Excellent post. Do be careful because the trolls from NYC and from San FranFreako will howl with outrage. They will claim you are no American or that you are a fraud.
I, however, think it is far more American to recognize the wrongs our country did to its own people and continues to do to Serbia. Glad to see Mike and I are not the only Americans on here that see this.
this expert forget some facts: albanians ands serbs were opposing even when usa did not exist! And the kosovo question was always the reason ! And his expertise is so superficial that it is very encouraging for the future!
Don't bother for him,he has,as one stated here ,an agenda of provocative declaration and action, he is just a good soldier!
The gentlemen is very ignorant about certain things. He incorrectly believes that Bosniaks define themselves by their religion which is simply not the case. The Bosniaks are descendants of Bosnia's original Slavic inhabitants who were Christians(considered heretics by the Pope). The Bosniaks consider themselves to be the descendants of the kings and queens of Bosnia's medieval kingdom and they consider Bosnia-Herzegovina to be their true and only homeland. They have always encouraged all those living in Bosnia-Herzegovina to think and feel themselves to be Bosnians first and to identify with their religious community second or third. It is also important to point out that the gentleman was wrong when the claimed that Bosniaks want to rule Bosnia-Herzegovina. No Bosniak politician has ever stated that Bosniaks should rule over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The consensus among Bosniak politicians has always been that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state that needs to be strong and independent so that it can provide for all of its citizens. The Bosnian people want to live freely and peacefully in their homeland and they want to extend those same freedoms and rights to all people that call Bosnia their home.
"As far as Bosnia, the point of Christianity being older there than Islamic faith is a strong, but true statement, that even Bosniaks can't refute. You can't, there's nothing possible to refute it with. All those Bosniaks (Serb last names on 90% of them) were SErbs, that didn't face the oppression,and surrendered their faith, Christianity, and lifestyle to not be slaughtered. It's a strong, but true, and valid point, Serbs and Croats existed, and Bosniaks are simply a by product after the Ottoman rule. that is fact. Sorry, no way to dispute that. At this point, let it split. Bosnia belongs more to SErbs, than any other nationality. Now facing this situation now you can't create another problem, it would be ugly, and if the US approach would be to help instead of stir the pot, a peaceful split could be done. And the Bosniaks would have to face the reality, they are a Muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe."
You speak true words, but let me fix your mistakes.
1. Christianity is older than Islam in Bosnia, thus being a true statement, why is Islam in Bosnia? Serbia lost Bosnia to the Turkish, It was your fault. Our people are muslims, their is more Muslims in Bosnia than in Serbia.
2. In the end of your Tcomment you wrote, "They are a muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe" you realise Turkey/Albania/Kosovo etc are all muslim nations in Europe, even Russia has more muslims than Bosnia and they are your closest Alley, what does that tell you?
3. Bosniaks (Muslims and Christians) will survive longer in Bosnia than Serbians would. You have your own proper country, why not go to it? Instead you try and breach our beautiful country? You know that Bosnia will NEVER be a part of Serbia. Its just a matter of when you will realise it that it was a lost dream ever since Radovan Karidzic started the Bosnian War. Bosnia could of been part of Serbia if the Serbians did things in the right circumstances, Ethnic cleansing and killing people becuase of their religious views died in WW2.
I know that Serbia will never control my country, It is just a matter of when you will realise It.
I agree with Mike. This guy is no expert, he’s an advocate with an agenda.
Mike I suggest we could just call ourselves experts, then make it “official” by quoting ourselves on Wikipedia and linking back to B92.
I’m down for that. I think I’ll start as an expert on Pizza Burek in Vojvodina (Yes, I’ve really had it there). Who else wants to be an expert? I mean we have to be experts to have a Kafana Summit after all, if we want any credibility for our negotiation process.
“He is not even a US expert judging from that example with the Hispanics. How can you put the US and Serbia in an analogy like that? (KU, 17 January 2010 22:35)”
It’s true that the US committed a nearly absolute genocide against the native population of North America while Serbia did not, however, I still feel personally that this is a fair analogy in many ways.
The discrimination Hispanics currently face is similar to what Albanians faced at first under Milosevic before the KLA started engaging in violence. English only laws, shutting down of Spanish language schools, deportations and arrests.
There are terrible recent local examples here where I live in Silicon Valley where ICE would stake out the local elementary schools in the Hispanic neighborhoods arresting the parents as they came to pick up their American Born (citizen) children thus ripping apart families.
Can you imagine what the US reaction (under Bush?!?!!?) would be if Hispanics actively engaged in violent attacks against ICE and governmental institutions while proclaiming independence? I’m very certain the death toll would be higher than the 2,000 in Kosovo that led up to the NATO bombing if the support among the local population was similar.
It’s about time the Hispanics here benefitted from working 3 jobs just to keep their families afloat. San Jose, the largest Hispanic population in the US, has the lowest crime rate of any major city. Hispanics possess incredible family values, work extremely hard and are very religious and law abiding.
