From: rja@mahogany126.cray.com (Russ Anderson)
Subject: Re: WAR IN BOSNIA!!!!
Originator: rja@mahogany126
Organization: The 1991 World Champion Minnesota Twins!
Date: 17 Dec 92 14:37:04 CST


In article <BzF3Ju.K69@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, smithmc@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Lost Boy) writes:
> According to the Thursday December 17, 1992 _Chicago Tribune_, George
> Bush and company has authorized United States involvement in Bosnia.
> 
> This is probably the biggest foreign-policy mistake we could make. Bosnia
> is an extremely dangerous region and sending US troops can only result in
> a great deal of American bloodshed. 

Does "involvement" == "sending US troops" (ie ground forces)?  There are 
a lot of invlovement options (ie blockaides, provide information/arms to 
one side) that can be done with relativly little risk to US troups.

> I and others are organizing resistance to this action on George Bush's part,
> on the following grounds:
> 
> 1) The millitary has legitimate uses, such as self defense (as in WWII) and
> the protection of peaceful initiatives (such as in Somalia). To send the 
> millitary into Bosnia

At this point, I don't think the US is sending troups "into Bosnia".

>                        in order to stop two well-armed and well-entrenched
> factions from fighting each other is NOT an act of self defense or the 
> protection of peaceful initiatives.

I'm not sure how this (the Serbia/Bosnia situation) differs from WWI or 
early WWII.  

> 2) The United States has a great deal to lose in terms of manpower, stature,
> money and resources in Bosnia, a region which is the most analogous to Veitnam
> of all the regions we have been involved in since 1975.

Yes.  The US also had a great deal to lose in WWII.

> 3) United States involvement in an area that has been historically explosive
> (remember World War One?) can only feed tensions in the region and stir Anti-
> American sentiment in the area. 

Early involvement by the US in the 1930's may have prevented WWII.

> In other words, we are opposed to this action on the grounds that it is a
> generally bad idea. 

The action may be a bad idea, but inaction may be worse.

> Those who are interested in aiding us in urging President Bush and President
> Elect Clinton to seek a more reasonable, far less dangerous solution to this
> crisis,

And what solution is that?  Watch the Serbians ethnicly cleans Bosnia?  Watch
as other Eastern European countries try to re-draw their borders by force?

>          please email me at smithmc@mentor.cc.purdue.edu. I will probably not
> be able to respond for a while, as I will be away for Christmas break so I
> can organize things in Chicago. Once I get back I will contact everyone who
> responds and provide them with information on who to contact and what measures
> are being taken. I will also send a copy of a petition which is going around
> to everyone who is interested. This petition is a 15 line document written in
> vi which you may modify as you like.
> 
> In the meantime, we should all pray for peace in Bosnia before it becomes
> more of a mess than before.

Given the situation in Bosnia, the quickest route to peace is the "ethnic
clensing" of the non-Serbian population.  That is a quick route I hope
does not happen.  The other routes all involve militarily stopping the
Serbian "ethnic clensing".  Those routes are 1) arm the Bosnians fighting
against Serbian forces (in a war of attrician) or 2) use (or the treat) of 
force by US/Nato forces to make Serbia back down.

> Merry Christmas
> Peace on Earth and Mercy Mild
> 
> Lost Boy
-- 
Russ Anderson    |  Disclaimer: Any statements are my own and do not reflect
------------------              upon my employer or anyone else.  (c) 1992
EX-Twins' Jack Morris, 10 innings pitched, 0 runs (World Series MVP!)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.bush,talk.politics.misc