A US-Croat Alliance to Destroy Bosnia Once Forever
After supporting Croat and Muslim secessionists to kill Yugoslavia and
Bosnia itself, will the US finally turn the back to the Muslims and
destroy everything once forever? (i.s.)
---
> http://dynamic.washtimes.com/print_story.cfm?StoryID=20030930-084113-
> 1005r
Redrawing Bosnian borders
By Jeffrey T. Kuhner
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published October 1, 2003
From 1992-1995, Bosnia was the site of some of the bloodiest fighting
in Europe since the Second World War. Yet since the signing of the
Dayton peace accords, the country remains divided along ethnic lines.
Despite massive Western foreign aid and the presence of American
peacekeeping forces, Bosnia's Serbs, Croats and Muslims are no closer
to genuine reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. The country's
Serbs who live in the Bosnian Serb Republic seek to eventually become
part of Serbia. The Bosnian Croats, most of whom live in the country's
second political entity, the Muslim-Croat federation, also would like
nothing more than to join Croatia.
The country's Muslims, however, remain wedded to the notion of a
united, multinational Bosnia based on a strong centralized government
in Sarajevo. The international community also is committed to keeping
the country's borders intact. Yet the problem with that approach is
that it overlooks the reality of what is occurring on the ground.
Bosnia remains an economic basket case, where the unemployment rate
is 40 percent. Foreign investment is practically nonexistent.
Corruption and crime remain rampant. Despite nearly a decade of
nation-building, Western governments have failed to forge viable
economic and political institutions.
More ominously, the greatest threat to peace and stability stems
from the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism in Bosnia, which seeks to
either wipe out or convert all Christians in the region. The country
now serves as a base for al Qaeda operatives, where numerous terrorist
cells are active and plotting attacks on targets throughout Europe. In
the past, Saudi Arabia has sent millions of dollars in aid to
"humanitarian" agencies that encourage Bosnian Muslims to promote the
doctrines of Wahhabism, a particularly intolerant and puritanical
version of Islam. Mosques have been established throughout the
Muslim-Croat federation, many of whom preach the need for "jihad"
against the country's Catholic Croats and Orthodox Christian Serbs.
The result has been numerous acts of terror perpetrated upon
civilians — especially the Croats. During the past several years,
Catholic churches in and around Sarajevo have been vandalized by
Islamic extremists. Cemeteries where Croats were buried have been
desecrated. Many ordinary Catholics are afraid of walking on the
streets of Sarajevo with a cross around their neck for fear of being
attacked.
The most notorious incident occurred on Christmas Eve, when three
Croats — a father and his two daughters — were gunned down in their
home by an Islamic militant near the town of Konjic. Their crime:
celebrating Christmas.
The rise of radical Islam threatens to destabilize the Balkans,
plunging the region once again into bloodshed and religious conflict.
Rather than forcing the three constituent peoples of Bosnia to live
together against their wishes, the Bush administration would be wise to
develop a realistic and coherent strategy toward the region.
Washington needs to realize that synthetic states such as
Bosnia-Herzegovina are destined to fail. Recent European history is
littered with examples of multinational countries such as
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union that disintegrated
because they denied the fundamental human aspirations for democracy and
national self-determination. Bosnia is another case in point. The
Bosnian Serbs should be allowed to form a state with Serbia; the Croat
territories — especially those centered around their stronghold of
Mostar in Western Herzegovina — should be incorporated into Croatia.
The Bosnian Muslims would have their own state, with Sarajevo as the
capital.
More importantly, the Bush administration needs to foster closer
ties with the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina for one simple reason: They
are on the front-lines in the war against Islamic terrorism in the
Balkans. The Bosnian Serbs, meanwhile, are unreliable allies. Many of
them are still seething with resentment against the United States for
its decision to use military force to end the Serbs' campaign of ethnic
cleansing and mass murder during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The Croats, on the other hand, view Washington as their strategic
partner. As one high-ranking Bosnian Croat government official told me:
"We can act as the eyes and ears for the West in the Balkans and
monitor the activities of al Qaeda in Bosnia."
The United States should not only support the Bosnian Croats' right
to self-determination, but also provide them with intelligence and
military assistance to contain the growth of radical Islam in the
region.
It is ironic that the West should now have to depend upon the
Croats in Herzegovina as a pivotal ally in the war on terrorism.
Throughout the 1990s, the Herzegovinian Croats were demonized in the
Western liberal press for their "nationalism" and passionate attachment
to the Croatian cause. They have always been the most patriotic and
courageous of all the Croats, producing some of Europe's finest
fighters. Herzegovina was primarily the site where the Croats for
centuries fought off the invading Ottoman armies. For their ceaseless
resistance to the Turks, Pope Leo X referred to the Croats as "the
ramparts of Christendom."
The Croats in Bosnia can again take up their historic role as a
strategic bulwark against Islamic expansionism on the Continent.
However, this can only happen after Washington realizes Bosnia is not a
Balkan Switzerland, but a smoldering cauldron of ethnic strife where
the followers of Osama bin Laden have found a home to preach their
message of hate and religious fanaticism. As an experiment in
nation-building, Bosnia has been a noble failure. The Bush
administration should take heed.
Jeffrey T. Kuhner is an assistant national editor at The Washington
Times.
