I realize many, if not most of you, watch TV. And that means that the image has been driving the message.
Lately, that image has been coming from Iraq. But to understand Iraq, you must understand Afghanistan. And to understand Afghanistan, you must understand Yugoslavia.
Many of you know I have never been a fan of the US-led NATO invasion and occupation of the sovereign nation of Yugoslavia. Despite the fact that a Democratic party President supported the invasion, it was the first step towards setting a precedence that the US and its allies "knew better" than did the democratically elected government of a sovereign nation.
The US-led NATO bombing of Yugoslavia began in late 1998 and was harshly criticized by Republicans and others, yet today thousands of Americans continue to put their lives on the line to patrol, police and effectively govern two areas: Kosovo and Bosnia. This post will focus on Bosnia, but I have posted several Diaries on Kosovo of late if you're interested.
The United Nations, I am sorry to say, established an "international" war crimes tribunal to prosecute those responsible for ethnic cleansing, genocide and other war crimes in the former nation of Yugoslavia. I put the word "international" in quotes because, despite a widespread disbelief on DailyKos, the United States went to great lengths to make sure its own citizens were automatically immune from prosecution. Not only was the sovereign nation of Yugoslavia bombed and attacked into submission, it was also forced to give up its democratically elected leader, Slobodan Milosevic. Again, I must remind everyone out there that in 2004 he is still not convicted of any crime and there are many people worldwide (not just "evil Serbs") who feel he is innocent.
But nevermind all that for a minute, ok? And nevermind that just as many ethnic Croats and Bosniacs have been convicted by the tribunal as Serbs. Since Yugoslavia's destruction, NATO has been responsible for maintaining security and order in the nation now known as the "Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina". SFOR is the designation for NATO troops in Bosnia (KFOR is the corresponding force in Kosovo) and there are currently 12,000 NATO troops in SFOR.
Last Thursday, SFOR troops blasted their way into a church in the city of Pale in an attempt to arrest Radovan Karadzic, an ethnic Serb who has been indicted by the tribunal. They didn't catch Mr. Karadzic, who wasn't there, but did put a priest and his son into a coma.
Jeremija Starovlah and his 28-year old son Aleksandar suffered serious injuries to the head when about 40 US and British troops used explosives to blast a way into their home near the Orthodox church in Karadzic's wartime stronghold of Pale.
Doctors said on Thursday that the two had been admitted to Tuzla hospital with "life threatening injuries" and were in "critical condition".
What was NATO's response to the critical wounding of two innocent people? Not much:
Allied troops critically wounded a Serbian Orthodox priest and his son on Wednesday in a night-time raid aimed at grabbing Karadzic in his former stronghold of Pale, sparking protests by thousands of angry Bosnian Serbs on Thursday.
"Everybody is doing what he or she can to get them because ... it is important that they go where they should be, which is the Hague international tribunal," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news conference.
He voiced no regret about the casualties in what was at least the third failed bid to arrest Karadzic in the last year.
It's actually at least the fourth attempt. Furthermore, what's not very well elaborated upon is that the United States has unilaterally decided to punish Serbia and Montenegro by suspending humanitarian aid for its refusal to "produce" Karadzic. Let's review this: Serbia and Montenegro, a separate country, just got punished for failure to produce a man who lives in a different country, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
I should also mention here that Mr. Karadzic has had a five million dollar pricetag on his head for years. So, did NATO have reliable information that regrettably led to blowing off the door to a church and putting a priest into a coma? Not really:
NATO has a habit of staging raids to capture war crimes suspects on the eve of ministerial meetings, apparently in an effort to bolster the organization's deterrent image.
Thousands of Serbs protested the NATO actions, upset not just because two innocent people were put into a coma but also because soldiers blasted into a church. It's hard not to blame them.
However, there is another piece of the puzzle which needs to be addressed. This is a map of the current nation of Bosnia. Notice the bizarre zig-zag line all along the border with Serbia and Montenegro? That's the Republika Srpska, a collection of 64 cities and villages inhabited mostly by Serbs within the boundaries of the nation of Bosnia. Or better said, federation of Bosnia.
What am I talking about? The "nation" we call Bosnia is actually a federation of three political entities. The government is divided equally into thirds: one part Bosniac (the Bosnia part), one part Croat (the Herzegovina part) and one part Serb (Republika Srpska).
But again, most people don't care about Bosnia. So let's tie this to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Five years after a US-led NATO occupation, how are the people of Bosnia doing? I'll be extra fair and only quote the federal government.
From here:
GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of black market activity. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slow, and local entities only reluctantly support national-level institutions.
Per capita earnings per year: approximately 1900 dollars. That's 158 dollars a month. Still it's not too bad is it?
The Government's human rights record remained poor; although there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. Police continued to abuse and physically mistreat detainees and other citizens. Police brutality continued; however, police accountability for individual abuses improved. Overcrowding and antiquated facilities continued to be a problem in prisons. Infringement of privacy rights occurred and was particularly targeted towards minority returnees. The judiciary in both entities remained subject to influence by dominant political parties and by the executive branch; the administration of justice was sporadic and vulnerable to manipulation. Even when independent decisions were rendered, local authorities often refused to carry them out.
Conditions were worse in police detention facilities, where overcrowding and inadequate food and hygiene were chronic problems. Corruption among prison officials continued to be a problem. In January, prisoners rioted in a prison in Zenica, destroying part of the roof of the prison and stealing from the kitchen; however, the situation quickly calmed down without any intervention from authorities. The Federation Minister of Justice subsequently went to the prison to hear prisoners' concerns and complaints, and a joint agreement was reached.
Don't get too depressed however. The above descriptions are not too far off the mark for many countries in this world. But how is the quality of life for people? That's harder to measure.
In the final analysis however, five years of occupation has brought a bitterly hostile populace, resisting both the temptations of a cash reward and the punishment of being cut off from aid in order to protect what they feel is their dignity. Let's look at the three nations currently under the aegis of the United States' imperial projects called nation building:
Bosnia is legally divided into three bitterly hateful districts based on ethnicity.
Afghanistan has three major ethnic and linguistic groups.
Iraq has two major ethnic groups and two major religious groups.
Bosnia still has to be patrolled by foreign troops years after they were predicted to be no longer necessary
Afghanistan cannot even keep its own capital free from rocket attacks and bombings
Iraq is the wild west
Bosnia suffers from widespread poverty and corruption and receives massive amounts of foreign aid
Afghanistan is the poorest nation on Earth, totally dependent on foreign aid
Iraq's unemployment level is through the roof and in effect has an economy that exports nothing, not even petroleum
Bosnia's citizens continue to be killed by landmines and unexplored ordinance
Afghanistan's landmines and unexplored ordinance keep killing everyone (1,206 people in 2002), including American soldiers
Iraq is shaken by daily roadside bomb blasts
So, in conclusion, while your mind may be swayed by the entrancing images coming out of Iraq, please take a moment to look ahead in time and try to understand what life may be for the people of Iraq AND for what the commitments in terms of lives lost, money spent and resources that will be required because of George Bush's obsession with Saddam Hussein.
Peace. It's the only answer
-Soj