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:

  • GalaxyBrain [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    If you become the person that just says communist stuff IRL you can become Communist Ron Swanson and everyone treats you as an adorable curmudgeon. Literal exchange i had at work with my 'manager' (chef at a restaurant which as many will tell ya, is on the borderline edging towards the prole side of things and he was a punk before having kids and stuff so yeah, lib but knows what's up) it was about how crazy rent is now especially compared to the mortgage payments he makes that he manages to get way back, this wasn't a flex at all, just pointing out how fucked things are and we kinda went on and he said 'yeah, if I were in charge, I'd for sure set things a bit different "

    I said "If I were in charge there would be a righteous bloodletting and a better world will be built on the graves of our exploiters.'

    You've.gotts be the right kind of person to say things like this super casually, it's usually laughed off and the subject is changed but it let's people know we are out here and that's a chip in the monolith

    • Zuzak [fae/faer, she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I said "If I were in charge there would be a righteous bloodletting and a better world will be built on the graves of our exploiters.’

      You keep saying things like "down with the bourgeoisie," "eat the rich," "sodomise the land-owners," "impale all people who have more than 25 reál in their pocket," "literally murder all human beings regardless of their political beliefs" -- that kind of stuff.