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Why are we bombing Yugoslavia?
This is at once a timely topic and one appropriate for Easter. As the prospect of ground troops being injected into Yugoslavia looms closer with each passing day, perhaps it is time to
consider why we are supporting a mission to bomb Yugoslavia.
As we continue to drop bombs and hurl cruise missiles into the very heart of Belgrade, protests continue around the world against continued NATO presence in the region. I read continued calls for the cessation
of bombing, for the withdrawl of troops, and the cessation of hostilities against Yugoslavia. Even Art Bell, the venerated late-night talk show host, has weighed in with his opinion that the conflict is "none
of our damn business." link
While I respect the opinions of various learned people who have been lining up on both sides of the issue, I can't help but wonder what would happen if we DID stop, immediately cease all operations in Kosovo,
Macedonia, and Albania. The immediate reaction would be one of jubilation amongst the Serbs in Yugoslavia, because now there would be nothing between themselves and the wholesale slaughter of hundreds of
thousands of Albanians in Kosovo province. As in Croatia, these people would be slaughtered without mercy, while we stood by and watched.
While it may be topically true that the "conflict" (I suppose it's a "conflict" when Serb troops drag unarmed civilians out into the street and shoot them in the head) in Kosovo is "none of our damn business" as Art
says, can we stand idly by and watch as hundreds of thousands of people are tortured, raped, and murdered, often under the most inhumane circumstances? Can we stand by and watch as ethnic Albanians are driven
from their homes into neighboring Macedonia, stripped of everything they own, even their identity as Serbian troops force them to give up any papers they possess that show they have any sort of individual
identity? How long are we going to complain about 3 American soldiers being captured while thousands of Albanians follow their Croat brothers and sisters into oblivion, as if a single American life was somehow
far more important and worthy than thousands of Albanian victims?
Shortly after NATO began to bomb Yugoslavia, Serbian troops stepped up their oppression and outright murder of Albanians in Kosovo. While there was nary a word of protest, demonstrators instead began to blame
NATO for the stepped-up oppression, as if NATO were somehow responsible for the actions of Serbian troops. This is a ridiculous assertion - in fact, it is being used as an excuse to step up aggression against
Albanians.
Now, we are poised on the edge of using ground troops to prevent Serbians from massacring even more Albanians, and we hear comparisons in the press, comparisons to Vietnam and Korea. Again, I ask - are we to
stand by, uncaring, as an entire race is wiped from the face of the earth? If we do nothing, if we protest, we stand with and solidly behind the murderers in Kosovo who seek to kill all Albanians within the
borders of Yugoslavia. By our protest, we protest justice, protest mercy, and protest action against the killers of an entire nation.
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