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Re: Rwanda vs. Kosovo

Mr. Howe writes:

> well, i am glad someone out there has a grasp on current events, can see the
>  bigger picture and are apparently capable of analytical thoughts :)  maybe
>  there is hope yet.  The lack of vision and the inability for simple
>  derivative thinking from some the posts (especially considering i live with
>  one such person whom shall remain unnamed)  were beginning to worry me.
>  
>  kyle

I'm probably going to kick myself for perpetuating this thread (and if I 
don't, Jessyka will) when I told myself I was going to resist, but c'est la 
vie, eh?

I don't believe any of us who are advocating a more isolationist attitude 
condone Serbian human rights violations, and I'm sure we'd agree that from a 
purely moral standpoint, we should intervene in all instances of genocide, 
etc.  Obviously though, as Kyle has pointed out, from a logistical 
perspective, that's impossible.  If we're going to pick one place to 
intervene, should it be Kosovo?  True, World War I got its start in Serbia 
with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, but does that necessarily 
mean that any and all conflicts in the region will lead to comparable 
conflagrations?  Personally, I'm more worried about the war spreading as we 
increase our involvement than I would be if NATO stayed out of the picture.

An air war is not going to stop Milosevic and his ilk.  The only way we can 
do that is to introduce ground troops.  I hate to say it, but if we do that, 
I fear we will lose.  The Serbs lost Kosovo in a war with the Turks way back 
in, IIRC, 1389, and have sworn to never relinquish it again.  They won't give 
up Kosovo the way that the Iraqis gave back Kuwait.  Their attachment to that 
piece of ground is far deeper.

Another point to consider - are we willing to get into a war with Russia over 
Kosovo?  The Russians and the Yugoslavians have been allies for eons and 
they're not at all happy about what we're doing to the Serbs.  Thanks to a 
friend who is a Russian emigre, I happen to know that Russians are already 
volunteering to go to Serbia to fight alongside their Slavic brethren.  
Admittedly, Russia isn't quite the world power they were just a few years 
back, but they're also not a people that we can afford to ignore or not take 
seriously.

Steve
oncleboo at aol_com

np:  Dave Alvin - "Blackjack David"

"We know 'good enough' is a thousand miles from grace." -- Over the Rhine