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Date sent: Fri, 11 Jun 1999 19:19:14 -0400
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Subject: [FAIR-L] War,
the Great Stabilizer: Media's Superficial Critiques of NATO's War
gnore the Dangerous Precedent Set
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FAIR-L
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting
Media analysis, critiques and news reports
Media Advisory:
War, the Great Stabilizer: Media's Superficial Critiques of NATO's
War
Ignore the Dangerous Precedent Set
June 11, 1999
As NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia neared its conclusion, the press began
debating whether or not the war was a success. Many mainstream
commentators and reporters were critical of NATO's tactics, but NATO's
basic spin on the war--it was a just war waged against genocidal evil, and
it has improved the region's chances for peace and democracy--went almost
unchallenged.
The idea that the war in Kosovo has proved that military force is an
integral part of a humanitarian foreign policy appeared again and again in
the pages of the New York Times and Washington Post. As Thomas Friedman
put it (New York Times, 6/4/99), if Slobodan Milosevic really carries out
his end of the deal, then NATO's action in Kosovo "will establish that an
air war for limited humanitarian goals can be effective, albeit costly." A
Washington Post editorial of the same day followed suit, praising "NATO's
resolute pounding of Serbian forces," which allowed the West to show that
"it would not stand for crimes against humanity." It was against this
backdrop consensus that most of the press' criticism took place.
The most common criticism of the war made by writers in the New York
Times and the Washington Post was that it should have been conducted
more aggressively, in order to topple Milosevic's government. For
example, a New York Times article (6/5/99) cautioned that though the war
has been won, military sources "say it is vital that the alliance not take
away the wrong lessons from the air campaign." The right lessons are,
according to the editorial, that NATO should be less worried about
civilian casualties: "Instead of taking the war to downtown Belgrade
during the opening hours of the war, NATO waited weeks before attacking
targets in the Yugoslav capital, forfeiting the element of surprise and
blunting the allies' ability to shock the enemy."
NATO's professed reluctance to prepare ground troops was also often
cited as a central strategic flaw. In one New York Times op-ed (6/5/99),
William Odom, director of the National Security Agency under Reagan, says
"President Clinton's failure to make the overthrow of Mr. Milosevic a war
aim leaves the Serb leader free to destroy the pro-NATO regime in
Montenegro, to repress the Hungarian minority in Vojvodina and to cause
trouble elsewhere." He concludes that Clinton's "bombing-only strategy,
which reflected a fear of a ground war" has "undercut America's moral
standing" and set the stage for the demise of NATO.
In his New York Times column (6/7/99), William Safire sums up the
media's prevailing arguments: "In Kosovo, the Western world is doing the
right thing in the wrong way. The right thing was to place humanity's
resistance to barbarism above national sovereignty.... Civilization is
more civilized for having intervened to do the right thing." Among the
mistakes Safire says NATO made were ruling out ground troops early on; not
attacking with enough force ("We should have turned out the lights in
Belgrade and destroyed telecommunications the first day"); and allowing
Russia and the "weak sisters" of Germany, Italy and Greece too much say in
NATO decisions ("Consensus should be sought, but no member of NATO should
be able to veto the great majority's decision").
Safire goes on to identify Slobodan Milosevic as the primary threat to
stability in the Balkans, arguing that "until sensible Serbs decide to
hand the Milosevic gang over to the Hague tribunal," no aid or assistance
should be given to Serbia.
This sentiment was echoed by the Washington Post; one Post editorial
(6/4/99) declares that "only when he [Milosevic] is in the dock in the
Hague, after all, can the Balkans truly hope for peace and stability."
Another states (6/6/99):
"If Milosevic prevails, his brand of brutal
nationalism will spread. If the Kosovo war marks the beginning of his
demise, then other countries in transition will more likely see their
future in democracy, fair treatment of minorities and peaceful neighborly
relations."
One op-ed that stepped outside the narrow range of debate was by D.G.
Kousoulas (Washington Post, 6/8/99). He points out that it is illogical to
try to "promote stability by encouraging separatist movements among
minorities," and warns that "encouraging or tolerating a separatist
movement such as the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) might set the stage for
another Balkan war."
In fact, recent events--largely unreported by the mainstream
media--suggest that NATO's intervention in Kosovo is being seen as a
legitimization of Albanian secessionist struggle, and has already
encouraged separatist groups in eastern Europe.
Long-simmering tensions over the status of ethnic Hungarian minorities in
both Romania and the Serbian province of Vojvodina have been exacerbated
by NATO's intervention in Kosovo. The situation in Vojvodina has gotten
some press (though rarely with a suggestion that NATO bears any
responsibility), but the furor that erupted in Romania over a paper signed
by prominent ethnic Hungarian intellectuals has gone virtually unnoticed
in the American media. Calling for dramatically increased autonomy for
Romania's Transylvania region, the document puts forth an argument for
devolution that "while framed in economic terms, has clear ethnic
overtones as Transylvania is home to a large population of ethnic
Hungarians," reports Global Intelligence Update (6/9/99), an online news
service published by the consulting firm Stratfor. "Hungarian nationalists
are keying off of NATO's actions on behalf of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo
and are calling for a broad revision of borders in the region."
As Stratfor points out (Global Intelligence Update, 6/9/99), "with NATO
seen as effectively sanctioning the devolution, if not independence, of an
ethnically Albanian Kosovo from Serbia, keeping these other problems in
check will be an increasingly difficult task.... There are a great number
of maps of Europe waiting to be redrawn, and a host of groups eager to
start drawing."
This perspective--that NATO's intervention has weakened, not
strengthened, stability in the region, and taking out Milosevic isn't a
panacea for Europe's ethnic conflicts--was barely part of the debate in
the leading U.S. dailies.
This media advisory was written by FAIR intern Rachel Coen.
For more of FAIR's analysis of Balkans war coverage, visit our web site
at: http://www.fair.org
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