Posted on 12/17/2001 2:00:00 PM PST by Pericles
The Racak massacre was a set up by the KLA of which a lot of the Kosovar Albanians are unaware. The KLA used the situation to their advantage. It was common for villagers to take up arms under control of the KLA in order to defend their village. Of course the KLA had its own agenda i.e. In this case a ditch full Racak villagers of which the majority were men of fighting age. Another interesting point that a lot of people have not picked up on is the fact that RACAK and surrounding area is a very strong LDK/Rugova supporting area. So what if some of the political opposition got wasted after all its for the cause of the KLA and its grab for power.
Cheers Tony
Blaming anybody other than those who pulled the triggers is unacceptable.
This sums it up nicely. It's not surprising, though, that Bill Clinton aligned himself with the foulest of the bunch. The Balkans are sort of what you'd get if Northern Ireland were positioned where Israel is. Continuous friction exists between two Christian groups and the Muslims are causing trouble as well - for everybody. I know... this is an oversimplification. The analogy works for me, though.
Ever since the Ottoman Turks relinquished that territory, this kettle o' fish has existed. Orthodox Christians who secretly practiced their faith hated the Muslims (Albanians, etc.) because they abandoned Chritianity and converted to Islam while under Turk rule. The Orthodox Christians (mostly Serbs) also nursed a grudge against the Croats (Christians in areas not occupied and by then primarily Catholic) for leaving them at the mercy of the Turks for so long. It was and remains an unmitigated mess with no foreseeable solution.
Any possible improvement there would've had to be carried out on a sub-rosa basis, which is pretty much what Milosovic (sp?) was doing. Yes, there were Serb atrocities - mainly in the early 1990s - but the later allegations concerning Serbs murdering Albanians and such remain the stuff of rumor and conjecture, AFAIK. Heck, such actions against Islamic extremists would be smiled upon these days - a thought that brings ol' Slobodan little comfort, I'm sure.
Perhaps "Running all the Muslims out" should be tried before resorting to your "Kill 'em All" approach. Oops, I forgot... that's already been tried and will bring grief on the wings of NATO aircraft. Still, the intrusion of Islam into an area populated by Eastern Orthodox Christians is what got this whole train a-rolling. Maybe they should be the first group invited to leave - just to see if Islam *is* the problem. If that fails, we go to your idea (Plan "B").
Is this the part where I'm supposed to jump up and yell "Sieg Heil!"???
C'mon, buddy, take a breath...
Bravo Sierra. While non-Muslims were not considered equal to Muslims, the Orthodox Christian community existed quite openly within the Ottoman Empire--it was not "secret."
And I reject your notion that the Muslims were the foulest of the bunch--the key to determining who the foulest of the bunch has always been to figure out who has power. When the Serbs had power, they were the foulest of the bunch. When the Croats were ascendant, the Croats were the foulest of the bunch. Now that the Kosovars have great power backing, they're the foulest of the bunch.
You will find that I am fair. As far as I'm concerned, they're all equally worthless.
Better that ALL of the Balkan peoples die than one or more of them get into a position to start World War III. The needs of the many and the sane outweigh the selfish desires of the few and terminally whacked-out.
Yugoslavia: the land that brought you the 20th Century, and the one that will bring you the 21st if you ain't careful.
If you know so much, then you'd know that the Serbs attacked Racak at least 2 hours before any journalists showed up, denied the KVM from access to the village while they were there, and obstructed the investigation into their crime.
In short, I know more than is good for your attempt to absolve the guilty here.
Well, keep in mind that if we had simply kept out of it, yes, Slobo would still be in power, but al-Quaeda's Bosnian and KLA buddies would be no more and the region would be a lot more quiet and settled now. Clinton and Albright seemed to have no problem ignoring Sudan, but for some reason (Operation Distract Attention?) felt compelled to bomb a sovereign nation over 2,000 (total) casualties in what was at that time a low grade civil war.
Clinton & Albright's "Humanitarian Bombing" is what I consider dangerous and more likely to blow up into a major war rather the local fight between Milosovic/Tudjman/Izetbegovic.
Oh-oh, you better watch out, you're starting to sound like Hoplite now with your crystal ball and your "he would have...". For us non-psychics here, let's keep it in the realm of what DID happen. Anyway, I'm not saying Milosovic was a saint by any means. However, what's the alternative? Just let every frustrated group secede from the nation? What did Lincoln do when the Confederacy wanted independence? What are you going to say when La Raza says they've had enough of white man's "oppression" and they begin organizing and shooting cops and want to take control of the U.S./Mexico border and proclaim their "Aztlan"?
And on that basis you claim Milosevic was going to start WW3??? As I said, Slobo was certainly no angel, but he did not get involved where Serbs weren't threatened. Look at Slovenia. Look at Macedonia. Your firm gaze on his actions seems to have missed that point. Contrast that against Clinton, who was ready to start a war with someone who never threatened us. You say the world is a better place with Slobo out of it. Fine. But I say by disregarding a nation's sovereignty, the world is definitely a more dangerous place. I don't care how you sugar-coat it, "might makes right" can not last and will get us in serious trouble one day.
He was a petty thug, a fine match for all the other petty thugs of the region.
Agreed.
He was a petty thug...
Agreed, as I've said. How many times do I have to repeat myself on that?
However, the one aspect you are overlooking is that he was the petty thug fighting bin-Laden's buddies. The Northern Alliance may not be a shining model of the democratic process, but would it make sense for us to start bombing them too?
Once you consider relative transportation infrastructures, Afghanistan is far enough away from anything we give a damn about--the Balkans are RIGHT NEXT to the Mediterranean and Europe, two areas that we DO care about.
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