tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post4696109926408233512..comments2023-10-28T05:02:10.442-04:00Comments on Americans For Bosnia: "Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict" from Greenhaven Press [4]Kirk Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-6447051681872472832009-09-10T04:48:26.351-04:002009-09-10T04:48:26.351-04:00No, Kirk, it's not your fault. I wasn't c...No, Kirk, it's not your fault. I wasn't criticising Eagleburger's article, I was criticising the editors' decision to include it on one side of the argument "is ethnic violence ever justified".<br /><br />What I was getting at was that by including a text on "Mass Rapes Committed by Serbs Are War Crimes" the editors are implying that it's possible to challenge the thesis implicit in Eagleburger's title, ie justify mass rape as a legitimate weapon of war.<br /><br />That's not possible, so this is the wrong place for Eagleburger's text.<br /><br />OwenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-56122462173365336802009-09-07T11:36:11.323-04:002009-09-07T11:36:11.323-04:00Owen, that's not what Eagleburger is asserting...Owen, that's not what Eagleburger is asserting. Essentially, he's saying that the war carried out by Serb nationalists was illegitimate, immoral, what have you because of the war crimes (mass rape, in his example) committed. I sincerely regret that my half-baked review (I'm not at my best lately, I admit) didn't make that clear.<br /><br />But...the confusion over this is a testament to how incoherent this entire section is. Why are the defensive actions of the Bosnian government "ethnic violence"? And if one accepts that the Serb nationalists are committing mass rape, then why is armed action by the Bosnian government "ethnic violence"? Is it because it would be in <i>response</i> to "ethnic violence", or is it "ethnic violence" because it would presumably be aimed at another ethnic group? Or because ethnic Muslims made up the majority of pro-Bosnian forces at that time?<br /><br />It's a very poorly constructed rhetorical framework.Kirk Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06879908614214050994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23301331.post-53514894312598656392009-09-05T16:46:27.703-04:002009-09-05T16:46:27.703-04:00Do I understand this right? The compiler thinks t...Do I understand this right? The compiler thinks there's a possibility that there might conceivably be an argument that mass rape is justified in the context of ethnic conflict? That's the only explanation for needing to include an article on the war crime status of the Serb mass rapes in a Chapter on "Is Ethnic Violence Ever Justified?"<br /><br />OwenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com