We Americans have committed a great injustice towards the native population here and it’s about time we acknowledge and do what we can to remedy that situation. We should follow Tadic’s example and pass a resolution condemning what we’ve done as a nation.
Do even get me started on what we did to African American society here in the US, its completely destroyed. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe Serbia did not engage in segregation against the Albanians, or any of that. I may not be old enough to remember segregation but my mother grew up in Texas during that era so I heard first hand what that was like.
The sad reality is the minority Albanian population had far more rights and freedoms under a communist dictatorship than African or Native Americans had under “Democracy” during the same time period. This during the lifetime of many people alive today, I just barely missed it myself.
Feel free to familiarize yourself with the Civil Rights movement here in the US. I suggest reading some of the Supreme Court decisions outlawing certain FBI and CIA behavior (“Let Them Eat Bananas”). It’s fascinating stuff.
As predicted, the Albanians have rushed to discredit him.
Albanians have already discredited John Pilger, Gen. Lewis MacKenzie, and even Noam Chomsky because they have a pro-Serbian stance.
What is wrong with having this stnace? Many have a pro Albanian one and Albanians have rushed to embrace them as the all knowing and seeing beings.
Nothing new here. We can bring out fifty experts and Albanians will find a way to belittle their work and try to disgrace them because what they say simply doesn't work for them.
Kosovo is becoming europe's Haiti and the eu doesn't want to be stuck with it. But the Serbs will never trust them - Tadic is living in the past instead of his opposition.
Balkan expert?!?!?! Did he self-appoint himself as an expert, or was he vested with this term by B92?
He is not even a US expert judging from that example with the Hispanics. How can you put the US and Serbia in an analogy like that? They're sooo different.
Closed-loop information: In 1999 TANJUG printed the news related to the war as they pleased to TANJUG. The Chinese and Russian media reprinted them, and then all the other media in Serbia reprinted the news of the Chinese and Russians: "The Chinese and Russian experts said it...".
As much as I might agree with Mr. Sletzinger's aforementioned comments, I'm coming more and more to believe that so called "experts" are those who simply agree with the positions of those who classify people as "experts". Therefore, Mr. Sletzinger may be an "expert" in Belgrade-based circles, while the ever-giddy "Ambassador" Dell is lauded for his astute intelligence in Pristina.
We've got tons of terrorist "experts" in the US. They frequently sell their views on Cable news shows. It begs one to consider with all the "experts" running around the world, why does zero-sum status quo always reign? I guess I'm just not an expert in the field to understand.
This article is one of the better ones, the problem is that numerous and several politicians and former US ambassadors feel this way. This article is the reality. When you see guys on here like Kosovo-USA that have no clue about what approach would have worked best for those poor Albo's in Kosovo, and just scream "independance, independance" it's sad. I laugh everytime i see him on here. He's a poor lobbyist, that prob has nothing. Point is we can all lobby, all day, all night, points in this article hold true. US never did take a side when this started, and should've have never done more than provide security, and then find a way to work Kosovo (Serbia's territory) safely back into integration. It's clear as day the regime in Serbia is very pro everything, East, West, and have proved that. Now you see how effective and precise the government is, and the approach that they've taken to all this is a masterpiece. I myself, even thought, what the heck, march in there, end this thing..but even i was wrong. I thought Tadic would sell out a lot earlier. He did make a mistake by letting the EU put a loser in there like Feith, but even that can be fixed, and will be fixed. US approach should've been to help Serbia, rebuild it's government, secure its territories, and work with Serbia herself to a safer Europe. We all know reality, and even Kosovo-USA can't refute this, the province is full of criminals, killers, and illegal firearms. It would take years and years to try and fix this. And still it wouldn't happen.
As far as Bosnia, the point of Christianity being older there than Islamic faith is a strong, but true statement, that even Bosniaks can't refute. You can't, there's nothing possible to refute it with. All those Bosniaks (Serb last names on 90% of them) were SErbs, that didn't face the oppression,and surrendered their faith, Christianity, and lifestyle to not be slaughtered. It's a strong, but true, and valid point, Serbs and Croats existed, and Bosniaks are simply a by product after the Ottoman rule. that is fact. Sorry, no way to dispute that. At this point, let it split. Bosnia belongs more to SErbs, than any other nationality. Now facing this situation now you can't create another problem, it would be ugly, and if the US approach would be to help instead of stir the pot, a peaceful split could be done. And the Bosniaks would have to face the reality, they are a Muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe.
Very good article, and very truthful, regardless of the propaganda and sillyness we all argue about everyday. With holding bias, there is no way to fix either Serbia or Kosovo without meeting Serbian demands. And i think that over time, and a lot of persistence, the approach will change. It's never too late.
