Milosevic dies in The Hague

Slobodan Milosevic, the former President of Yugoslavia and later of Serbia died in The Hague today at the age of 64. He had been handed over to the international Court of Justice in The Hague as part of a deal to allow Yugoslavia to re-enter the international order after NATO attacked Serbia's Kosovo province in 1999.

NATO under the leadership of President Clinton and Tony Blair attacked Serbia over the long standing oppression of its Muslim (Bosnian and Albanian) and Catholic Yugoslavs.

After the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, multi-ethnic Yugoslavia exploded, with the Croats, Bosnians and Albanians clamoring for independence. Slobodan Milosevic was scapegoated for the violence by the media and international political organisations such as the UN. Because of the oppression of the Albanians in Kosovo a province of
Serbia NATO attacked the Serb forces in Kosovo. The removal of the Serb Army however has led to an almost complete ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo by Albanians who were not stopped by NATO.

After the withdrawal of the Serbian Army from Kosovo, Milosevic was removed from power and handed over to the International Tribunal in The Hague to try Milosevic for his crimes against Albanians.

Milsosevic put up a spirited defense against the allegations. The Serbs have always maintained that atrocities were committed by maverick militias and not by troops under control of the Serb leadership.

Whatever the truth it has turned out that the multi-ethnic model has failed in Yugoslavia. NATO has invaded the territory of a souvereign state to meddle in its internal affairs and it has nothing to show for it. The invasion of Kosovo resembled the invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in 1990. The "humanitarian" invasion was a precedent that was used to justify the US-UK coalition invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Secretary of State Rice is now calling for an invasion of Iran, on the grounds of Iran's disagreeing with US policy on nuclear arms.

However, the example of Kosovo shows that the use of military force does not translate into political gain or cultural change. Because the international press generally agreed with the attack on Serbia, they failed to point out the lack of success in having the Serbs and Albanians live together in a Multi-ethnic state.

The US is now having similar problems in Iraq and Afghanistan were US forces are under constant attack from an elusive enemy and where religious and ethnic groups are increasingly attacking each other. This is creating a peaceful and orderly society a difficult an impossibility. Iraq can become a terrorist haven in the future and an exporter of unrest, crime and throughout the Middle East in the same way that former Yugoslavia is a exporter of crime and disorder in Europe. This is a dream come true for Al-Qa'ida.

Whenever Westerners are debating and deciding on the use of military force, the question must be: will the action increase order and stability or decrease it? If the military action will likely damage a local source of order and social organisation the correct choice is to avoid military action, especially if it implies occupation.

The Milosevic and Saddam Hussains of this world can be more useful and agreeable than the real alternatives that will present themselves.