More on Yugoslavia
Stanley
Payne writes in support of Tom Moore. Kosovo makes strange bedfellows:
Jimmy Carter and some good Republicans. Bill Ratliff expresses himself
strongly. He writes:
I
agree with Dan Wilhelmi that Carter's article is good, multiple light-years
ahead of the triumphalist NATO blather contained in Clinton's NYT oped
last week. (Chernomyrdin took Clinton apart in a later oped.) And I agree
completely with Tom Moore's comments on the non-negotiations at Rambouillet.
It was an ultimatum we knew Milosevic would not accept, plain and simple;
it was a cover for a yuppie moral crusade. The only form of "diplomacy"
this administration knows is ultimatum, retreat, ultimatum, retreat, ultimatum,
bomb and proclaim our surpassing virtue for doing so.
Clinton/Albright
and Blair and some of the other NATO leaders are arrogant moral crusaders
who have put NATO on a course that is a threat to the world. Blair described
NATO's new mission - approved by NATO in Washington last month - as to
"right wrongs and prosecute just causes" worldwide. Anyone who will look
objectively at what has happened in the past 2 1/2 months must see how
much destruction and chaos this one "righting of wrongs" has done. Just
for the least of starters it has utterly failed in NATO's self-proclaimed
objectives of (1) defending the Kosovar Albanians - whose lives are now
MUCH worse than they would have been in an equal period of time and probably
ever if we had REALLY negotiated - and (2) keeping stability in the Balkans,
when in fact the region if far more destabilized than Milosevic could ever
have done on his own or proably even dreamed of doing. Never mind for this
comments the terrible repercussions beyond the Balkans. If we follow NATO's
proclaimed polity to its end the current war will bring more and more disaster
to everyone involved. I have just returned from Colombia where sophisticated
political analysts are actually moderately concerned that Colombia may
be next.
What
can be done now? For starters, follow Chirac and Schroeder in supporting
the general principles the G7(8) have drawn up and Milosevic has said are
grounds for talks. Cut out the knee-jerk rejections of everything that
is suggested short of NATO's arrogant and in fact unworkable non-negotiable
ultimatums. As I am writing, Tim Brown has come through with some of the
financial costs of this fiasco for a long time to come. If NATO "keeps
the peace" of a Kosovo as a Yugoslav province it will do so against attacks
by both Serb irregulars, who have lots of experience, and KLA forces who
want independence, not inclusion in Yugoslavia. And when NATO finally tires
of being the new Ottomans, we will leave and the wars will begin again.
My
comment: Colombia is another tarbaby. We mugwumps have a higher opinion
of the intelligence of Clinton, etc. than Bill does. Whatever may be said
about Clinton and Albright, Blair has no reason to wag the dog, although
I suspect that he is in close touch with the Pentagon and may be a Clinton
proxy. I have a much higher opinion of the NATO leaders than Bill does.
Ronald Hilton - 06/01/99
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