"Martin who?, :)
(NewBorn, 17 January 2010 15:10) "
Exactly - I googled him, he is at WW, but what his scholarly achievements are - well, I didn't find much evidence of any. He once had a research grant to Yugoslavia, was apparently some kind of assistant to somebody in Congress, and has worked as a director at WW. But no books that I could find listed (google or amazon), no scholarly articles. He is credited with knowing most of the Yugoslav Slavic languages + Russian, but not Albanian. In interviews he has warned in interviews of the dangers of violence in the case of Kosovo declaring independence, of the threat of a Greater Albania, and such.
Google finds that "Martin Sletzinger spoke to the members of the Serbian-American Center..." but no corresponding evidence of addressing any Albanian groups. Etc.
In the U.S. he would clearly be classified as pro-Serb, but here he's just another American.
Mr. Sletzinger have you been in deep hybernation the last two decades or you are just to oblivious to the chain of events in Kosova? Some balkan expert you are...
Mix little politics and religion with reality that Germany is losing on export to China,and Serbia becoming energy leader in balkans means only one thing.Gotta start with new aproach or you lost the biggest importer in balkans.
“The essence of the problem is the incorrect belief of many Bosniaks that, after everything that happened in the war, all of Bosnia should be their country. That is not the right approach. Christianity is older than Islam on the Bosnian territory,” he said.
An experts opinion! Thats who America should have turned to in the first place. Instead they and much of Europe were tricked by albanians claiming to be the victims. The real victims were and still are the Serbs, their churces and the Serbian nation. I am convinced that sooner rather than later the truth will come out and even America will realize the blunder it made in Kosovo. You can't change the historical fact that Kosovo is and will always remain a part of Serbia, no matter how many albanians chose to live there. Not even the mightiest nations on earth can change that in the long run.
Kosovo je Srbija!
'“Bosnia will never be truly powerful as a state that is administered from the center, but is can be stronger and more effective than it is now,” Schlesinger said, adding that another Dayton-like meeting is needed, with all great powers participating, including the U.S., but with the EU leading the process this time". - Mr. Schlesinger.
Certainly, another meeting is needed on the future of Bosnia but it should be anything but Dayton-like.
I don't see why the US should be there unless they arrive at the end of the meeting with a cheque book to pay for war reparations to the Serbian Nation.
Furthermore,"with the EU leading the process this time" - is also a bad idea.
It's well known in EU circles that what Germany wants, Germany gets.
Germany has an awful lot to answer for regarding the entire Balkan tragedy of the last 2 decades. Berlin's inherent hatred of the Serbs would manifest itself again if Germany were to be party to any meeting of Nations seeking solutions for Bosnia.
I believe it should be a matter for the UN but sadly the UN has been seriously undermined and denigrated by the US/UK/NATO consortium.
In fact I believe this trio wants to be the 'New World Authority' and there is ample evidence to show that this is the case.
What is so important about preserving the country named Bosnia if it is an unworkable entity?
Let each ethnic group choose their own destiny. Forced integration is an abomination.
Serbias main partners should be countries whom they can trust. €U, under German booths, illegally bombed and burned a friendly Serbia and killed her citizens for no reason. They also ripped off parts of her to their local maffia-clients. Does that sound thrustworthy to you? No, not now, not in a hundred years.
Serbia should keep the distance to her enemies and stay close to her real friends, like Russia and the rest of the free world.
'“Bosnia will never be truly powerful as a state that is administered from the center, but is can be stronger and more effective than it is now,” Schlesinger said, adding that another Dayton-like meeting is needed, with all great powers participating, including the U.S., but with the EU leading the process this time". - Mr. Schlesinger.
Certainly, another meeting is needed on the future of Bosnia but it should be anything but Dayton-like.
I don't see why the US should be there unless they arrive at the end of the meeting with a cheque book to pay for war reparations to the Serbian Nation.
Furthermore,"with the EU leading the process this time" - is also a bad idea.
It's well known in EU circles that what Germany wants, Germany gets.
Germany has an awful lot to answer for regarding the entire Balkan tragedy of the last 2 decades. Berlin's inherent hatred of the Serbs would manifest itself again if Germany were to be party to any meeting of Nations seeking solutions for Bosnia.
I believe it should be a matter for the UN but sadly the UN has been seriously undermined and denigrated by the US/UK/NATO consortium.
In fact I believe this trio wants to be the 'New World Authority' and there is ample evidence to show that this is the case.
What is so important about preserving the country named Bosnia if it is an unworkable entity?
Let each ethnic group choose their own destiny. Forced integration is an abomination.
Serbias main partners should be countries whom they can trust. €U, under German booths, illegally bombed and burned a friendly Serbia and killed her citizens for no reason. They also ripped off parts of her to their local maffia-clients. Does that sound thrustworthy to you? No, not now, not in a hundred years.
Serbia should keep the distance to her enemies and stay close to her real friends, like Russia and the rest of the free world.
“The essence of the problem is the incorrect belief of many Bosniaks that, after everything that happened in the war, all of Bosnia should be their country. That is not the right approach. Christianity is older than Islam on the Bosnian territory,” he said.
