Christopher, it was only a matter of time before the Clinton foreign policy team faced a crisis that exposed them as second-worst in the post-War era only to the Johnson Adminstration.
Due to a mind-boggling lack of foresight, the situation has spun out of control and they don't know what to do about it.
However given the current state of affairs, NATO must see the committment through.
IMHO, the Serbian governments appeals to international law at his point in time is like a bunch of bank robbers claiming "but we drove the getaway car under the speed limit and braked for all red lights."
It's a balancing act. IMHO the Serbain governments acts of genocide against and forced expulsions of subject populations weighs more heavily in the equation in my mind.
Although realipolitik often lets some criminals get off with suspended sentences (such as Rwanda, Cambodia), this wasn't and isn't one of those cases given its proximity to Europe and our NATO allies.
Realipolitik dictates that the sham cease fire declared by the as-yet unindicted war criminals running the Serbian government ("co-signed" by the moderate Kosovo leader being held prisoner in Belgrade) be ignored. If anything, the bombing on Belgrade should be stepped up even more and targets expanded for the simple reason that NATO must decide the terms and those terms must be ones credible enough to reverse the influx of refugees and insure their safety in Kosovo.
I cannot defend the argument that this was a well-thought out operation by the politicians involved. It's been a disaster.
But given the facts on the ground right now, IMHO we have a duty to those displaced Kosovars to see that they are resettled on favorable terms. If there is a direct correlation between the level of destruction to the Serbian infrastructre and the level of safety for those people 3 months, 3 years, 3 decades out we must continue our committment.
We miscalculated on the entry. Given the level of that miscalculation, we cannot and must not screw up the exit.
Respectfully,
Tom |
