Deja vu all over again ... Remember how World War ONE started? I guess not. We think of wars in terms of "like." i.e., like Desert Storm, like Vietnam, like Korea or World War II -- IF we think of them AT ALL -- since most Americans of conscriptable age today --many voting-age citizens today-- have no idea who REAGAN was, much less what a REAL war (NOT "like Grenada," or "Desert Storm," a CNN photo-op) is. So we compare each new engagement to Vietnam or WWII -- wars in which the "sides," two only, were (in the popular mind anyway) clearly marked "good" and "evil" and the aim of that war seemed clear. But our very FIRST "world" war was qualified by NO such niceties -- and it's not likely the THIRD will be either. WWI was fueled by a crazy-quilt of competing interests, all swarming at once into the yawning void left, in the strategically-priceless Balkans, by the collapse of a great Eastern European empire (much like the old USSR) -- a power-bloc which had been deliberately undermined by the more "modern" "rational" "capitalist" empires seeking economic dominion over SE Europe. It was the SERBS, by the way --those maniacal bomb-throwing "anarchists," the civilized world's arch-villains before the "Nazis"-- who set us on the course to World War I, in a decade-long dress rehearsal in the Balkans (much like too-many-cooks "Bosnia" in the years since Clinton became our handler). WWI started out as a LOCAL dispute, a multi-party "civil" war in the Balkans, grew into a conflict between the Balkans and the rest of the world, and then snowballed into a contest between Russia and Germany, between Greece and Turkey, and soon between everybody else in the Middle East as well as in Europe, over how to "restore order" in the area -- which was "coincidentally" strategically very valuable to the great powers. Deja vu ... NATO (basically, U.S. mercenaries backing up the "EU" military might of GERMANY, Serbia's ancient enemy) celebrates its 50th anniversary by launching its very first OFFENSIVE attack ever, in the Balkans. Russia is so outraged by this "act of aggression" on the part of the capitalist West, in what used to be its OWN colonies, that it threatens to arm the Serbs against the Kosovo Muslims, whom the West has chosen to defend. As Muslims, Kosovars can appeal to fellow "Arab terrorists" in the Middle East proper --perhaps even Iran -- to send help. Turkey, a Muslim lackey of the U.S. just "across the street" from Kosovo, still has more than a little interest in helping, from once (during its Ottoman days) having had a foothold in SE Europe itself -- but such help would certainly antagonize Greece (Cyprus etc), an Orthodox Christian nation sandwiched between Muslims in Kosovo and Muslims in Turkey and for that reason inclined in a pinch to side with the Serbs, with Russia, against the Western powers ... and suddenly the gateway to the Mediterranean and Near East is slipping into chaos, dragging every European nation, and even the U.S., down into that quicksand .... Another thing too, speaking of deja vu -- This spring and summer the planet Uranus (planet of "powderkegs") in Aquarius (sign ruling terrorism and revolution) is lingering around 15 degrees of that sign. Some 84 years ago, it was PREVIOUSLY in the SAME position. That was 1913-14 -- just before the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by a Serb nationalist that started WWI, when the Balkans were toxic with martial hysteria. (Remember that, as a result of that war, the Communist "terrorists" would ascend to power in Russia, replacing its tamer rulers. We may see that happen again TOO ...) The year before, in 1912, the thing on everyone's minds was the sinking of the Titanic. Now, tell me -- what was the big OSCAR winner LAST year? By "coincidence" ... ? Does history repeat itself, cyclically? And it's not even August yet ... No eclipse yet, and SO FAR, no Nostradamian "king of terror" descending, like Genghis Khan and his Mongol Horde, on the pitiably decadent "civilized" world ... U.S. Urges Russia Not To Arm Serbs By BARRY SCHWEID .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Convinced that Russia's angry reaction to the NATO attack on the Serbs is geared to a domestic audience, the Clinton administration hopes President Boris Yeltsin's suspension of ties to the alliance will be short-lived. ``We will just have to watch and see what decisions Russia makes,'' Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott told The Associated Press. ``That depends on them.'' Yeltsin suspended cooperation with NATO to protest the attack. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, meanwhile, hinted Russia would try to get the U.N. arms embargo against Yugoslavia lifted, which Clinton said would be ``a terrible mistake.'' The Serbs ``have quite a lot of arms on their own. They made a lot of arms in the former Yugoslavia,'' Clinton said. ``I have no intention of lifting any of the arms embargo on Serbia.'' The administration also is checking reports the Russians already were providing Belgrade with weapons to resist the NATO cruise missile and bombing attack. ``We are watching that closely with our eyes open,'' said another senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity. ``We have seen nothing definitive.'' Russia joined with the United States and four European countries in framing the proposed settlement for Kosovo that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic has rejected. But Russia also consistently has opposed the use of force against the Serbs. Yeltsin on Wednesday called the NATO attack ``naked aggression.'' He added that if the fighting spread, Russia reserved the right to take measures, ``including those of a military character,'' to defend itself and the security of Europe. However, he backed off on that threat Thursday, as did Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov. ``We have different responses at our disposal. Regarding military potential, our country is second to no one,'' Primakov said on Russia's NTV television. ``But we aren't taking those steps.'' Russian officials on Thursday also forced a U.N. Security Council vote today on the legality of the NATO bombing, but the resolution was certain to fail under a veto threat from the United States and Britain. Dimitri Simes, president of the private Nixon Center and a leading Russian analyst, called the rift with Russia far more serious than the situation in the Balkans. ``This is the most serious event since the end of the Cold War, with far- reaching consequences for the U.S.-Russian relationship, for the international environment, for American foreign policy interests,'' he said in an interview. ``We are sending a message to Russia that the United States is the enemy of the Russian people,'' Simes said. ``In Russia, everyone is talking about American aggression.'' The administration made no effort to conceal the rift. ``As you know,'' Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said, ``Russia does not agree with our decision to launch military strikes.'' But, she said Russian leaders deserved credit for trying to accept a Kosovo settlement. ``We are, and will remain, in close touch'' she said at a news conference. In Moscow, Ivanov told reporters ``we aren't calling for rupturing relations with the United States. We treasure those relations.'' A casualty of the NATO attack was a planned visit here by Primakov. En route Tuesday to Washington, he ordered his plane to return to Moscow rather than arrive in the United States with the bombing under way. Other Russian officials remained, concluded energy and medical agreements, including cooperation in fighting tuberculosis, and worked on ways to enhance foreign investment in the Russian oil and gas industries. Russia's economy is weak, and with the encouragement of the United States the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Michael Camdessus, is going ahead with a trip to Moscow this weekend to discuss Western loans. Talbott said the disagreement with Russia over using force against the Serbs ``is a disagreement that can be managed.''
