As a nation, we have no right being Yugoslavia's
policeman. It is a very dangerous precedence we are setting getting militarily
involved in foreign affairs that don't directly concern or threaten this nation.
This brings up many questions about the role the United States is assuming in
world politics. There's no denial that it is a terrible internal conflict going on
in Yugoslavia, but it's not our fight, and I don't feel the motives for entering this war
are altruistic. But whatever the motive may be, all to often the American (lower
and middle class) people end up the victims of ambitious politicians, corporate greed
and media propaganda.
W.W.II was the last great war we fought. It was an honorable war to defend
our homes, and country from the Axis powers. Then, we had a clearly defined
enemy. The second world war was the heroic "Good against Evil" conflict,
but the war in the Balkans is not an honorable cause - nothing but bad can come from
this. Troops will be killed
if we send them into the Balkans whether on the ground or in the air. Let history
teach us that a fight with the Slavs on their mountainous turf will prove to be very
costly in lives - and for what?
Instead of favoring the media hype brimming with pictures of hungry kids and
outcries of holocaust atrocities, try replacing those pictures in your mind with images of
your son or daughter bullet ridden, or blown to bits on national TV. Death is a raw
ugly fact of life, but senseless death through crime and war is an abomination of
humanity.
The Yugoslavian people are capable of solving their own problems given the time
and incentive. We are being arrogant to think we can swoop in and bomb the bad guy
like an International "Big Brother," then swoop out and think
everything will be OK thereafter.
As a concerned citizen of the US, I have some questions I'd like to have
answered by our leaders:
1. Shouldn't the Europeans and Asians be the ones to delegate a compromise, if
outside intervention is asked for by the Balkan people?
2. The consequences of the Yugoslavian conflict will effect the European's the
most, should not the European NATO and European UN member nations be the primary ones to
intervene?
3. Why is the United States providing the majority of forces in this NATO
campaign when European NATO forces have a very capable military?
4. Why hasn't Congress officially declared war?
5. Why haven't we gone to Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia, Guatemala, Ireland or Mexico
and dropped a few bombs on them to stop their civil conflicts, or keep them from killing
each other?
6. With the US assuming such a big role in providing the manpower and resources
to fund this mission, are we not due compensation from all the players involved?
7. If we are going to get into the
"Big Brother" business, why don't we create a World Government and dissolve the NATO treaty, and the
UN Charter? Then we can officially create an effective police force to punish
human-rights violators. Isn't protecting human rights and improving the daily
quality of life for everyone on this planet, isn't that what it's all about?
8. China is a super power second only to the US, and they are a UN member, why
don't they play an equal or greater part in world policing? Why aren't the Chinese
NATO members?
9. What are we going to do after we bomb Yugoslavia into the dark ages, finance
the rebuilding of the devastation we've created?
10. Talk about a loose cannon ready to explode, what about Russia?
Ask yourself this question, "What is NATO?" Could the
answer be "American Foreign Policy?" and
"What is American Foreign policy?" Could that be self-serving politicians
like Clinton, who are influenced by American corporations looking to expand in
"stable" foreign markets at the cost of our sons and daughters lives?
It is irresponsible arrogance on our NATO leaders behalf to believe that raining
destruction down on a sovereign state with bombs and missiles can be a solution.
NATO was originally designed and created to defend its members from non-NATO members, or
help solve disputes between NATO nations before any violence of aggression happens.
NATO is a direct result of W.W.I and W.W.II, and was established with the hopes that there
would never be a W.W. III. Now, NATO has rewritten the treaty and its
"reason-to-be," and has become the aggressor, raising the stakes and fears of
the neighboring countries of the Balkans about whether they won't be the next victim of "good
intentions." This whole affair could create a domino effect (with Russia
as the main catalyst) creating another world conflict that would make both World Wars look
like romps in the playground, and finally bring the realities of war to our very door
steps.
We are not defending our homeland from threat of a foreign invasion as we did in
W.W.II, nor is NATO settling a dispute under the original guidelines of the NATO treaty -- it is waging war.
The United States, as the vanguard and primary source of support of NATO both
militarily and financially, and with NATO, the U.S. is exercising an insidious policy of
world control - we ourselves have become the invaders. The US and the World
should reconsider NATO's existence, and consider a full fledged world government with the
UN as the governing body, if we are to insist upon being the worlds "keeper and
defender of human rights" - for all our sakes.
