As the reports from Belgrade point out, the Milosevic regime has been politically strengthened by the rally-round-the-flag effect caused by the NATO bombing. It seems to me that the regime would not have been politically able to carry out the massive escalation in its attacks on Kosovo Albanian civilians without the assistance of the NATO bombing. So the bombing has produced the opposite of its stated goal.

It's worth remembering that when the idea of bombing Yugoslavia was being debated among big-business politicians and commentators, these political servants of the rich were very concerned that bombing Yugoslavia might help the Kosovo Liberation Army. They didn't want to provide "an air force for the KLA."

So it's reasonable to think that NATO chose bombing targets that will not interfere too much with Milosevic's attacks on the KLA and Albanian civilians. It's reasonable to think they bombed more industrial infrastructure than Serb troops, police, and armed thugs in Kosova.

Secondly, for all Washington's professed concern for the refugees, they refuse to let them into the US, proposing to incarcerate them on the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It's important to demand the borders be opened to the refugees. The big lie in the media's coverage of the refugee crisis is the portrayal of the Kosovars as helpless victims. But the one thing we can be sure of is that the Kosovars, like the Palestinians, the Kurds, the Basques, the Irish, the Quebecois, and the Puerto Ricans, will never give up. Already the refugee camps are recruiting centers for the KLA.

To those who think independence for Kosova would help break up Yugoslavia, I'd like to point out that it's Milosevic and other Serb nationalists have a heavy responsibility for the breakup of Yugoslavia - and for giving NATO the opportunity to attack Yugoslavia. Nationalism among the other peoples in Yugoslavia has largely been a response to Serb chauvinism. And the fight for independence by Kosovar Albanians is a reaction to their oppression as a nationality.

It's been argued that an independent Kosova would be too small to be economically viable. Well, many countries in the Balkans are not economically viable, and the only solution is a voluntary federation of peoples on the basis of self-determination, including the right to independence. This is the only policy that can unify working people regardless of nationality, and yes, I do support this policy in the US and everywhere else.

A lot of big-business politicians have also argued that if Kosova wins its independence, this will only encourage the Basques, the Kurds, and so on. (One could add the Irish, the Quebecois, the Puerto Ricans...)

I certainly hope so.

Evan Roberts

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