Kosovo crisis
Kosovo crisisAs this paper is being written, across the Atlantic Ocean, in Kosovo, there are missiles being fired, houses burning, and people dying. But to understand this senseless war, one must look at how it started.
As was seen in the U.S.S.R and Checkoslovakia, due to different nationalities, regions of countries demand sovereignty and independence. This was how it all started in Kosovo, dominated by an Albanian population. Even after receiving autonomy, Albanian terrorist acts continued, carried out by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). They seeked independence and perhaps even joining the greater Albania. The Yugoslavian army was forced to enter and control these terrorist acts. Then came NATO�
Driven by atrocity stories of brutality by the Yugoslavian army, NATO decided to take matters into their own hands. The bombing, on the large part an American operation, began on March 24th, 1999. These military actions received immediate opposition from a few non-NATO member countries, headed by Russia. Russia, taking the role of a peacekeeper, vowed not to fight to defend Serbia, relieving many of the fear of World War 3.
The very involvement of NATO in Yugoslavia raises some ethical, moral and political issues. What business does this organization have in entering a civil war in an independent country? NATO violated the UN Charter of prohibition against the use of force against a member state of the UN. Taking a much-criticized tactic of bombing selective targets in Kosovo, the strategy for NATO appeared to be "bomb and hope."
Hoping for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic to back down and issue orders for a retreat of his troops, NATO continued the destruction of strategic targets, as Russia called for a suspension, if not a halt to the bombing. But it wasn't the bombing of military installations that got NATO in deep waters. It was the "civilian casualties" that followed, which seemed inevitable from the start. On April 12th and 14th, off-course missiles resulted in 92 civilian deaths. Two buses were destroyed on different occasions as they were crossing targeted bridges; 34 and 17 people died respectively, as dozens of others were injured. On April 27th a missile slammed into a civilian Serbian town, killing 20. Other unsuccessful air strikes saw the destruction of a hospital, a house near the capital of NATO ally Bulgaria and a Chinese embassy. U.S. President, Bill Clinton, could not apologize his way out of thousands of Chinese protesting the NATO air strike. Perhaps one of NATO's biggest mistakes was the destruction of Belgrade's RTS TV studio. As an obvious attempt to shut down the Serbian propaganda, NATO violated the journalistic and human right of freedom of speech. This incident jeopardizes the safety of all journalists, because they have now become targets themselves.
As 11 million Serbs live in fear of being bombed, the Western media concentrates on the trauma suffered by the Albanian refugees. Leaving the country by hundreds of thousands the Albanians are said to be victims of ethnic cleansing. Nobody stops to think...
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