"Whatever the outcome of this war, we are
now engaged in a new global arms race."
UNITED IN SHAME
By: Jean Sand
Being from Europe I want to apologize to the people of Yugoslavia, the Serbs, the
Kosovo Albanians, and the Montenegrins, for the terror being brought upon them by
the US-led NATO aggression. I want clearly to distance myself from this action and
most importantly I'm not alone. I also want to make it crystal clear that I'm
utterly
opposed to all criminal actions against civilian Kosovo Albanians in Kosovo
allegedly
done by Serb paramilitary and police forces.
As a reaction to my article "NATO's humanitarian attack and the media" I have had
an influx of emails, the majority from the US. People expressing their disgust and
contempt to the Clinton Administration's latest adventure. Many of them are
actively
working via web sides and other media outlets to try to service their part in an
effort
to end this madness. I would like to quote one email from Alaska, "I have always
been a strong advocate of our military. Yet I have never been an advocate of this
Commander in Mis-Chief we now have as a President or his moronic use of our
military. I'm sure you are aware of the dire straits that our military is now in
since this
farce of a President took office."
Belgrade's resistance and courageous will not to yield to the aggressor's demands
has grudgingly weathered respect in both US and in Europe. It has also caused
people to revue the media produced ""facts" from the former war -91 to -95 and to
come up with the story of the 500 US pilots who were saved by the Serbs during
World War 2 under severe conditions, and to find out that the Serbs protected the
Jews from Gestapo's one-way-ticket to hell. Slowly the image of the Serbs is
changing. They are not murderers or rapists, but merely people like you and me.
I'm
forgetting the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and the refugees, you say. No I'm not. I
would like to reiterate that so far no one knows what really has happened inside
Kosovo. The information NATO is relying on is largely based on tips from KLA.
A soldier in the Yugoslav army is summarily court-martialed if caught in anything
like
the atrocities described so vividly by NATO, even for looting. The Serb
Paramilitary
Groups and police units may have been involved in criminal activities against
civilians,
maybe even responsible for atrocities, but previous incidents advocate that blame
is
equally shared by both sides in this civil-war.
Kosovo is now a battlefield, fierce fighting on the ground and "moral" bombs and
missiles from above. Any sane person would run like hell.
The real nature of what has taken place or is unfolding in Kosovo can only be
verified by an international investigative body being allowed in, but this can
only
happen once the bombing stops. No representative from any NATO country should
participate, it will be like an aggressor being allowed to sit in his own jury.
Why the
title of this article? It was provoked by an email I received from Sweden, telling
me
that yes, NATO is hitherto united, it stands united in shame, flagrantly in
disrespect of
all the values our democracies stand for.
This is exactly it. The liberals now in power hail from the "flower power", the
"peacenik", the "peace to the world" and John Lennon's "imagine all the people",
that
try-to-smoke-marijuana-not inhale generation. Once they are pushed into power it
takes only some moral incentive and they start to cry blood, transformed into
egregious warmongers, causing even traditional war hawks to lift an eye-lid.
Words from Erich From's book "Escape from freedom" come to mind: "Power is a
poisonous apple". The bombings in Iraq and the war now against Yugoslavia have
shown that NATO has passed the line of honor and can no longer be regarded as
GUARANTOR of PEACE and STABILITY. Exactly like a soldier praised as a
hero, ceases to be a hero and turns into a terrorist if he begins to apply his
military
abilities on defenseless civilians.
The US has bombed four nations in the last eight months and are still bombing two
of
them. Don't you see some questions begging? The US is currently imposing sanctions
on 15 nations.
What will we see next year, eight nations bombed? It seems to be a progression
here. The Clinton Administration has made a mockery out of the highly regarded
values laid down in the Constitution of The US, the principles of our Western
culture,
freedom, equality and brotherhood of man. They have sold their sole to big
business,
flagging "humanitarianism" and "moral".
I know the Americans are having a hard time believing in conspiracy theories. You
say this is far-fetched, well let us look at the facts before us.
Follow the money trail. Who are the benefactors of this war? There is only one
immediate winner (who has already cashed in), the arms industry. Have a glance at
their share prices. This doesn't compute you say, the war is costing $ 20 billion.
