Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : America Under Siege: The End of Innocence -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: George Papadopoulos who wrote (1698)	9/13/2001 11:30:07 PM
From: George Papadopoulos	Respond to of 27666

Last one for a while, another MUST read article, enjoy. slate.msn.com Night was falling as I introduced myself to four college students in Macedonia Square, in the center of Skopje. What was their reaction to the catastrophe in America? Ivo, who is 18 years old and studying to be a doctor, was the first to respond, largely because he spoke the best English, thanks to the year he lived in England. The attacks are sad, he said, a tragedy. But then he got to the heart of the matter, not only for him but for many Macedonians who resent what they regard as American support for ethnic Albanian rebels. "Now you have experienced what terrorism is like," Ivo said. "Now you can understand what terrorism does, and you should do something about it, especially in Macedonia. You should condemn the Albanians. It's clear you're helping them. Even a child knows that." [I am sure you all knew that here too] His friends nodded their heads in agreement. The rebels are terrorists, they believe, killing civilians and policemen, yet America coddles them, even supplying them with weapons (a popular belief). Maybe, the students added, the assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will serve as a wake-up call. "Terrorists have never attacked America with this much devastation," Ivo noted. "America now should see what terrorism is really about and stop it everywhere." The feelings of Ivo and his friends are not unusual. There is no satisfaction in Skopje about the attacks on America—none of the grotesque spectacles, seen on television, of Palestinians and Libyans celebrating the attacks. The expressions of condolence here are sincere, but there is, underneath it all, a strong belief that America has imposed its will on the Balkans in ways that are neither wise nor fair and that America should not be surprised that its actions overseas have brought deadly results to the homeland. The same belief exists in Serbia, which experienced a 78-day U.S.-led bombing campaign in 1999, and it exists among nationalists in Croatia who resent U.S. pressure to extradite war criminals to the Hague. The sourness surfaces not just in the talk of ordinary citizens but in media commentaries, too. All you need to do is pick up today's issue of New Macedonia, a pro-government paper. "The attempt by western countries to treat Albanian terrorists as human rights fighters gave them a clear field for seven months of terror against Macedonians," [here we go with the ever fine line between a terrorist and a freedom/human rights fighter, what makes a terrorist a freedom frighter, he/she is our friend, Foreign Policy 101] the main commentary states. "The difference between yesterday's attacks on the United States and the attacks of Albanian terrorists in Macedonia is just in the capacity and power of their action." In other words, Now you know how we feel. [unfortunately, we sure do and we sure don't like it one bit!] Anti-Americanism in the Balkans is far from murderous, as it is among Islamic extremists in the Middle East, but it is serious enough to have prompted the evacuation this summer of nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy here. If you want to know the consequences of America's unpopularity, you only need to call 011 389-2 116-180, the Embassy's number in Skopje. If you press 5 for the options in English, the first words you hear are the following: "To report the death, hospitalization, or arrest of an American citizen, press 3." Time to watch Ted on Nightline, every once in a great while he asks a tough question. See you in post 2500 or something