For the present, our government, the United States government, needs to
keep it's focus on it's citizens and the many problems we have at home. The
US government is a servant to the American people and their needs, not to foreign
ethnic hate. If US citizens object to this war, we should be voicing our opinions on this
matter loud and clear. We support the government with our blood, sweat and tears and
the politicians who manage it are our employees, thus we have a right to object to this
terrible decision to go to war.
Let me give some constructive examples of what we can be spending our war
dollars on instead of bombing Yugoslavia back into the stone-age: Social Security,
Medicare, Urban and Rural Renewal, Education, Drug Addiction, dealing with
Over-population, R&D of new Medical Cures, Job Training, Home Care for the Elderly,
Cultural Preservation and Restoration, funding for the Arts and Humanities and more...
A complex drama is being staged in Yugoslavia, but making more violence,
grief and destruction will not help. Violence only begets more violence.
Changing and simplifying our foreign policy to deal with world events that only have
a direct effect on the US is a movement that has been long over due for revitalization. Currently, the role the US
plays in foreign affairs is questionable and frightening, and military intervention is not
a solution for an enlightened society, if we are to behave as one. This
so-called peacekeeping mission has turned into a full blown war against Serbia, with
our sons and daughters risking life and limb as the frontline soldiers, defending a very
questionable cause.
Lower and middle-class Americans suffer the most for government interference and
folly. For those old enough to remember, let's not forget the horrors of the Korean
and Vietnam War and the toll it took on the working class, and our society as a
whole. Today, look at the results of those wars, and the wasted lives and property
lost because of bad foreign policy! Ask the mother or father who puts the flowers on
the grave of their daughter or son killed or missing in action, if they ever thought it
would happen to them? Only then does reality slams hard at home that we realize we
should have spoken up for ourselves, when deep in our hearts we knew the war was
wrong. When it comes to the loss of a loved one the 20/20 of hindsight is no
consolation because death is permanent.
We are not above having corrupt dishonest leaders in our highest offices of
government lead us into another dirty war. Clinton, like Nixon, is another "Little
Caesar" ready to send our youth into the hell of war to die for his personal
agenda. This is the second time in three months he has given the order as our
"commander in chief" to bomb a foreign nation. Clinton has not proven to
this author that he has enough integrity to lead a boy scout troop, much less lead a
Nation into war.
The declaration of the "New World Order" former
President Bush glorified and proclaimed during the Desert Storm war was a dangerous omen of
America's burgeoning position in world affairs. Sighting the Gulf War, Somalia, Vietnam, Yugoslavia and many other
"peace-keeping interventions" as an example, the US has/is using NATO as an
excuse to militarily and economically position itself in the world as the dominant power
on this planet, and this is being done at the expense of the hardworking, American
People. The Clinton administration, the Senate and Congress are irresponsibly
endangering the lives of our soldiers, and our Country's future stability, in defiance of
their constituents needs and wishes. Acquisition by aggression is still war, we are
not defending our nation's best interest, we are acquiring power. "NATO,
STOP THE WAR!"
by cfbergmann...
For more alternative sources of information on the Yugoslavian conflict,
go to these links.
- NOAM CHOMSKY: The New World
Order (Transcript)
- NATO stop the
Bombing.ORG
- Petition
to stop the Bombing
- Help
Kosovo Refugees - Save the Children Relief Efforts
- IOCC
- A mission to minister to suffering people regardless of their religion/ethnicity
- International
Action Center - Against US military involvement throughout the globe
- News
from Belgrade - The other side of the story
- Protest
Net - Violence and war beget more violence and war.
- ReliefWeb
- ReliefWeb Directory of Humanitarian Organizations
- SF
Progressive Challenge - Sign the Resolution for Peace in Kosovo
- e-Art
Gallery
- Congressman
Joe Scarborourgh's opinion of US involvement in Kosovo
- A map of Yugoslavia
- Go to
Yugoslavia's B92 radio station on the Internet
- http://kosovo.yusearch.com/kosovo.html
- http://www.gov.yu/
- http://www.yurope.com/kosovo/images/civil/
- NATO
