From: "Lawrence Phillips" <lawrence-AT-lphillips.freeserve.co.uk> Subject: Re: Kosovo, Bombs and Imperialism Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 13:59:59 +0100 The war of 1812! It's deeply ironic to read such nationalistic posturing even if it is intended to be tongue in cheek given the horrors of Kosovo. By the way, I'm not so sure the people of Panama and Grenada are really 'push overs' in the sense you imply. Faced with the military and economic might of a superpower, their capitulation seems to reflect pragmatism than than any inherent weakness of spirit. I use 'spirit' in the sense of a keen appreciation of their own land and culture which I'm sure Panamanians and Grenadians don't really want to see laid waste. Perhaps self-preservation rather than 'pushover' might be more apt here. Now Serbia isn't led by pragmatists who care deeply for their own people. But by self-interested demagogues keen for an opportunity to buttress their own position through a situation where they can play the nationalist card. It doesn't take a great deal of theory to see that bombing or even invading with ground troops in such a situation isn't going to prevent attrocities encouraged by the same nationalism which such actions simply exacerbate. It's no different with Saddam Hussian. By bombing and attacking his country is not to strike at what such 'leaders' care about. It's their own power which motivates them, and in a weakened country their position becomes all the more sucure. However, I do not intend to advocate military action action either. It seems to me that all the NATO countries continue to expend vast amounts on their military budgets which they are hard put to justify to their voters. What better vehicle than 'humanitarian warfare'. What a paradox, huh! I think a little more attention needs to be paid to the polititians' rhetoric as well. They seem to use varied angles to motivate their own populations but these three seem to most prominent to me: 1) it's action to help a helpless underdog; 2) it's to stop the rise of a new Hitler; 3) it's a nationalistic crusade in the sense that moral righteousness is on 'our side'. The Hitler rhetoric is of course spurious, but it seems to work remarkably well. I seem to recall it was also used with Saddam Hussian. The near universal demonisation of Hitler's regime in the educational systems of all NATO countries seems to have produced a relatively pliant population when it comes to military action against the 'next Hitler'. A war everyone wants to fight and support since it is unquestionably a 'good' war. Rather than a lesson of history, it has become a rallying cry for knee-jerk belligerence. It is worth recalling that the circumstances which allowed Hitler to rise to power were a consequence of imposing harsh reparations on Germany after the Second World War. And where are we (NATO countries) today? engaged in a venture to impose another treaty seen as intollerable by one of the negotiating parties. I'm certainly not saying the Serbs are right, but the only way out of this is to get a settlement which the majorities representing both sides of the conflicting aspirations in Kosovo can be met. Both Serbs and Albanians are historically entitled to live in Kosovo, and it seems to me unless some accomodation can be met in those terms, there will simply be more violence today or in the future whoever ultimately emerges from this with the upper hand for the moment. Edward Said holds a similar position on Palestine/Israel. Both peoples have strong claims to the region which cannot be resolved through a using some kind of aparthied based on partition or military victory and the complete banishment of Serbs or Albanians. An accomodation has to be forged in which both peoples and traditions can live on the same land. And if this sounds Utopian, remember Tito managed it for forty odd years. The plight of Kosovars is appalling, but NATO achieves nothing by forcing a treaty onto the Serbs which perhaps puts off the humanitarian disaster until another day. Worse, it creates an environment in which attrocities that are really reminiscent of of the Nazis can florish. As will be apparent, I have no easy answers to offer here (I too need to vent a bit as someone put it) and can only offer frustrated/angry/horrified observations. But the war of 1812! Come on guys. Lawrence Phillips -----Original Message----- From: Jemfire-AT-aol.com <Jemfire-AT-aol.com> To: postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu <postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu> Date: 03 April 1999 04:43 Subject: Re: Kosovo, Bombs and Imperialism >....I apologize for the "creepy rhetoric"......."Bananna Republic'" was my >shorthand for the quick and easy invasions of Panama and Grenada I had in my >mind.......the thought I was trying to convey was that the Serbs would be no >easy pushover in a ground war like SOME countries here in our >hemisphere......."proud people" was my shorthand for the Serbs being >stubborn and very hardened by warlike conditions more so than say....our >Canadian neighbors.........******************************AND OH BY THE >WAY..Folks this is an electronic medium where facial features, tone of voice, >non-standard syntax, and idioms can trip up those of us who may not take the >effort to read between the lines, or read whats NOT there to get at the real >intended meaning.......please do not be offended by words that to you don't >jibe. I will make every effort to sharpen my prose so as to not offend >unintentionally. I am not formally trained nor do I have a University >degree... I am just a factory worker in Houston on an assembly line working >along many different races of people trying to make sense of exploitation, be >it in a factory, country, or a postcolonial web ring. Sincerely >Jemfire...........................Go Fast......Go Left! > > > --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- > --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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