Serbians are attacking U.S. embassies because we have destroyed their country. Serbia used to include the area now called Kosovo. Kosovo was forming militant separatist cells. Serbia tried to stop this and it got ugly. Both sides claim war crimes. We intervened on the side of the Kosovars. The U.S., in cooperation with NATO, gave them police protection, stood by as all signs of Serbian life and property were destroyed.
Culturism cautions us against getting into the middle of civil wars where we don't really know what is going on. As this conflict is on European turf we had more cause to intervene than normal. Still, we can never be sure who are "the good guys" and who are "the bad guys" in distant conflicts. Certainly, at a minimum, we can expect our intervening will infuriate one-half of the neighborhood. As the obvious culturist truths would predict, Serbians are infuriated with us.
Culturist philosophy tells us we are situated. The ideal of a neutral observer does not exist. When we interfere we are taking a side. In this conflict we took the side of the Kosovars. At this point in world history, the sides are Western civilization versus Western civilization. America is not a neutral space. NATO is not a neutral organization. Australia does not exist in some cultureless ethereal space. We are all part of Western civilization. If it is relevant, that basic fact should tip the scales when deciding whom to back in a conflict.
All of these lessons should be so mundane as to merit snide comments about "Captain Obvious being in the building." But, in the Balkans we have taken the Islamic side against the Western side. We dismantled a Western nation, secured an Islamic enclave and have helped the training of a police force that is - gasp - armed by Al Queda. Al Queda provides Kosova arms because they know who is on their side and what their goals are. Beyond creating a safe haven for Al Queda in Europe we have pledged to up their foreign aid from $77 million to $355 million next year. We need to stop pretending we are neutral. We had better remember our culturist basics.
4 comments:
I certainly agree with you, John. If there is any argument that our foreign policy is inept, this is it. In the Balkans, this will be difficult, if not impossible, to recover from. The Yugoslavs have a very long memory, and while I do think we needed to stop the genocide against Albanians, there is no substitute for professional diplomats within the Department of State. We need fewer political appointees like Albrecht and Rice, and more career statesmen on the order of Lawrence Eagleburger.
The Bear is waking up http://www.bnp.org.uk/2008/02/23/russia-could-use-force-over-kosovo/
A few questions:
To what extent is Al Qaeda arming Kosovo? What are your sources here?
Wouldn't culturalist norms indicate that the Kosovars are naturally deserving of independence from Serbia, which is not a big fan of Islam? Isn't it better in the long run, in the culturalist view, that the two distinct cultures separate, and Kosovo gravitate to its natural brother Albania?
What does Mustang mean when he talks about Yugoslavs? Yugoslavia was an artificial creation and it failed-- Kosovo's independence is simply the last step in this breakup along ethnic lines that began over 10 yrs ago.
Furthermore, what is Russia going to do besides talk tough? Do you think they will risk war with the Western world at the very moment that they're finally getting their shit together as a country? They're all talk-- Russia still thinks in cold-war terms, but it is very far from a superpower.
Anonymous, I have read about Al Qaeda and Kosovo many places. And I cannot predict Russia's actions. But, I can speak to culturist responses . . .
Culturism holds that majority cultures have a right to define, protect and promote themselves. The question you raise is what it our scale. Within Serbia, Muslims were a minority. Within Kosovo, they are the majority culture.
The deepest backbone of culturism is the civilizational perspective. The Islamic world's concept of "umma" denotes their larger global community. We just have "the Western world." That is the sphere within which I would define majority in this case as it is Western turf.
Culturism is pragmatic. Would I be happy if Russia recognized California as a separate Latino state? No. The West is better off if we do not create a sphere of Muslim majority. Of course, this is somewhat arbitrary.
Finally, the problem with creating a majority Muslim entity is that minorities assimilate to majorities. The cultural dynamics in Kosovo will now get more Muslim than they would otherwise.
Thanks for the question. Sorry the reply took so long.
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