Copyright © 2003 News World Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved.
After supporting Croat and Muslim secessionists to kill Yugoslavia and
Bosnia itself, will the US finally turn the back to the Muslims and
destroy everything once forever? (i.s.)
---
> http://dynamic.washtimes.com/print_story.cfm?StoryID=20030930-084113-
> 1005r
Redrawing Bosnian borders
By Jeffrey T. Kuhner
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published October 1, 2003
From 1992-1995, Bosnia was the site of some of the bloodiest fighting
in Europe since the Second World War. Yet since the signing of the
Dayton peace accords, the country remains divided along ethnic lines.
Despite massive Western foreign aid and the presence of American
peacekeeping forces, Bosnia's Serbs, Croats and Muslims are no closer
to genuine reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. The country's
Serbs who live in the Bosnian Serb Republic seek to eventually become
part of Serbia. The Bosnian Croats, most of whom live in the country's
second political entity, the Muslim-Croat federation, also would like
nothing more than to join Croatia.
The country's Muslims, however, remain wedded to the notion of a
united, multinational Bosnia based on a strong centralized government
in Sarajevo. The international community also is committed to keeping
the country's borders intact. Yet the problem with that approach is
that it overlooks the reality of what is occurring on the ground.
Bosnia remains an economic basket case, where the unemployment rate
is 40 percent. Foreign investment is practically nonexistent.
Corruption and crime remain rampant. Despite nearly a decade of
nation-building, Western governments have failed to forge viable
economic and political institutions.
More ominously, the greatest threat to peace and stability stems
from the resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism in Bosnia, which seeks to
either wipe out or convert all Christians in the region. The country
now serves as a base for al Qaeda operatives, where numerous terrorist
cells are active and plotting attacks on targets throughout Europe. In
the past, Saudi Arabia has sent millions of dollars in aid to
"humanitarian" agencies that encourage Bosnian Muslims to promote the
doctrines of Wahhabism, a particularly intolerant and puritanical
version of Islam. Mosques have been established throughout the
Muslim-Croat federation, many of whom preach the need for "jihad"
against the country's Catholic Croats and Orthodox Christian Serbs.
The result has been numerous acts of terror perpetrated upon
civilians — especially the Croats. During the past several years,
Catholic churches in and around Sarajevo have been vandalized by
Islamic extremists. Cemeteries where Croats were buried have been
desecrated. Many ordinary Catholics are afraid of walking on the
streets of Sarajevo with a cross around their neck for fear of being
attacked.
The most notorious incident occurred on Christmas Eve, when three
Croats — a father and his two daughters — were gunned down in their
home by an Islamic militant near the town of Konjic. Their crime:
celebrating Christmas.
The rise of radical Islam threatens to destabilize the Balkans,
plunging the region once again into bloodshed and religious conflict.
Rather than forcing the three constituent peoples of Bosnia to live
together against their wishes, the Bush administration would be wise to
develop a realistic and coherent strategy toward the region.
Washington needs to realize that synthetic states such as
Bosnia-Herzegovina are destined to fail. Recent European history is
littered with examples of multinational countries such as
Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union that disintegrated
because they denied the fundamental human aspirations for democracy and
national self-determination. Bosnia is another case in point. The
Bosnian Serbs should be allowed to form a state with Serbia; the Croat
territories — especially those centered around their stronghold of
Mostar in Western Herzegovina — should be incorporated into Croatia.
The Bosnian Muslims would have their own state, with Sarajevo as the
capital.
More importantly, the Bush administration needs to foster closer
ties with the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina for one simple reason: They
are on the front-lines in the war against Islamic terrorism in the
Balkans. The Bosnian Serbs, meanwhile, are unreliable allies. Many of
them are still seething with resentment against the United States for
its decision to use military force to end the Serbs' campaign of ethnic
cleansing and mass murder during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.
The Croats, on the other hand, view Washington as their strategic
partner. As one high-ranking Bosnian Croat government official told me:
"We can act as the eyes and ears for the West in the Balkans and
monitor the activities of al Qaeda in Bosnia."
The United States should not only support the Bosnian Croats' right
to self-determination, but also provide them with intelligence and
military assistance to contain the growth of radical Islam in the
region.
It is ironic that the West should now have to depend upon the
Croats in Herzegovina as a pivotal ally in the war on terrorism.
Throughout the 1990s, the Herzegovinian Croats were demonized in the
Western liberal press for their "nationalism" and passionate attachment
to the Croatian cause. They have always been the most patriotic and
courageous of all the Croats, producing some of Europe's finest
fighters. Herzegovina was primarily the site where the Croats for
centuries fought off the invading Ottoman armies. For their ceaseless
resistance to the Turks, Pope Leo X referred to the Croats as "the
ramparts of Christendom."
The Croats in Bosnia can again take up their historic role as a
strategic bulwark against Islamic expansionism on the Continent.
However, this can only happen after Washington realizes Bosnia is not a
Balkan Switzerland, but a smoldering cauldron of ethnic strife where
the followers of Osama bin Laden have found a home to preach their
message of hate and religious fanaticism. As an experiment in
nation-building, Bosnia has been a noble failure. The Bush
administration should take heed.
Jeffrey T. Kuhner is an assistant national editor at The Washington
Times.
Copyright © 2003 News World Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved.