>What I object to are
>knee-jerk leftist reactions that come flying to the
>defense of one so objectionable (Milosovic).
And how do you feel about a bunch of humanitarian pap?
This idea of a bourgeois Europe is compelling, Greg, but the eastern half of the continent is to be absorbed in a distinctly subordinate mode, no? So basically you're arguing for the long-term civilizing power of imperial conquest. While that's against the grain in a world where Columbus has become a villan for many, I still find it a hard cause to get behind. Several centuries of various imperialisms in eastern Europe helped produce Milosevic; how many more will it take us to get beyond "him"?
Doug