An experts opinion! Thats who America should have turned to in the first place. Instead they and much of Europe were tricked by albanians claiming to be the victims. The real victims were and still are the Serbs, their churces and the Serbian nation. I am convinced that sooner rather than later the truth will come out and even America will realize the blunder it made in Kosovo. You can't change the historical fact that Kosovo is and will always remain a part of Serbia, no matter how many albanians chose to live there. Not even the mightiest nations on earth can change that in the long run.
Kosovo je Srbija!
This article is one of the better ones, the problem is that numerous and several politicians and former US ambassadors feel this way. This article is the reality. When you see guys on here like Kosovo-USA that have no clue about what approach would have worked best for those poor Albo's in Kosovo, and just scream "independance, independance" it's sad. I laugh everytime i see him on here. He's a poor lobbyist, that prob has nothing. Point is we can all lobby, all day, all night, points in this article hold true. US never did take a side when this started, and should've have never done more than provide security, and then find a way to work Kosovo (Serbia's territory) safely back into integration. It's clear as day the regime in Serbia is very pro everything, East, West, and have proved that. Now you see how effective and precise the government is, and the approach that they've taken to all this is a masterpiece. I myself, even thought, what the heck, march in there, end this thing..but even i was wrong. I thought Tadic would sell out a lot earlier. He did make a mistake by letting the EU put a loser in there like Feith, but even that can be fixed, and will be fixed. US approach should've been to help Serbia, rebuild it's government, secure its territories, and work with Serbia herself to a safer Europe. We all know reality, and even Kosovo-USA can't refute this, the province is full of criminals, killers, and illegal firearms. It would take years and years to try and fix this. And still it wouldn't happen.
As far as Bosnia, the point of Christianity being older there than Islamic faith is a strong, but true statement, that even Bosniaks can't refute. You can't, there's nothing possible to refute it with. All those Bosniaks (Serb last names on 90% of them) were SErbs, that didn't face the oppression,and surrendered their faith, Christianity, and lifestyle to not be slaughtered. It's a strong, but true, and valid point, Serbs and Croats existed, and Bosniaks are simply a by product after the Ottoman rule. that is fact. Sorry, no way to dispute that. At this point, let it split. Bosnia belongs more to SErbs, than any other nationality. Now facing this situation now you can't create another problem, it would be ugly, and if the US approach would be to help instead of stir the pot, a peaceful split could be done. And the Bosniaks would have to face the reality, they are a Muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe.
Very good article, and very truthful, regardless of the propaganda and sillyness we all argue about everyday. With holding bias, there is no way to fix either Serbia or Kosovo without meeting Serbian demands. And i think that over time, and a lot of persistence, the approach will change. It's never too late.
Mix little politics and religion with reality that Germany is losing on export to China,and Serbia becoming energy leader in balkans means only one thing.Gotta start with new aproach or you lost the biggest importer in balkans.
As much as I might agree with Mr. Sletzinger's aforementioned comments, I'm coming more and more to believe that so called "experts" are those who simply agree with the positions of those who classify people as "experts". Therefore, Mr. Sletzinger may be an "expert" in Belgrade-based circles, while the ever-giddy "Ambassador" Dell is lauded for his astute intelligence in Pristina.
We've got tons of terrorist "experts" in the US. They frequently sell their views on Cable news shows. It begs one to consider with all the "experts" running around the world, why does zero-sum status quo always reign? I guess I'm just not an expert in the field to understand.
"Martin who?, :)
(NewBorn, 17 January 2010 15:10) "
Exactly - I googled him, he is at WW, but what his scholarly achievements are - well, I didn't find much evidence of any. He once had a research grant to Yugoslavia, was apparently some kind of assistant to somebody in Congress, and has worked as a director at WW. But no books that I could find listed (google or amazon), no scholarly articles. He is credited with knowing most of the Yugoslav Slavic languages + Russian, but not Albanian. In interviews he has warned in interviews of the dangers of violence in the case of Kosovo declaring independence, of the threat of a Greater Albania, and such.
Google finds that "Martin Sletzinger spoke to the members of the Serbian-American Center..." but no corresponding evidence of addressing any Albanian groups. Etc.
In the U.S. he would clearly be classified as pro-Serb, but here he's just another American.
Excellent post. Do be careful because the trolls from NYC and from San FranFreako will howl with outrage. They will claim you are no American or that you are a fraud.
I, however, think it is far more American to recognize the wrongs our country did to its own people and continues to do to Serbia. Glad to see Mike and I are not the only Americans on here that see this.
Mr. Sletzinger have you been in deep hybernation the last two decades or you are just to oblivious to the chain of events in Kosova? Some balkan expert you are...
Balkan expert?!?!?! Did he self-appoint himself as an expert, or was he vested with this term by B92?
