Editorials
COMMONWEAL Too much, already he war against the Bosnians is like a Greek tragedy with a chorus of print and broadcast journalists directing our attention to scenes of destruction, of pillage,...
...Finally, the whole international order, especially the UN, pays: it too is implicated in the death and destruction by inaction, by halfway measures, and by a false form of evenhandedness that ends in favoring the most aggressive...
...Relief efforts in Somalia deserve similar protection...
...This time, goes the argument, it happens to be the Serbs that have gone overboard...
...The protagonists direct this or that attack, lay this or that siege, permit or prohibit this exodus of refugees, while proclaiming the historic necessity of their actions...
...that enforce restraints on aggressors...
...A price is paid for doing too little...
...If UN relief convoys are sent, relief workers should be given the means to defend themselves and the convoys...
...And when ceasefires are negotiated they should not become covers for rearming or de facto land grabs...
...There are consequences to doing nothing...
...relief supplies appropriated but undelivered...
...And, provided they survive, the Bosnians too will ultimately indulge in murderous warfare...
...Second, surrounding countries, besieged by refugees, pay with their own limited resources...
...Because the United States remains the sole superpower, it bears a singular responsibility, not necessarily to lead the charge, but in promoting and in practically supporting the idea that a more peaceful world requires active measures—measures that enforce international agreements...
...Think of the Serbs pressing ever more violently and unrelentingly on the unarmed population of Kosovo—more refugees and a direct confrontation with Albania...
...The Fates decree that we are powerless to do anything and so arguments are advanced to ensure that we do not...
...This is what has happened in BosniaHerzegovina...
...It is long past that time in Bosnia...
...Think of the number of deaths that will occur over the winter from disease, from exposure, from starvation...
...If UN troops are persistently fired upon and attacked, they should have the means to respond...
...Diplomatic confusion during the effort in 1990 to make a confederation of Yugoslavia only made matters worse...
...But after having done too little too late all along, can we not foresee a far greater tragedy than the one we have been trying to avoid...
...And then also remember that this is part of the nascent international effort to build instruments and 4 December 1992: 3 institutions of peace...
...We do...
...Therefore, do nothing...
...And the audience will await the next cycle of tragedies in Kosovo and Macedonia produced by these same Serbs who have been consigned the role of madmen and fanatics...
...The Serbs believe no outside power will stop them...
...This is what will happen elsewhere if the international community does not show that it means what it says...
...Think of the refugees...
...many will become refugees...
...UN forces in Bosnia cannot defend themselves, cannot defend relief supplies, cannot disarm militias or bandits, cannot prevent the abuse of civilian populations...
...If sanctions are voted as they have been against Serbia, UN member nations, especially neighboring nations, should observe them and enforce them...
...Therefore, do nothing...
...Then regions—East Africa and the Balkans and Europe—pay with political acrimony or instability...
...the war will spread...
...This is as true in Somalia as in Bosnia...
...civilians left to merciless predators under the very eyes of UN forces...
...Omissions, lapses, feigned efforts cost...
...Last time it was the Croats...
...Think too of the reputation of the UN: sanctions voted but unenforced...
...The Fates do not control our destiny...
...measures that will entail, if all else fails, international military action...
...The audience in Europe and the United States has accepted the decree of the Fates: many people will die...
...whatever the West does will make matters worse...
...Other Muslims will become permanent refugees (where have we watched this plot before...
...The debate over what is to be done is stymied by the claim that these people—Serbs, Croats, Bosnians—are all driven by unappeasable hatreds...
...Therefore there is no reason for them not to pursue their goal of a Greater Serbia whether by ethnic cleansing, pillage, rapine, or, when convenient, cease-fires and negotiations...
...COMMONWEAL Too much, already he war against the Bosnians is like a Greek tragedy with a chorus of print and broadcast journalists directing our attention to scenes of destruction, of pillage, of wanton killing...
...The Serbs will grab Bosnia, and the Croats will take what is left of Herzegovina...
...Therefore, do nothing...
...If the renewed effort in November to enforce sanctions and protect convoys does not bring an end to the fighting, strategic points in Serbia—bridges and roads, for example—should become designated targets...
...The Muslims of BosniaHerzegovina will be left with enclaves and survive at the sufferance of the Serbs and Croats...
...First, the people of these countries, children, women, men, pay with their lives...
...troops attacked but powerless to respond...
...Military intervention of any kind would only lead to a quagmire on the order of Vietnam...
...that enforce limits on belligerents...
Vol. 119 • December 1992 • No. 21
