Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- "Bound & Overwatch - The Military Observer http://www.boundandoverwatch.com./ NATO's Collective Guilt By J. David Galland August 10, 2001 The old adage, those who live in glass houses ought not throw stones, comes to mind. Or perhaps, let he who is totally without fault cast aspersions. When Slobodan Milosevic stands in the "accused" box before the war crimes tribunal, we may all, well, travel back to the early lessons of our childhood. The rule of right and wrong, and the ever-present law of reciprocity, never really go out of style, age and wither, or fall subject to a statute of limitations. Many Western leaders, politicians, and otherwise self-effacing "do-gooders" may be in for quite a surprise within the next few months. As is apparent, the world seeks to hold Slobodan Milosevic responsible for just about everything that is wrong in the Balkans. However, the roots of complicity and responsibility extend far beyond the shaky borders of The Former Yugoslavia. These tentacles extend well into Washington D. C., London, Bonn, Berlin, and Brussels. It is there, where the cleverly concealed skullduggeries are common. Where wise men espouse righteousness and retribution against others, save their own comeuppance. They, in their pompous perfection are adept at ignoring their own tainted vices. Their transgressions and late night dealing have enormously contributed to give the world; Yugoslavia what it is today. It is a foundering torso without arms or legs, devoid of hearing and the sense to taste, left only with the withering capability to smell its own rot with barely functioning olfactory autonomy. It is thoroughly ironic that several of the nations supporting the U. N. war-crimes tribunal in The Hague, were also very ardent supporters of Croatian and the Bosnian Muslims. Where does the line get crossed, where can implicit guilt and complicity be established? Does a Western leader, in this case, bear responsibility for the foreign policies of his or her country? Are the actions of supporting foreign insurgencies, equipping one side and denying armament to the other, and conducing protracted bombing campaigns involvement enough by an individual? I assert that it is, and Milosevic will not be the benefactor of any measure of fair jurisprudence if he, and he alone, stands as a defendant. We must turn to the current situation in Macedonia, in order to put Milosevic's past actions in perspective. It is important to understand that Milosevic's plan for a "Greater Serbia" was the "lynch-pin" of the ethnic Albanian desires for a "Greater Albania". Milosevic's efforts for Serbia, unfortunately, brought him into alliance with Radovan Karadzic, who was the Bosnian Serb President at the time. Also joining the Milosevic inner circle was the commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, General Ratko Mladic. Now, the Macedonian government, immensely assisted by NATO combat support capabilities particularly in the intelligence arena, is fighting these Albanians. Or so we are led to believe. When the Serb army tried to take a toll on the same people, whom the Macedonians are fighting with now, NATO's bombs fell. Logically, a prudent person must assume that Macedonian politicians, and senior military leaders, ought to also be indicted, eventually, just as Milosevic. Let us take this one step further, on the road of justice, and ask that if Milosevic is indicted, then why are Western leaders who directed NATO's war against Kosovo, not indicted? The United States, the CIA, The European Union, and NATO all supported the Albanian Guerrilla force, in more ways than the casual or naïve observer may suspect. The Albanian force was the perfect candidate to go into Serbia after the seventy-nine day bombing campaign, to do the infantry-style mopping up. The reality of their mission translates into ethnic cleansing. And they killed as many Serbs as possible. NATO invoked the; Admiral Nelson, "blind eye to the telescope", policy, and condoned the killing of Serbs. Now, the rogue Albanian Guerrilla force, which was once the fair-haired child of the West, has caused NATO more than just a short pause for concern. They are completely out of control and the world now knows, that they were once a CIA directed mercenary force. This Albanian Guerrilla force was paid to do what NATO soldiers were not called on to do, close with and kill the enemy. NATO, clearly, did not want their infantrymen on the ground trading fire with the Serbs. This undoubtedly would have brought dead soldiers home to small towns in America and in numerous European Union Countries. I suggest that this grisly yield would have drawn far more attention, than NATO wants, to its dirty dealings in the Balkans. It is obvious that the complications, which exist in the Balkans, are the result of deep divisions along many lines. One might view this as more evidence, while mankind matriculates toward maturity, that people of conflicting beliefs, customs, races, and values may, in fact, not be able to live harmoniously in a state of demographic nirvana. However, when external governments bully their ways into a foreign land and measure, quantify, validate, and classify what life and society will be by their own, often narrow, spectrum of tolerance the wild-fires of grass roots dissent will spread with rapidity. The argument; that just because there is a powerful force, in the form of a neighborhood bully lurking around the corner set to pounce, if we do not ascribe to his beliefs, ought not set precedent and acceptability levels for the masses. Slobodan Milosevic is not the only defendant, morally or criminally, on this world stage of The Former Yugoslavia. Responsibility by the West and the un-fettered application of law must extend to the entire world and mankind as a whole. Impartiality is absolutely necessary if the War Crimes Tribunal can be recognized as legal or effective. The prejudiced, arrogant, and personal vendetta motivated actions, of Chief European Inquisitor, Swiss Lawyer Carla Del Ponte, leave little doubt that Milosevic will bear the brunt of International Jurisprudence, designed specifically for him. In the meantime, the Western leaders, and many within the structure of NATO, will remain aloof, as they wash the legacy of Slobodan Milosevic down with a couple fingers of Gin and marvel at their own Teflon coated immunity. One can strike the word "fair" from its present position of contemporary usage. --------------------------------- J. David Galland is the Founder and President of "Bound & Overwatch - The Military Observer", a 100% Non-Profit organization which serves as the advocate for soldiers and their families, as well as for veterans. Mr. Galland is a veteran of The United States Army, with over thirty-two years military service. Since 1969, Mr. Galland has been in Military Intelligence and is a distinquished graduate of the U. S. Army Intelligence Center & School, Fort Holabird, Maryland. He is a combat veteran of Vietnam, Grenada, and Panama and of hazardous duty positions in Ulster, Northern Ireland, Zagreb, Sarajevo, in the Former Yugoslavia, as well as various missions in Croatia and Bosnia. Mr. Galland has spent most of his military career outside the normal command channels in classified assignments as an Area Intelligence Technician, Case Officer, and Desk Action Officer. He is a internationally respected Defense Analyst, Author & Columnist, and Subject Matter Expert on Intelligence Tradecraft in the HUMINT discipline. As well, he is an authority of the former East German Staatssicherheitsdienst (Stasi). Mr. Galland is a contributing columnist to "The Reagan Information Exchange", Colonel David H. Hackworth's "Defending America", column and website, as well as "PRAVDA" (English Version) The Voice of The West in Russia. He also serves on the Advisory Council, and as the Military Intelligence and Strategic Issues Subject Matter Expert, for "Soldiers For The Truth" http://www.sftt.org He has been further published by numerous news periodicals and newspapers, both in The United States and Europe. Mr. Galland is fluent in numerous European based languages with English and German as his primary use languages. He is available as a motivational or historic speaker for non-profit groups, schools, or institutions of higher learning. He may be contacted via http://www.boundandoverwatch.com./ ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
