslavia's highest decoration from President Slobodan Milosevic in recognition of his efforts to boost bilateral relations. The ``Great Star'' medal had been brought to Libya by Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Zoran Lilic, a close associate of Milosevic. [Reuters]
Me: They were NOT our friends. You: There are no friendships in politics, only interests. The sooner you realize that, the better.
The number of errors in your post is only matched by your banality.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
