tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post115371576744578784..comments2023-10-28T05:02:10.442-04:00Comments on Americans For Bosnia: "Fools' Crusade" part xviKirk Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-1154064458765347662006-07-28T01:27:00.000-04:002006-07-28T01:27:00.000-04:00I would assume that they really believe what they ...I would assume that they really believe what they write, as I said before the problem is not the very generalized theoretical questions that they raise about US/NATO; the problem is how they analyze the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The problem lies in their "analysis" of the wars. They are so blinded by their anti US/NATO and pro Milosevic view that they are incapable of being objective. <BR/>Or,at the very least, not relying on the Karadzic era RS propaganda media as their primary source. <BR/>Facts & common sense don't seem to mean much when it stands in the way of overgeneralizations, stereotypes and theories. <BR/><BR/>shameless self promotion here:<BR/>I have added a three part analysis of the genocide in Srebrenica/genocide justification on my blog. It is not as focused as your analysis; but it looks at the claim that the attack on Srebrenica was not genocide, but an act of 'revenge' for Bosniak war crimes; and that because Mladic didn't kill the women & kids-genocide wasn't genocide.<BR/><BR/>The first part looks at the attack on Srebrenica as part of the larger ethnic cleansing plan of the Bosniaks in Eastern Bosnia.<BR/><BR/>The second part specifically looks at the claim that the attack was motivated by revenge for Bosniak war crimes. Of course, certain Bosniak troops in Srebrenica without a doubt committed war crimes against civilians; but the genocide justifiers ignore the difference between war crimes & genocide. They also tend to overexaggerate Bosniak war crimes, while at the same time, ignoring Serbian war crimes. <BR/><BR/>The third section looks at the attack on July 1995, and how Mladic had the intent to destroy etc. <BR/><BR/>As I said before, it is a very generalized analysis.Shainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-1154016554597307602006-07-27T12:09:00.000-04:002006-07-27T12:09:00.000-04:00You are absolutely spot-on. The hypocrisy in her ...You are absolutely spot-on. The hypocrisy in her arguements is breathtaking--condemning the use of Holocaust imagery in one paragraph, and then tarring modern-day Croats and Germans with the Nazi brush in the next. I really wonder about the motivations of these people--can they really believe what they are saying?<BR/><BR/><BR/>Thanks for your comments. I hope to make more progress soon. Unfortunately, I have to return this copy of the book next week, and then I'm out of the country for a week. THEN I'll get another copy and continue.<BR/><BR/>I'm determined to make it all the way through.Kirk Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-1154016045850821092006-07-27T12:00:00.000-04:002006-07-27T12:00:00.000-04:00Johnstone's hypocrisy and racism are so apparent, ...Johnstone's hypocrisy and racism are so apparent, I wonder how even she can take herself seriously.<BR/><BR/>First of all she claims that she is not a racist etc. <BR/><BR/>But then she goes on in her book to use nothing but generalizations and stereotypes. Ethnicities are not seen as being made up of indvidual people; but as generalizations. Therefore, the Serbs are "martyrs" The Albanians are "drug dealers & mafiasos." In Johnstone's mind ethnic groups are either white or black-good or bad. <BR/><BR/>Secondly, as you mention her set up of the Serbs as victims of a massive anti Serb campaign uses the same language of matrydom used by Milosevic etc. to justify genocide against the Bosniaks. <BR/><BR/>Third, she implies that anyone who believes that genocide occured in Bosnia is a racist and is anti-Serb. <BR/><BR/>When you think about it, there are a lot of similarities between the arguments of the extreme left & right with regards to genocide denial. Both of them, either implicitly or explicitly use racism (anti Muslim bias in particular) to justify what happened and to demonize the Bosniaks. <BR/><BR/>For example, Herman (one of Johnstone's fellow travelers) refered to the Army of BiH as the "Bosnian Muslim Army" WTF?<BR/><BR/>This shows:<BR/><BR/>A. Herman knows nothing about Bosnia if he does not even know the name of the state of Bosnia's armed forces.<BR/><BR/>B. He does not recognize that Bosnia is not a "Muslim" state and that their armed forces are not the "Muslim Army" but that Bosnia is a state consisting of a multitude of ethnicities and religions. <BR/><BR/>C. He relies on nothing but RS sources/propaganda to write his books.<BR/><BR/>Excellent analysis so far; I am looking forward to reading more.Shainahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04254890410995215990noreply@blogger.com