Little contradictions are par for the course.
When it comes to irony-free zones, however, Biljana Plavsic, President of the Bosnian Serb republic, must surely take the the Balkan biscuit. She announced last week that the war in Bosnia should serve as a warning that prevention is better than cure. The flames of war in Bosnia have just been extinguished. And Ms Plavsic should know. Through the early years of the Bosnian war, she was one of the fiercest Serb nationalists.