Why Clinton and Blair wanted war

By James Henry
web posted June 1999

It should comes as no surprise that a man whose attention span extends no further then his next tryst should have thoughtlessly embarked on a military venture whose consequences could have far reaching and damaging results for American security. The war against Serbia is not a soldier's war — it's a politicians war. The same politicians who opposed resistance to Soviet aggression in the sixties, seventies and eighties are now intent on bombing Serbia into the middle ages. Whatever crimes Milosevic's regime is guilty of, the likes of Clinton, especially Clinton, Schroder, Blair, et al. are not morally qualified to punish him let alone flatten his country and reduce the Serbs to poverty.

As I said before, Milosevic is being punished because he is considered to be a fascist. This allows Clinton and his ilk to engage in their favourite pastime of moral posturing while others are sent to do their dirty work and risk their lives. I, and others too, have noted that the arguments that social democrats are using to justify wage war against Serbia are identical to those that the US used to defend an independent South Vietnam against aggression from the communist North. Yet these moral imposters supported the communist conquest of South East Asia and have never apologised for giving that support despite the evil consequences.

Such people are bound to be foreign policy disasters. Foreign policy should be the means to promote a nation's interests, not to satisfy the moral vanity of politicians who have a carefully honed sense of selective indignation.

Now I made clear in a previous article that Milosevic would win this war, regardless of what Clinton's military lapdogs, and the non-too-bright Albright, claimed. The reason is simple: Milosevic has a sense of genuine purpose and a clear tactical and political object — take and permanently hold Kosovo for Serbia. Whatever one thinks of Milosevic, he is no fool. He knew that NATO wouldn't send in ground troops. (A fact that Clinton willingly signalled). Therefore, all he had to do was sit tight and accelerate the forced exodus of Albanian Kosovars until their numbers were so reduced they could no longer pose a serious threat to Serbian control. Once this was done, he could wave the white flag and even, in all bad faith, invite the expelled Kosovars to return. This scenario is already unfolding.

To all intents and purposes, Kosovo has been emptied of its ethnic Albanians. The tragedy is almost complete, even as NATO seeks out more Serbian targets to destroy. Of course, Clinton and Blair can continue to make pathetic demands for the Albanian Kosovars to return to their homes knowing full well that no Albanian in his right mind would do so.

Instead of bringing down Milosevic's regime, NATO'S aerial assault on Serbia only succeeded in entrenching it, severely weakening the democratic opposition, antagonizing Greece, destabilising Montenegro and Macedonia, not to mention fuelling Russian fears and provoking Chinese nationalism to boot. As for the Serbian army, it remains virtually intact. What kind of war is this? One fought by politicians who have no real understanding of the nature of war. Clinton was warned by his military staff, as was Blair, what was necessary in military terms to bring Milosevic to heel. The warnings were ignored and the bombing commenced.

Are these politicians so arrogant and stupid they feel qualified to contemptuously dismiss advice from their highly qualified military advisers. Well, the real truth is that they never really listened to the advice. These politicians genuinely wanted a war. Clinton wanted one to bury his scandals and bequeath a legacy; the likes of Blair and Schroder wanted one to feed their moral vanity and establish their credentials as no-nonsense guardians of Europe's 'Third Way' moral order. Why else do you think they insisted on conditions that only a conqueror would or could seriously make? Because they knew Milosevic would have no alternative but to turn them down.

How many know that Clinton and Blair virtually demanded that Milosevic surrender Serbia, not just Kosovo, to NATO, meaning Clinton and Blair? Not many I bet. Now by surrender I mean just that. All NATO forces were to have free and unhindered access to the whole of Serbia and its public and military facilities. In other words, they were demanding a military occupation. No Balkan leader could possibly submit to such a demand, especially a Serbian one, and expect to survive. No wonder the population is backing Milosevic.

Clinton's media toadies will argue that it was Milosevic's intransigence that made the demand necessary. This is just not true. He was ready to agree to access to Kosovo, probably in the belief that time was on his side. It was the demand to occupy Serbia that he refused to accept. By making it clear to Milosevic that they were only interested in unconditional surrender, the Clinton clique only succeeded in creating a situation in which he had nothing to lose by finishing the job in Kosovo. This was something that the CIA predicted and warned Clinton accordingly. This draft-dodger and alleged rapist scorned their warnings and gave the signal to start the bombing campaign. After all, hadn't Madeleine Albright, that brilliant military strategist, assured him that Serbia would fold in days? Well, the days have turned into weeks and winter will shortly descend on the region, severely hampering military operations. It looks like this is another war that won't be over before Christmas. Any wonder that 'Poodles' Blair and Clinton are seeking a way out. A "peace with honor" exit.

Once again, Clinton has foisted another dismal foreign policy failure on the country, one that could have long run disastrous consequences. But what else can we expect from a man whose foreign policy — or any policy for that matter — is determined by opinion polls, the reaction of focus groups and whether it can bury the last, next and all other future scandals.

Previously published in the very fine The New Australian. Reprinted with permission.

 

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