He is not even a US expert judging from that example with the Hispanics. How can you put the US and Serbia in an analogy like that? They're sooo different.
Closed-loop information: In 1999 TANJUG printed the news related to the war as they pleased to TANJUG. The Chinese and Russian media reprinted them, and then all the other media in Serbia reprinted the news of the Chinese and Russians: "The Chinese and Russian experts said it...".
I agree with Mike. This guy is no expert, he’s an advocate with an agenda.
Mike I suggest we could just call ourselves experts, then make it “official” by quoting ourselves on Wikipedia and linking back to B92.
I’m down for that. I think I’ll start as an expert on Pizza Burek in Vojvodina (Yes, I’ve really had it there). Who else wants to be an expert? I mean we have to be experts to have a Kafana Summit after all, if we want any credibility for our negotiation process.
“He is not even a US expert judging from that example with the Hispanics. How can you put the US and Serbia in an analogy like that? (KU, 17 January 2010 22:35)”
It’s true that the US committed a nearly absolute genocide against the native population of North America while Serbia did not, however, I still feel personally that this is a fair analogy in many ways.
The discrimination Hispanics currently face is similar to what Albanians faced at first under Milosevic before the KLA started engaging in violence. English only laws, shutting down of Spanish language schools, deportations and arrests.
There are terrible recent local examples here where I live in Silicon Valley where ICE would stake out the local elementary schools in the Hispanic neighborhoods arresting the parents as they came to pick up their American Born (citizen) children thus ripping apart families.
Can you imagine what the US reaction (under Bush?!?!!?) would be if Hispanics actively engaged in violent attacks against ICE and governmental institutions while proclaiming independence? I’m very certain the death toll would be higher than the 2,000 in Kosovo that led up to the NATO bombing if the support among the local population was similar.
It’s about time the Hispanics here benefitted from working 3 jobs just to keep their families afloat. San Jose, the largest Hispanic population in the US, has the lowest crime rate of any major city. Hispanics possess incredible family values, work extremely hard and are very religious and law abiding.
We Americans have committed a great injustice towards the native population here and it’s about time we acknowledge and do what we can to remedy that situation. We should follow Tadic’s example and pass a resolution condemning what we’ve done as a nation.
Do even get me started on what we did to African American society here in the US, its completely destroyed. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe Serbia did not engage in segregation against the Albanians, or any of that. I may not be old enough to remember segregation but my mother grew up in Texas during that era so I heard first hand what that was like.
The sad reality is the minority Albanian population had far more rights and freedoms under a communist dictatorship than African or Native Americans had under “Democracy” during the same time period. This during the lifetime of many people alive today, I just barely missed it myself.
Feel free to familiarize yourself with the Civil Rights movement here in the US. I suggest reading some of the Supreme Court decisions outlawing certain FBI and CIA behavior (“Let Them Eat Bananas”). It’s fascinating stuff.
As predicted, the Albanians have rushed to discredit him.
Albanians have already discredited John Pilger, Gen. Lewis MacKenzie, and even Noam Chomsky because they have a pro-Serbian stance.
What is wrong with having this stnace? Many have a pro Albanian one and Albanians have rushed to embrace them as the all knowing and seeing beings.
Nothing new here. We can bring out fifty experts and Albanians will find a way to belittle their work and try to disgrace them because what they say simply doesn't work for them.
The gentlemen is very ignorant about certain things. He incorrectly believes that Bosniaks define themselves by their religion which is simply not the case. The Bosniaks are descendants of Bosnia's original Slavic inhabitants who were Christians(considered heretics by the Pope). The Bosniaks consider themselves to be the descendants of the kings and queens of Bosnia's medieval kingdom and they consider Bosnia-Herzegovina to be their true and only homeland. They have always encouraged all those living in Bosnia-Herzegovina to think and feel themselves to be Bosnians first and to identify with their religious community second or third. It is also important to point out that the gentleman was wrong when the claimed that Bosniaks want to rule Bosnia-Herzegovina. No Bosniak politician has ever stated that Bosniaks should rule over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The consensus among Bosniak politicians has always been that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state that needs to be strong and independent so that it can provide for all of its citizens. The Bosnian people want to live freely and peacefully in their homeland and they want to extend those same freedoms and rights to all people that call Bosnia their home.
"As far as Bosnia, the point of Christianity being older there than Islamic faith is a strong, but true statement, that even Bosniaks can't refute. You can't, there's nothing possible to refute it with. All those Bosniaks (Serb last names on 90% of them) were SErbs, that didn't face the oppression,and surrendered their faith, Christianity, and lifestyle to not be slaughtered. It's a strong, but true, and valid point, Serbs and Croats existed, and Bosniaks are simply a by product after the Ottoman rule. that is fact. Sorry, no way to dispute that. At this point, let it split. Bosnia belongs more to SErbs, than any other nationality. Now facing this situation now you can't create another problem, it would be ugly, and if the US approach would be to help instead of stir the pot, a peaceful split could be done. And the Bosniaks would have to face the reality, they are a Muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe."
