March 25, 2003 5:56 AM

War is hell, regardless of where it happens to take place

Serbs Mark 4th Anniversary of Air Strikes

War is a terrible thing, regardless of where it happens. For some, though, the war against Iraq is hitting very close to home.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - Television images of Baghdad ablaze triggered painful memories for Ljubica Knez, who endured similar terror when a U.S.-led air war began four years ago Monday to break Slobodan Milosevic's grip on Kosovo.

"The wailing of air raid sirens in the Iraqi capital sends shivers down my spine," said Knez, a 45-year-old housewife.

"I still remember the knot in my stomach as I rushed for shelter with my daughter on that fateful March 24" in 1999, she said. "I sympathize with Iraqi mothers, but not with Saddam Hussein."

NATO launched the campaign to stop Milosevic's crackdown on the independence-minded ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo, a southern province of Serbia.

After 78 days of airstrikes, Milosevic was forced to pull his troops out of the province, which is now administered by the United Nations (news - web sites) and NATO. Sixteen months later, Milosevic was toppled from power in a popular revolt.

"In Iraq, the Americans are making the same mistake as in Serbia," said Bratislav Grubacic, a prominent Serbian political analyst.

"In both cases, they had predicted a quick and easy victory," he said. "But they forgot that by cornering such dictators as Saddam and Milosevic, they had given them no choice but to fight until the last drop of blood — the blood of their own people."

Well, the "fight until the last drop of blood" shtick may be a bit melodramatic, but I do agree that this will not be a quick or easy victory. Of course, no one with any native intelligence ever predicted that it would be. We should keep in mind here that the Milosevic regime had historically maintained very close ties with the Saddam Hussein's regime. Birds of a feather, I suppose....

Over the past few years, Serbia has taken some strides towards becoming a functional democracy. I wonder if the same will be able to be said about iraq four years hence?

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on March 25, 2003 5:56 AM.

Just don't order the chili.... was the previous entry in this blog.

I'll take the Marines and 25, Bob is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 5.12