To: John Lacelle who wrote (6490 ) 10/1/1998 11:05:00 AM From: Daniel Schuh Read Replies (4) | Respond to
Right. American involvement in the former Yugoslavia predates Clinton, you know. It didn't accomplish much, though, until somebody put a little muscle behind it. That somebody wasn't George Bush, needless to say.nytimes.com The Serbs, rather than hunt down armed groups, blasted villages into rubble with 20-millimeter cannon, grenade launchers and .50-caliber machine guns. Those trapped in the houses died and many of those who fled were gunned down, according to witnesses. Many bodies, laid out at mass funerals, bore signs of mutilation and summary execution. Serbian officials have tried to blame the rebel fighters for the carnage, saying the guerrillas executed those who tried to run away. The ethnic Albanians, who make up 90 percent of Kosovo's 2 million people, had their autonomy stripped by Belgrade in 1989 when they began to call for an independent state. A shadow government led by Ibrahim Rugova has mounted a disciplined program of civic resistance that has seen the ethnic Albanians boycott all state institutions, set up their own schools and administration, and collect taxes. nytimes.com But any ultimate action would depend on support from the Clinton administration. A spokesman for the State Department, James Foley, said Wednesday, "Military action is a live and real prospect."
