Milutin wrote:
> Martin wrote:
> > Solomon wrote:
> > >       Consider the steps taken by our leaders before missiles began to
> > > explode in Yugoslavia on March 24. Prior groundwork was needed. Top U.S.
> > > officials deserve a lot of credit -- but they couldn't have gotten the job
> > > done without assists from reporters in Washington and their colleagues
> > > overseas.
>
> >Is Mr Solomon saying the reporters should not have reported what the
> government said?  It certainly sounds like it.  At some point, the
> decision was taken to go to war.  The decision was taken by NATO.  If
> to you that means it was taken by the US, then you will have to
> explain why the other members of NATO are participating.  Once that
> decision was taken, of course it had to be reported and explained.
>
> You mean "repeated and justified"

No, I mean explained.  It doesn't justify it, unless you accept it as
a justification.  I don't.  I believe governments use explanations as
justifications because they know lots of people will accept an
explanation as a justification.  I believe people want to hear their
government is doing a humanitarian thing, and once they hear it they
accept it because it is comforting.  I also believe a lot of people
don't accept it, but they don't know how to argue against it without
appearing to be against a humanitarian action.  The way to argue
against it in this case is to point out that the action is not
humanitarian because the purpose of the action is not humanitarian.
The purpose of the action is military.  It is a military action.
Military actions are not humanitarian.  Humanitarian actions are not
military.  You can tell when meanings have been confused because a
paradox arises.  Dropping bombs on a country to save it from
destruction is a paradox.

I think it is really very difficult to justify a military action on
humanitarian grounds in any case.  Here I mean that such a
justification would require demonstrating that the humnaitarian
situation at some point after the military goal is reached will be
better than the humanitarian situation at some point if the military
action is not taken.  You would have to have hard evidence that
genocide was taking place or would take place.  It wasn't even known
during WWII or in Cambodia that genocide was taking place.  But now we
have those examples, and we have the recent example of the war in
Bosnia-Hercegovina, which was also associated with Milosevic.  Of
course, in all three examples, we also know that decisions made long
before those genocides took place contributed to creating those
situations.

I think the real reason NATO got involved is because the situation
threatened "the system".  Chomsky calls it the world order, but by now
I think it should be called the system.  With the disappearance of the
USSR, the world has become a single economic system, and anything that
threatens to disrupt that system will be stopped.  The situation in
Yugoslavia threatens the system by threatening to spread refugees all
over Europe, putting stress on the EU economy during a time when there
are already stresses on the system in Asia and South America.  Nothing
was done about the Rawanda genocide because, unfortunately, the system
does not depend on most of Africa in general, and the region around
Rawanda in particular.

> > >       * Steadily vilify the leader of the country you're interested in
> > > bombing.  Repeatedly emphasize his evil deeds so that reporters, editorial
> > > writers and pundits will relay the message.
>
> >Is Mr Solomon saying the reported evil deeds are lies?
>
> Maybe exaggerations?

There will be a documentary on him on Norwegian TV this weekend.  I
will try to report back what it says about him.  I think it is a
Norwegian documentary, and Norwegian documentaries are generally very
good. d

>  Now that I spend more time reading your comments, I realized I did
> overreact by calling them "off the wall".  I did skim read it and
> maybe there lies the problem.

Don't worry about it.  I am guilty as often as the next guy.

martin

Martin Smith                    Email: [log in to unmask]
P.O. Box 1034 Bekkajordet       Tel. : +47 330 35700
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