jbe, one big difference with Kosovo, shared with Bosnia, is that it's close enough to our Allies in Western Europe to be visible. Ethic Albanians seem to be in the gastarbeiter brigade, like Yugoslavians of all stripes, so their dislocations become a concern. Kosovo was predicted to become a problem all along.
The former Yugoslavia is in many ways typical of the modern brushfire wars that have been cropping up, and will be cropping up more I assume, as the cold war fades into memory. Africa has a long tradition of these ethnically driven conflicts, back to Biafra and forward to Rwanda. Jessie Helm's pet project of Savimbi in Angola is a bit different, though I assume there are ethnic overtones there too. Zaire was a bit different too, with our pal Mobutu's Big Man dictatorship, but that's Heart of Darkness country. (an interesting recent book on history there: nytimes.com . Odd to see international awareness at work 100 years ago)
The former Soviet Republics seem to have the worst situation, though. The remoteness and inaccessibility makes Africa seem like next door neighbors to us. That, mixed with the ethnic Russian population that was put in place during Soviet rule, and the corrupt post Communist governments- I hope there aren't any nukes left in those places.
Have you read Our Game? Fictionalized treatment, but you might be able to tie it to actual events. Le Carre can be a little gassy at times, but he also can be a good writer, unlike some others in the genre.
Cheers, Dan. |
