Power and Justice

The strange visit of Serbian president Boris Tadic to Washington, less than a week after his inauguration, became a backdrop Monday for a new U.S. policy toward Serbia: absolute insistence on extradition of war crimes suspects to the Hague Inquisition. Demands for extradition have featured prominently in U.S. policy toward Serbia since October 2000, and … Continue reading “Power and Justice”

The Tyrant of Bosnia

At the summit in Istanbul last week, NATO refused to invite Bosnia-Herzegovina to join its satellite program “Partnership for Peace.” Even though NATO previously conditioned the invitation on the establishment of a joint military, defense ministry and intelligence service, all of which have been accomplished, the refusal was explained by Bosnia’s supposed “failure to meet … Continue reading “The Tyrant of Bosnia”

Jackals and Jackasses

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” – Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) Boris Tadic won the second round of the Serbian presidential elections Sunday, beating Radical rival Tomislav Nikolic by 8 percentage points, or some 250,000 votes. The Empire, which openly cheered … Continue reading “Jackals and Jackasses”

Srebrenica Revisited

Following the publication of a 42-page report by the Srebrenica Commission of the Bosnian Serb government, media around the world carried a variation of this headline on Friday, June 11: “Bosnian Serbs Admit Srebrenica Massacre!” Many saw this as the final and incontrovertible proof that what happened in Srebrenica in July 1995 was a planned, … Continue reading “Srebrenica Revisited”

Getting Kosovo Wrong

When tens of thousands of Albanians rampaged through Kosovo in mid-March, it was the most obvious sign so far that the entire five-year NATO/UN occupation was crumbling. The southern Serbian province was finally recognized as Empire’s failed Potemkin village – or so it seemed. But after a trickle of honesty prompted by the initial shock, … Continue reading “Getting Kosovo Wrong”

Good Fences

As the Iraqi occupation continues, with a heavy toll in lives and sanity, so does the desperate search for a solution. One was offered Tuesday by Ivan Eland: “…what can the United States do to dampen the insurgency and avoid a potential civil war? Something that the Bush administration and the Washington foreign policy establishment … Continue reading “Good Fences”

Parallels, Contrasts and Questions

As revolting images of torture and degradation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib flooded the media, it was only a matter of time before someone would invoke the comparison with atrocities (allegedly) committed in the Balkans. But unlike the lurid Balkans stories peddled by activist journalists all too eager to embrace local propaganda, the Abu … Continue reading “Parallels, Contrasts and Questions”