The point is well taken that His Excellency the Demon is not the sole author on his side of what has gone on. But he certainly does bear a considerable amount of the responsibility. The Serbian Academy of Sciences may have paved the way in 1986 with calling for the revocation of autonomy in Kosovo-Metohija and the reimposition of Serbian control, but it was His Excellency who altered the political dynamic by playing to the most aggrieved Serbian nationalism in his speech at Kosovo Polje in 1989 and then oversaw that actual revocation of autonomy. Then he ordered the invasion of Western Slavonia in Croatia. This would lead later to the counterattack by the Croatians who would throw the Serbs out of both Krajina and Slavonia. Then he armed the Bosnian Serbs who attacked the new Bosnian-Herzegovinian government. Maybe they were justified in doing so, but tell that to the dead of Srebenica.
Of course since then there has been an outburst of much more exaggerated nationalism in the form of the Serbian Radical Party headed by Seselj. I don't know for sure (Paul Phillips?) but I imagine its social base is the usual petit bourgeois types one finds in such explicitly neo-fascist parties. Such folks make His Excellency look like a vessel of moderation and reasonableness, just the kind of leader one should have to Dayton to cut a deal, if not to Rambouillet.
With regard to this latest business, I'm afraid I put a lot more of the onus on His Excellency. Shortly before Rambouillet he fired his military commander in Kosovo-Metohija who was questioning his aggressive stance and replaced him with someone more anti-Albanian (and pro-His Excellency). He may represent social forces, but could have taken another path.
Following up on some earlier remarks, I have a feeling that in the end His Excellency may well wish he had taken the deal at Rambouillet. He may well regret not having NATO troops in K-M to keep an invigorated and Albanian refugee camp-based UCK/KLA out. Barkley Rosser -----Original Message----- From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> To: lbo-talk at dont.panix.com <lbo-talk at dont.panix.com> Date: Friday, April 09, 1999 4:15 PM Subject: Kosovo-Metohija
>J. Barkley Rosser, Jr. wrote:
>
>> 2) Doug Henwood---
>> Hmm. You don't seem to like my referring to the duly
>>elected President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,
>>Slobodan Milosevic, as "His Excellency." Well, for your
>>information, that is his correct title. I began to do so after
>>our dear Yoshie charged me with being a white male imperialist
>>for calling him "Milo" once. So, I'll stick with his correct title.
>
>I wasn't objecting to your use of the title - it was a real question about,
>to paraphrase the Baltimore catechism of my youth, who made him and keeps
>him in existence. Though your use of it does perpetuate, even ironically,
>the reduction of complex social forces to a single inexplicable demon.
>
>> And finally, I was a bit mystified as to what you thought you
>>were trying to prove with this report from Pristina?
>
>Trying to spread info other than the pap available in the U.S. media,
>that's all. No endorsement, expressed or implied, by said forwarding.
>
>Doug
>