In Bosnia today, as young men wearing sneakers and T-shirts use rifles to defend their homes and their families against murderous tanks and artillery, European and American diplomats are making statements that they are reluctant to get ”involved” because of the dangers of a ”quagmire.” Whether they wish to admit it or not, America and the European countries are already involved. They became involved the moment they began preventing a defenseless people from acquiring the means to defend themselves against a potential genocide. One cannot do this without assuming full responsibility for the fate of these people.
As for the fear that Bosnia is a potential ”quagmire,” those who are very familiar with the politics and realities of the region know that if America and/or the Europeans move with adequate force and determination, then a ”quagmire” is most unlikely.
The alternative to this scenario is that the Milosevic regime achieves all of its military and political goals. Bosnia would disappear, and Europe and the world would have, wittingly or unwittingly, been an accomplice to the genocide. Milosevic and his supporters would consolidate their rule, and the world community would then be facing an ethnically cleansed, fascistic and criminal regime right in the heart of Europe.
