>Not so simple, Doug. From the same article: New York Times, Nov 1, 1987
>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>"The violence is the worst in the past seven years, according to a
>journalist in Kosovo.
>
> Many Yugoslavs blame the troubles on the ethnic Albanians, but the
>matter is more complex in a country with as many nationalities and
>religions as Yugoslavia's and involves economic development, law,
>politics, families and cultural identity. As recently as 20 years
>ago, the Slavic majority treated ethnic Albanians as inferiors to be
>employed as laborors. The ethnic Albanians, who now number 2
>million, officially were deemed a minority, not a constituent
>nationality, as they are today."
I never said it was simple, Nathan; it's the bombing party that's simplifying things. What's remarkable, though consistent, is the cycle of sanctification and demonization. Caecaescu (sp?) was our friend (there was a famous photo of him shaking hands with Katharine Graham in the 1970s, wasn't there?), then he became evil incarnate. Saddam was our friend - the CIA even gave him a list of Communists to kill - and then he became evil incarnate. Croats can go from perps to victims; ditto Albanians. And the U.S. opinion-making machinery is always an integral part of the angel-devil cycle. Now we're all supposed to unite around the naming and bombing of a devil - and liberals like Paul Wellstone and Nathan Newman fall right in line. How I wish it were possible to see how folks would line up were it Bob Dole rather than Bill Clinton giving the orders.
Doug