On this day in 1999, the first NATO airstrikes of Yugoslavia began, initiating a wave of violence that killed 1,500 people, damaging hospitals, schools, cultural monuments, and private businesses alongside military targets. The bombings lasted until June 10th of that year.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) bombing campaign was its first military action taken without the endorsement of the U.N. Security Council. James Byron Bissett, former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, called the campaign a "war crime", and Noam Chomsky referred to it as an act of "terrorism".

Supporters for the campaign claimed the bombing was necessary to stop a genocide of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo and to remove Slobodan Milošević from power, although claims made by the Clinton administration along these lines were later found to be highly exaggerated.

Approximately 500 of the people killed were civilians, and the bombs damaged many civilian structures alongside legitimate military targets. Chomsky has argued that the main objective of the NATO intervention was to integrate Yugoslavia into the Western neoliberal social and economic system.

In 2000, Michael Parenti authored "To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia", which argues that the bombing was predicated on capitalist rather than humanitarian interests.

A Review of NATO’s War over Kosovo - Noam Chomsky :chompsky:

Michael Parenti - To Kill A Nation :parenti-hands:

The Srebrenica Precedent :amerikkka:

Megathreads and spaces to hang out:

reminders:

Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):

Aid:

Theory:

  • thelastaxolotl [he/him]M
    ·
    2 years ago

    yeah the yugoslav wars arent a black anf white conflict, but i think most people here can agree that bombing civilian targets is bad and wont try to expand from that or else i will just banned them from the comm until the next mega

    if you have any opposing source i will add them to the megathread

      • plinky [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I think there is strong suspicion that nationalism was stoked via gladio, but outside of that it’s basically civil war with instigator (kinda like current ukraine, only there it’s a little less civil), with bad guys all around

          • plinky [he/him]
            ·
            2 years ago

            I mean western line is ignoring everything bosnians/croats did. As :the-podcast: says: propaganda is in the emphasis, not in facts (although that is also kinda wobbly nowadays).

    • Dr_Gabriel_Aby [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      um well I have seen the Owen Wilson movie, Behind Enemy Lines, and it clearly tells me that America is good