“We’re vulnerable to bullshit thrown in the fan,” an eastern European diplomat said, requesting anonymity so as to speak undiplomatically.
Balkans
How Vladimir Putin’s Skewed View of World War II Threatens his Neighbors and the West
Remembering the Great Victory is more than an instrument to consolidate Russians. It has also become a way to prepare people for war.
Germany Sheds Its Pacifist Role
“For the first time since the end of World War II, German soldiers are on a combat mission,” Chancellor Gerhard Schröder said. “We cannot exclude dangers to life and limb for our soldiers.”
German Currency Leaves its Mark Across the Balkans
Thanks to Germany’s central geographic location, its economic might, and the presence of millions of foreign workers sending money home, the deutsche mark – not the dollar – is king in many parts of Europe.
Where Kosovo’s Ethnic Lines Are Drawn Most Starkly
During NATO airstrikes, Serbian forces raged through the city, expelling Albanians and torching their homes. Today, only women and children venture to the Serb side of the river.
The U.S. President Has a Serbian Precedent
Never would I have imagined that the United States, the only country I can call home, would end up having anything in common with Slobodan Milosevic’s Serbia.
The Private Security State
In November 1994, retired Air Force Col. Ron Hatchett received a mysterious phone call from a man who once supplied the Afghan Mujahadeen with 10,000 mules. The caller offered Hatchett $100,000 to spend six months advising the Bosnian government.
Tables Turn on Serbs in Kosovo
The three frightened Serbian Orthodox nuns steered their four-wheel drive up a steep gravel path to their isolated hilltop monastery. The sight that confronted them brought tears to their eyes.
On US Patrol to Stem Kosovo Chaos
“I know this has been going on for about 600 years,” says Spc. Daniel Atchison, an Indianian with a slight drawl. “Sometimes it confuses me. These people lived next to each other for years, and one night they decide to burn their neighbor’s house down, just because he’s Serb or Albanian.”
Muslims Exit Serbia in ‘Soft’ Ethnic Cleansing
Belgrade’s repression of Sanjak Muslims began with a show of force. Serb tanks crouched on the hills overlooking Novi Pazar, while irregular soldiers roamed the narrow streets.