Yes,
but that cost is passed onto you, ladies and gentlemen, the taxpayers. >From a
pure
commercial point of view the business of America is war. Whatever the outcome of
this war, we are now engaged in a new global arms race. "Flower power" is out,
military might is in.
Look at the corporate owned media and their presentation of "facts". You say there
is no propaganda in US and Europe. We have a free press. Let us again look at
what is before us. Who is the benefactor of the refugee's degradation, of the
alleged
atrocities, of the ethnic cleansing? NATO of course, it desperately needs the
status
quo to maintain the air strikes and to justify its adventure. If NATO really
wanted to
solve the refugee situation they could have done so, using its enormous capacity
to
move soldiers and equipment, and not delegate the problem to volunteer help
organizations and some petty cash (in comparison) granted from Governments
involved. NATO's views are fed on the public by the corporate owned mainstream
media in a 24hours gospel-truth-happening. Presentation of the complexity of the
crisis, giving the viewer freedom of choice to make up his or her own mind, is a
no-go.
The European NATO member countries are not to be left off the hook. They believe
that their excessive servitude to Washington will pay off, maybe deserve a slap on
the shoulder. Their collusive compliance have made them both participants and
accomplice in the bombing, and all its objectives, known or unknown. Not to
mention Blair: he is always in the forefront when it comes to bombing, but this is
only
a natural talent as he is only happy being more Clinton than Clinton himself.
What if this whole exercise is also targeting destabilization of the EU and its
new
monetary unit? They are still not getting it - are they? The rhetoric used by
these new
liberal leaders is a vomit of words, commuted down to us from their sanctimonious
peak. The divine message of their New World Order and their devotion to take on
the lead in a world full of people ignorant to what is best for them.
Oh! Haven't we heard it all before. These liberals have no sense for history.
Their
trigger-happy quasi-liberalism has sleepwalked them into a morass and they will
have
to call in the fire brigade to get out. NATO has lost the war, all the initial
objectives
are now nil and void, but it is scared shitless of loosing the battle. In not
knowing
what to do they simply continue and expand the bombing, giving the impression
"everything according to plan". Clinton even speaks of the weather conditions and
he
expects better and more bombing advantageous weather in June and July. Is it
possible! I can only shout! Abort! Abort! The prevailing argument seems to be that
the best way to get out of a strategic mistake is to compound it. This happens to
be
the classic definition of insanity. Do the same thing again and again all the time
expecting different results.
The Latin historian Tacitus wrote the following: "They made a desert and called it
peace". What solutions are at hand now? How can infamy be turned into hope? How
can a face saving formula be found for NATO, as this is evidently all that the
bombing is about now?
First of all the bombing must stop, unconditionally. In doing so NATO will show
greatness and at least be able to withdraw with some honor. Maybe it should jump
on the small window of opportunity given by today's event, the release of the
three
POWs.
How to secure this? The two leading racehorses, Clinton and Blair, have to be
towed in. This can only be done by a broader involvement of political bodies in
the
respective countries.
All parties have to sit down at the table for new real negotiations.
-Milosevic will have to yield and allow an armed peacekeeping force into Kosovo
under UN supervision, may be in some sort of collaboration with the Yugoslav army.
Last month's development has magnified the original problem in Kosovo. The
embitterment and fanaticism has reached radical levels which it will take years if
not
decades to deal with. Without a neutral armed force in place the safe return of
the
refugees will be problematic if not impossible. Instead of fighting it, Milosevic
should
welcome the willingness from the real international community represented by UN to
take on such a task.
-Paramilitary groups or other eventual similar entities must be decommissioned and
taken out of Kosovo.
-An International investigative body must be allowed in and given unrestricted
access. -An indemnification plan for rebuilding of Yugoslavia must be worked out
and implemented.
-Upon a workable agreement the embargo on Yugoslavia must be lifted.
The alternative! Well, US did not succeed in "stone-aging" Vietnam, and we have to
give it to them, they really tried. Maybe NATO will manage to "stone-age"
Yugoslavia. I don't think so; the NATO alliance will crack long before that is a
reality.
In the meantime civilians are bombed to death every day and remember the bombs
don't discriminate between ethnic groups, soldiers and children, women and
elderly.
Our leaders have made us all complicit to this tragedy, isn't it time we tell them
that
enough is enough. Thank you for your attention.
May 2, 1999
Yours truly
Jean Sand
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