Meredith, you poor, innocent child.
Or perhaps puerile brat is more correct.
I take it I am supposed to be suitably impressed by your worldliness and sophistication, implied by your "You obviously have never lived or travelled overseas. If you exposed yourself to other cultures....yadda, yadda, yadda". What did you do, take a senior trip to Paris?
I'd like to set one thing straight. I despise Bill Clinton and can state unequivocally that he is the worst President ever to set foot in the White House. I have repeatedly charged that I believe him guilty of treason and worse. I support NATO actions against the Serbs in spite of Clinton, not because of him. After six years of indecision and sitting on his thumbs, Clinton is doing the right thing, if for the wrong reasons. I also believe that our NATO allies have had a larger role in shaping our military actions in the Balkans than most people are acknowledging.
Having said that, I will agree with you on one thing, that people are the same the world over. That is not necessarily good, as it means that you will find avarice, greed, racism, ethnicism, and religion inspired hatred and violence just about everywhere.
The bottom line in Yugoslavia is that NATO said "enough, it stops now" and Milosevic purportedly speaking for all Serbs told NATO (and the rest of the world) to kiss their collective ass. It was a contest of wills on a global scale with both sides understanding the risks, if underestimating the scale of the conflict to come. At stake for Yugoslavia was it's goal of turning all that remained of the former Yugoslavia into an ethnically cleansed Serbian enclave to the total exclusion of any other ethnic groups. At stake for NATO is it's credibility as the most powerful military and political alliance in the world going into the 21st century. The end result is a bloody conflict that can't help but end with the defeat of Yugoslavia by NATO and the destruction of it's ability to wage war in the foreseeable future. Insofar as the people of Yugoslavia have empowered Milosevic and enabled him to wage his war of ethnic supremacy, they now must face the music that is largely a product of their own actions. Outside of the children, there are very few innocents involved in this conflict. I believe that our actions in Yugoslavia will result in saving the lives of more children than would otherwise have perished. I also believe that, by our actions, we may have shown them that there is no future in mindless ethnic hatred.
As far as my limited exposure to other cultures, I have spent almost half of my life abroad (A total of 22 years. I am 50). Born in the U.S., I have lived on every continent, sometimes going five or six years at a time without visiting the U.S. If anything, I am still (re)learning American culture. I spent several years in the Balkans and the surrounding environs and I could have told you years ago that what has come to pass on that troubled peninsula would happen as could almost anybody that spent anytime there. The only questions were when and what would we do about it.
For what it matters, I believe NATO is doing the right thing. |
