STOP NATO: ¡NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Sopranos fanatics, this one is for you. Tony Soprano's autographed Suburban is available for purchase on eBayTM. James Gandolfini has personally signed the vehicle. Find this and over 800 other Sopranos items for sale on eBay. http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/ebay ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Following is a synopsis of events that transpired on the evening of July > 17th, 2001, during General Wesley Clark's book promotion talk at the Borders > bookstore in Pentagon Centre. > > Mr. Clark began his speech around 7:00 pm. He spoke for about 25-30 minutes > about the book, his own military career, and his own opinions about the > lessons to be learned from the Kosovo war about the changing military > strategies needed for winning wars. Not once in his speech did raise the > issue of the morality of going to war against Serbia in the first place. > > During the question and answer period, I was called on, and asked the > following question: > > "How can you justify the US and NATO attacking a country like Serbia who > never did anything to threaten us, and never attacked any country in any > way, and how can you justify dropping cluster bombs and depleted uranium on > then, which will cause much suffering for generations to come, doing much > more harm than Mr. Milosevic ever could?" > > He answered by going into a long spiel of supposed "atrocities" committed by > Serbs against Albanians in Kosovo. Most were the same unsubstantiated > accusations we've heard from the state department, and the mainstream media > for the past two years, many of them having been proven outright false. For > example, he claimed that Albanians had no voting rights, and no right to > education in their own language in Kosovo. He claimed that "America fought > a revolution over 'no taxation without representation'," and therefore we > were morally obligated to fight for the same for the Albanians, whom, he > claimed, had it much worse off than the American colonists under the > British. > > He conveniently refused to comment on the destruction caused to civilians by > the cluster bombs and the depleted uranium. He concluded by saying that he > thought the war was justified "because it prevented a greater evil." > > The next person to ask him a question was George Jatras, who held up a > picture of Mr. Clark standing with and shaking hands with, KLA leaders > Hashim Thaci and Agem Ceku. George asked Mr. Clark how he could justify his > praise for these men who were responsible for war crimes against Serbs in > Kosovo, such as raping women and burning churches. > > At this point, Mr. Clark very rudely interrupted George Jatras, and said in > a very hostile tone of voice that he felt justified in his alliance, because > he claimed the KLA had been "taken out of uniform" at that time, and that he > did not condone the burning of churches or mosques, but felt that the Serbs > had done more of those kinds of crimes. When finally Mr. Clark's temper > cooled down a bit, George was able to finish his question, asking Mr. Clark > how he could justify bombing the Serbs on Easter Sunday, a holy Christian > holiday. Mr. Clark responded by saying "because the Serbs were committing > ethnic cleansing on Easter Sunday." > > The following questions asked by the audience were mainly showing fawning > admiration for Mr. Clark, and "congratulating" him for what he did in > Serbia. When the question and answer period ended, Mr. Clark said: > > "First, I'll stay and talk to those who read and enjoyed the book, and sign > books for them, but for those of you who just want to argue with me, who > have your minds made up and don't want to hear anything different, wait on > the other side of the room, and I'll talk to you after I'm done talking to > the people who liked the book." > > So, those of us who were critical waited for about 20 minutes, and then we > were allowed back into the discussion area. We were told by the moderator > that Mr. Clark had only ten minutes to talk to us before he had to leave. > > People asked him questions about the Rambouliette accord, and why the Serbs > should have been expected to sign it. He claimed that it was necessary to > have NATO troops stationed throughout Yugoslavia, as specified in > Rambouliette in order to allow troops to move from Bosnia through Serbia > into Kosovo. He also made the ridiculous claim that by allowing the NATO > troops into his country, "Mr. Milosevic would have had an opportunity to let > NATO solve his problems for him (the civil war in Kosovo)." > > He went on more about all the supposed atrocities committed by Serbs, and I > asked him: > > "What business did the US have to get involved in this conflict in the first > place?" > > He asked me if I thought atrocities committed in a civil war were > acceptable. I said no, of course I didn't think that any atrocities were > ever acceptable, but that civil wars happen all around the world, all the > time, and atrocities are committed by all sides in any civil war, but what > right does the US have to interfere in another country's civil war? What > gives us the right, I asked him, to play Policeman of the World? > > He got excited again, and asked me if I thought it would have been fine with > me if the US had stayed out of World War II, and not tired to stop the > Holocaust. > > "We could have PREVENTED World War Two," I said, but then I was cut off by > the moderator, who accused me of not being respectful to the speaker. I was > going to say: "We could have prevented World War Two by staying out of > World War One, and not punishing Germany with sanctions the way we did after > World War One." However, I was not given a chance to say this. > > All told, it was a very frustrating exchange with a very arrogant and > disagreeable man! > > _____________ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