You speak true words, but let me fix your mistakes.
1. Christianity is older than Islam in Bosnia, thus being a true statement, why is Islam in Bosnia? Serbia lost Bosnia to the Turkish, It was your fault. Our people are muslims, their is more Muslims in Bosnia than in Serbia.
2. In the end of your Tcomment you wrote, "They are a muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe" you realise Turkey/Albania/Kosovo etc are all muslim nations in Europe, even Russia has more muslims than Bosnia and they are your closest Alley, what does that tell you?
3. Bosniaks (Muslims and Christians) will survive longer in Bosnia than Serbians would. You have your own proper country, why not go to it? Instead you try and breach our beautiful country? You know that Bosnia will NEVER be a part of Serbia. Its just a matter of when you will realise it that it was a lost dream ever since Radovan Karidzic started the Bosnian War. Bosnia could of been part of Serbia if the Serbians did things in the right circumstances, Ethnic cleansing and killing people becuase of their religious views died in WW2.
I know that Serbia will never control my country, It is just a matter of when you will realise It.
Kosovo is becoming europe's Haiti and the eu doesn't want to be stuck with it. But the Serbs will never trust them - Tadic is living in the past instead of his opposition.
this expert forget some facts: albanians ands serbs were opposing even when usa did not exist! And the kosovo question was always the reason ! And his expertise is so superficial that it is very encouraging for the future!
Don't bother for him,he has,as one stated here ,an agenda of provocative declaration and action, he is just a good soldier!
Serbias main partners should be countries whom they can trust. €U, under German booths, illegally bombed and burned a friendly Serbia and killed her citizens for no reason. They also ripped off parts of her to their local maffia-clients. Does that sound thrustworthy to you? No, not now, not in a hundred years.
Serbia should keep the distance to her enemies and stay close to her real friends, like Russia and the rest of the free world.
Mr. Sletzinger have you been in deep hybernation the last two decades or you are just to oblivious to the chain of events in Kosova? Some balkan expert you are...
Balkan expert?!?!?! Did he self-appoint himself as an expert, or was he vested with this term by B92?
He is not even a US expert judging from that example with the Hispanics. How can you put the US and Serbia in an analogy like that? They're sooo different.
Closed-loop information: In 1999 TANJUG printed the news related to the war as they pleased to TANJUG. The Chinese and Russian media reprinted them, and then all the other media in Serbia reprinted the news of the Chinese and Russians: "The Chinese and Russian experts said it...".
'“Bosnia will never be truly powerful as a state that is administered from the center, but is can be stronger and more effective than it is now,” Schlesinger said, adding that another Dayton-like meeting is needed, with all great powers participating, including the U.S., but with the EU leading the process this time". - Mr. Schlesinger.
Certainly, another meeting is needed on the future of Bosnia but it should be anything but Dayton-like.
I don't see why the US should be there unless they arrive at the end of the meeting with a cheque book to pay for war reparations to the Serbian Nation.
Furthermore,"with the EU leading the process this time" - is also a bad idea.
It's well known in EU circles that what Germany wants, Germany gets.
Germany has an awful lot to answer for regarding the entire Balkan tragedy of the last 2 decades. Berlin's inherent hatred of the Serbs would manifest itself again if Germany were to be party to any meeting of Nations seeking solutions for Bosnia.
I believe it should be a matter for the UN but sadly the UN has been seriously undermined and denigrated by the US/UK/NATO consortium.
In fact I believe this trio wants to be the 'New World Authority' and there is ample evidence to show that this is the case.
What is so important about preserving the country named Bosnia if it is an unworkable entity?
Let each ethnic group choose their own destiny. Forced integration is an abomination.
"Martin who?, :)
(NewBorn, 17 January 2010 15:10) "
Exactly - I googled him, he is at WW, but what his scholarly achievements are - well, I didn't find much evidence of any. He once had a research grant to Yugoslavia, was apparently some kind of assistant to somebody in Congress, and has worked as a director at WW. But no books that I could find listed (google or amazon), no scholarly articles. He is credited with knowing most of the Yugoslav Slavic languages + Russian, but not Albanian. In interviews he has warned in interviews of the dangers of violence in the case of Kosovo declaring independence, of the threat of a Greater Albania, and such.
Google finds that "Martin Sletzinger spoke to the members of the Serbian-American Center..." but no corresponding evidence of addressing any Albanian groups. Etc.
In the U.S. he would clearly be classified as pro-Serb, but here he's just another American.
An experts opinion! Thats who America should have turned to in the first place. Instead they and much of Europe were tricked by albanians claiming to be the victims. The real victims were and still are the Serbs, their churces and the Serbian nation. I am convinced that sooner rather than later the truth will come out and even America will realize the blunder it made in Kosovo. You can't change the historical fact that Kosovo is and will always remain a part of Serbia, no matter how many albanians chose to live there. Not even the mightiest nations on earth can change that in the long run.
