quarterly-report.com Political Commentary by James R. Audet

The 48th Day
May 10, 1999

With the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, we have learned that no place is safe in Yugoslavia.  Apparently, this is what the Allies have in mind.  They intend no refuge.

The excuse proffered by the NATO War Council for the embassy bombing was "faulty targeting."  Again, we are asked to believe the unthinkable.  Secretary of Defense Cohen called it an "accident" -- "Bombing instructions were based on an outdated map."  Is NATO so stupid that it cannot verify the location of embassies?  To call it a mistake, to say that "these things happen," is a lame attempt to avoid accountability.  Negligence is obvious.  Will the senior officer responsible for this accident lose his job?  Not likely.

NATO's continuing mistakes are not a benign pattern of "accidents."  What incentive is there for bombing accuracy when the air assault is failing?  Indeed, the "honest mistakes" of the Allies aid its unspoken strategy of Schrecklichkeit - a German word for terror war.  Either intentionally or by accident, the Allies seek to cause the civilian population of Yugoslavia to fear for their lives.  Through psychological torment, the Allies hope the Serbian people will rise up and force Milosevic to capitulate.  What was claimed as a mission to degrade Milosevic's military is now a veiled campaign of terror against civilians.

The embassy bombing has consequences that transcend the act.  The incident destroys any United States credibility on the issue of human rights violations by the Chinese government.  It also co-opts the United States -- victimized by its own incompetence in the security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratories -- from confronting the Chinese on espionage.  The loss of nuclear secrets is a national security issue, unlike the trumped-up basis for war with Yugoslavia.

Secretary Cohen tells us, "In combat, accidents will happen."  He then provides us with the Clinton Administration's war record.  One dozen incidents of unintended casualties resulting in 200 civilian deaths.  4600 ethnic Albanians killed by the Serbs in Kosovo.  One million Kosovars that have fled the fighting.  Indirectly, Clinton has achieved one goal.  The Instant Liar has created a no man's land in Kosovo.  Is there anyone left for the Serbs to ethnically cleanse?

The embassy bombing has displaced the real problem which is not Milosevic but the refugees in Albania and Macedonia.  It is their plight that commands our attention.  Hunger, thirst, starvation, disease.  These are the maladies of the refugee camps.  Unless the Allies act, the Albanian Kosovars will die at a faster rate than if they had remained in Kosovo.

NATO should halt the bombing and concentrate on stabilizing the health and security of the homeless.  Undeniably, this would be a humanitarian cause.

Click on this sentence for the terms that govern your use of this web site.