I've made my feelings clear about the futility of becoming involved in an internecine war without being prepared to do what is necessary to end it. It's a no win situation. The only way it can end is with the eradication of one or both sides involved. Until then there will be no peace, only a cease fire.
Having said that, the Serbs are indeed committing genocide. They are doing it with impunity because they have an overwhelming advantage militarily and because they are secure in the knowledge that they have the tacit backing of Russia to ensure that no serious damage will be inflicted on them by NATO without bringing some sort of response, perhaps military intervention, from Russia on their behalf.
It's a tightrope that we must give a lot of thought about before we step out on. We can either stay out altogether and let the ethnic Albanians be slaughtered en masse, after which the Serbs will change their focus to Macedonia, or we can indulge our sense of nationalistic manhood with some ineffectual popcorn fart air strikes that make a lot of smoke and noise, but accomplish nothing. Lastly, if we are committed to actually bringing about at least a temporary cessation of hostilities in Kosovo, we can initiate a significant attack on their military, both in the immediate area of Kosovo and at bases and government facilities deep in their homeland. When I say significant, I mean on a scale not seen since the cease fire in Iraq in 1991. Doing this, we must be prepared to rattle the cage that holds the Russian bear and see if it comes out prepared to fight or just make a lot of noise.
Like I said, it's really a no-win situation, but if it were me doing the gut check here, I'd be tempted to say that the Serbs have been having it their own way for so long against against inferior, unprepared adversaries, that they're starting to believe in their own supposed superiority. It may be time to show them how it's done uptown. |