Kosovo je Srbija!
Mix little politics and religion with reality that Germany is losing on export to China,and Serbia becoming energy leader in balkans means only one thing.Gotta start with new aproach or you lost the biggest importer in balkans.
“The essence of the problem is the incorrect belief of many Bosniaks that, after everything that happened in the war, all of Bosnia should be their country. That is not the right approach. Christianity is older than Islam on the Bosnian territory,” he said.
This article is one of the better ones, the problem is that numerous and several politicians and former US ambassadors feel this way. This article is the reality. When you see guys on here like Kosovo-USA that have no clue about what approach would have worked best for those poor Albo's in Kosovo, and just scream "independance, independance" it's sad. I laugh everytime i see him on here. He's a poor lobbyist, that prob has nothing. Point is we can all lobby, all day, all night, points in this article hold true. US never did take a side when this started, and should've have never done more than provide security, and then find a way to work Kosovo (Serbia's territory) safely back into integration. It's clear as day the regime in Serbia is very pro everything, East, West, and have proved that. Now you see how effective and precise the government is, and the approach that they've taken to all this is a masterpiece. I myself, even thought, what the heck, march in there, end this thing..but even i was wrong. I thought Tadic would sell out a lot earlier. He did make a mistake by letting the EU put a loser in there like Feith, but even that can be fixed, and will be fixed. US approach should've been to help Serbia, rebuild it's government, secure its territories, and work with Serbia herself to a safer Europe. We all know reality, and even Kosovo-USA can't refute this, the province is full of criminals, killers, and illegal firearms. It would take years and years to try and fix this. And still it wouldn't happen.
As far as Bosnia, the point of Christianity being older there than Islamic faith is a strong, but true statement, that even Bosniaks can't refute. You can't, there's nothing possible to refute it with. All those Bosniaks (Serb last names on 90% of them) were SErbs, that didn't face the oppression,and surrendered their faith, Christianity, and lifestyle to not be slaughtered. It's a strong, but true, and valid point, Serbs and Croats existed, and Bosniaks are simply a by product after the Ottoman rule. that is fact. Sorry, no way to dispute that. At this point, let it split. Bosnia belongs more to SErbs, than any other nationality. Now facing this situation now you can't create another problem, it would be ugly, and if the US approach would be to help instead of stir the pot, a peaceful split could be done. And the Bosniaks would have to face the reality, they are a Muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe.
Very good article, and very truthful, regardless of the propaganda and sillyness we all argue about everyday. With holding bias, there is no way to fix either Serbia or Kosovo without meeting Serbian demands. And i think that over time, and a lot of persistence, the approach will change. It's never too late.
The gentlemen is very ignorant about certain things. He incorrectly believes that Bosniaks define themselves by their religion which is simply not the case. The Bosniaks are descendants of Bosnia's original Slavic inhabitants who were Christians(considered heretics by the Pope). The Bosniaks consider themselves to be the descendants of the kings and queens of Bosnia's medieval kingdom and they consider Bosnia-Herzegovina to be their true and only homeland. They have always encouraged all those living in Bosnia-Herzegovina to think and feel themselves to be Bosnians first and to identify with their religious community second or third. It is also important to point out that the gentleman was wrong when the claimed that Bosniaks want to rule Bosnia-Herzegovina. No Bosniak politician has ever stated that Bosniaks should rule over Bosnia-Herzegovina. The consensus among Bosniak politicians has always been that Bosnia-Herzegovina is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious state that needs to be strong and independent so that it can provide for all of its citizens. The Bosnian people want to live freely and peacefully in their homeland and they want to extend those same freedoms and rights to all people that call Bosnia their home.
"As far as Bosnia, the point of Christianity being older there than Islamic faith is a strong, but true statement, that even Bosniaks can't refute. You can't, there's nothing possible to refute it with. All those Bosniaks (Serb last names on 90% of them) were SErbs, that didn't face the oppression,and surrendered their faith, Christianity, and lifestyle to not be slaughtered. It's a strong, but true, and valid point, Serbs and Croats existed, and Bosniaks are simply a by product after the Ottoman rule. that is fact. Sorry, no way to dispute that. At this point, let it split. Bosnia belongs more to SErbs, than any other nationality. Now facing this situation now you can't create another problem, it would be ugly, and if the US approach would be to help instead of stir the pot, a peaceful split could be done. And the Bosniaks would have to face the reality, they are a Muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe."
You speak true words, but let me fix your mistakes.
1. Christianity is older than Islam in Bosnia, thus being a true statement, why is Islam in Bosnia? Serbia lost Bosnia to the Turkish, It was your fault. Our people are muslims, their is more Muslims in Bosnia than in Serbia.
2. In the end of your Tcomment you wrote, "They are a muslim nation in the middle of a Christian Europe" you realise Turkey/Albania/Kosovo etc are all muslim nations in Europe, even Russia has more muslims than Bosnia and they are your closest Alley, what does that tell you?
