My mother is a Native American woman. My father fought the Nazis in Norway.
From what they used to tell me, from what I learnt later, from my studies as a historian, I have a very definite awareness that there always are forces in this world, bent on conquering.
Throughout space and time, los conquistadores rampaged the world, well-equipped with their ideals and noble aspirations: prophesying true faith, paving the way for the coming of the Super-man... The more advanced, wealthy, powerful and civilised they are, the more skilfully can they make everything justify anything.
I have also spent fifteen years of my life in Eastern Europe. I lived in Yugoslavia, too. I witnessed the very beginnings of its split-up. I also heard lots of ridiculous myths about Yugoslavia. The naivete of people smugly passing judgement on subjects they haven't the remotest knowledge of, sometimes annoyed me, but I never saw any danger in it, for no sensible person would normally act on behalf of these haphazard inventions.
I have been reminded now that there are people in the modern world who can not only get away with anything, but never as much as see the results of their actions. Making peace in Yugoslavia is not impossible, but it takes someone aware that if a solution does not work in reality, it is a problem with the solution and not with reality.
Assuming, of course, that the West want to solve this crisis. I am far from entertaining conspiracy theories and attributing wicked motives to everyone whose actions I do not approve of. But the difference between doing what one believes to be right and believing what one does to be right, is often very, very hard to pin down. Los conquistadores, too, sincerely believed what they were doing to be good, and right. But for a problem with reality which forced them to kill people and flatten cities, much to their own genuine regret.
NATO has got nothing to do in Yugoslavia. It can only make things much worse than it already has done.