tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post115344905642003462..comments2023-10-28T05:02:10.442-04:00Comments on Americans For Bosnia: "Fools' Crusade" part viiiKirk Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-1153578028480953042006-07-22T10:20:00.000-04:002006-07-22T10:20:00.000-04:00Great point, Owen. I more or less started this pr...Great point, Owen. I more or less started this project 'blind', but if it's going to hold together I do need to find a consistent approach. <BR/><BR/>On top of the two excellent points you make, I also hope to illuminate how Johnstone has embraced the logic of colletive identity; Bosnia matters to me because two different conceptions of nationality were clashing; civic nationalism versus ethnic nationalism. I don't know how much Johnstone realizes she has embraced the logic and value system of ethnic nationalism.Kirk Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-1153534836307176222006-07-21T22:20:00.000-04:002006-07-21T22:20:00.000-04:00Thanks to both of you for your comments. I enjoy ...Thanks to both of you for your comments. I enjoy both of your blogs.<BR/><BR/>shaina pretty much nails it, I think--I realize I'm risking 'overkill' by going all-out on a blow-by-blow book review, but it doesn't hurt to keep putting people like Johnstone on the spot.<BR/><BR/>I've heard of Parenti--he's definitely someone I'd like to take on once I've finished my Johnstone work. He's way out there as well--although I should point out that later in "Fool's Crusade" Johnstone does essentially claim that ethnic cleansing is a legitimate military tactic. <BR/><BR/>Thanks againt to both of you. Reading your excellent blogs inspires me to try and make mine better.Kirk Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-1153530491280052642006-07-21T21:08:00.000-04:002006-07-21T21:08:00.000-04:00Hi Boo, nice to see you on this blog. :)I haven't ...Hi Boo, nice to see you on this blog. :)<BR/><BR/>I haven't read "Fool's Crusade", but I have read other stuff about/from Ms. Johnstone and other reviews of her book.<BR/><BR/>Johnstone goes far beyond the "all sides are equally guilty" stance. She has done interviews with extremist Serb websites and she has explicitly stated that there was no genocide in Bosnia AND furthermore that the "Muslims" lied about all of the atrocities being committed, just to get NATO intervention. <BR/>The "sources" she uses to back up her claims are for the most part, her fellow genocide deniers and extreme nationalist Serb sources.<BR/><BR/>She usually starts out by asking some good and obvious questions about US foreign policy, double standards etc. <BR/>However, when she analyzes the Balkan conflicts, she loses all objectivity and any sense of a moral compass she may have. She seems to view foreign policy in black and white. Whereas, NATO = bad and Milosevic = good. Therefore, any NATO action against the Bosnian Serb Army, Milosevic, etc. is wrong and illegal; AND is only the result of Bosnian Muslim propaganda etc. <BR/>Her anti NATO views distorts how she views the Bosnian war. <BR/><BR/>PS: I think I found a genocide denier whose moral, legal and ethical reasoning pales in comparision to Johnstone. His name is Michael Parenti (sp?) and he actually claims in his book that the siege against Sarajevo was not a war crime & that the civillian capital was a legitimate military target.Shainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com