3. Bosniaks (Muslims and Christians) will survive longer in Bosnia than Serbians would. You have your own proper country, why not go to it? Instead you try and breach our beautiful country? You know that Bosnia will NEVER be a part of Serbia. Its just a matter of when you will realise it that it was a lost dream ever since Radovan Karidzic started the Bosnian War. Bosnia could of been part of Serbia if the Serbians did things in the right circumstances, Ethnic cleansing and killing people becuase of their religious views died in WW2.
I know that Serbia will never control my country, It is just a matter of when you will realise It.
this expert forget some facts: albanians ands serbs were opposing even when usa did not exist! And the kosovo question was always the reason ! And his expertise is so superficial that it is very encouraging for the future!
Don't bother for him,he has,as one stated here ,an agenda of provocative declaration and action, he is just a good soldier!
As predicted, the Albanians have rushed to discredit him.
Albanians have already discredited John Pilger, Gen. Lewis MacKenzie, and even Noam Chomsky because they have a pro-Serbian stance.
What is wrong with having this stnace? Many have a pro Albanian one and Albanians have rushed to embrace them as the all knowing and seeing beings.
Nothing new here. We can bring out fifty experts and Albanians will find a way to belittle their work and try to disgrace them because what they say simply doesn't work for them.
Excellent post. Do be careful because the trolls from NYC and from San FranFreako will howl with outrage. They will claim you are no American or that you are a fraud.
I, however, think it is far more American to recognize the wrongs our country did to its own people and continues to do to Serbia. Glad to see Mike and I are not the only Americans on here that see this.
As much as I might agree with Mr. Sletzinger's aforementioned comments, I'm coming more and more to believe that so called "experts" are those who simply agree with the positions of those who classify people as "experts". Therefore, Mr. Sletzinger may be an "expert" in Belgrade-based circles, while the ever-giddy "Ambassador" Dell is lauded for his astute intelligence in Pristina.
We've got tons of terrorist "experts" in the US. They frequently sell their views on Cable news shows. It begs one to consider with all the "experts" running around the world, why does zero-sum status quo always reign? I guess I'm just not an expert in the field to understand.
Kosovo is becoming europe's Haiti and the eu doesn't want to be stuck with it. But the Serbs will never trust them - Tadic is living in the past instead of his opposition.
I agree with Mike. This guy is no expert, he’s an advocate with an agenda.
Mike I suggest we could just call ourselves experts, then make it “official” by quoting ourselves on Wikipedia and linking back to B92.
I’m down for that. I think I’ll start as an expert on Pizza Burek in Vojvodina (Yes, I’ve really had it there). Who else wants to be an expert? I mean we have to be experts to have a Kafana Summit after all, if we want any credibility for our negotiation process.
“He is not even a US expert judging from that example with the Hispanics. How can you put the US and Serbia in an analogy like that? (KU, 17 January 2010 22:35)”
It’s true that the US committed a nearly absolute genocide against the native population of North America while Serbia did not, however, I still feel personally that this is a fair analogy in many ways.
The discrimination Hispanics currently face is similar to what Albanians faced at first under Milosevic before the KLA started engaging in violence. English only laws, shutting down of Spanish language schools, deportations and arrests.
There are terrible recent local examples here where I live in Silicon Valley where ICE would stake out the local elementary schools in the Hispanic neighborhoods arresting the parents as they came to pick up their American Born (citizen) children thus ripping apart families.
Can you imagine what the US reaction (under Bush?!?!!?) would be if Hispanics actively engaged in violent attacks against ICE and governmental institutions while proclaiming independence? I’m very certain the death toll would be higher than the 2,000 in Kosovo that led up to the NATO bombing if the support among the local population was similar.
It’s about time the Hispanics here benefitted from working 3 jobs just to keep their families afloat. San Jose, the largest Hispanic population in the US, has the lowest crime rate of any major city. Hispanics possess incredible family values, work extremely hard and are very religious and law abiding.
We Americans have committed a great injustice towards the native population here and it’s about time we acknowledge and do what we can to remedy that situation. We should follow Tadic’s example and pass a resolution condemning what we’ve done as a nation.
Do even get me started on what we did to African American society here in the US, its completely destroyed. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I do believe Serbia did not engage in segregation against the Albanians, or any of that. I may not be old enough to remember segregation but my mother grew up in Texas during that era so I heard first hand what that was like.
The sad reality is the minority Albanian population had far more rights and freedoms under a communist dictatorship than African or Native Americans had under “Democracy” during the same time period. This during the lifetime of many people alive today, I just barely missed it myself.
Feel free to familiarize yourself with the Civil Rights movement here in the US. I suggest reading some of the Supreme Court decisions outlawing certain FBI and CIA behavior (“Let Them Eat Bananas”). It’s fascinating stuff.
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