marcfrans: My point was that, in the American context, what matters is the foreign policy elite, largely to be found in (and moving between) the State department, various think tanks in the DC area, Congressional staff and parts of academia.

Point taken, although elites are a mainstay of human social organisation.

marcfrans: And the subsequent 'difficulties' (both in Iraq and elsewhere) should not be confused with the casus belli.

Agreed. If something is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.

marcfrans: If your comments regarding Taki were meant to be "sarcastic", that would suggest that your 'roots' are more likely to be Belgian than German. Not that this well-guarded 'secret' matters.

Are you attempting to link culture and ethnicity, mon ami? Pity that you missed the hint I dropped in my prior posting...Together you and atheling hold the key to unlocking the meaning of my username.

marcfrans: Taki gets often quoted on the Brussels Journal, and I note that he is often quite a soundboard of 'conventional (media) wisdom' on the subject of Iraq.

Taki is critical of American foreign policy to begin with. However, he's a real character, and despite his antics and contradictions, I thoroughly enjoy his commentary.

@ KA

1) The "vast majority" of anywhere has no "full knowledge" of 'Versailles'.  My point was that, in the American context, what matters is the foreign policy elite, largely to be found in (and moving between) the State department, various think tanks in the DC and NY areas, Congressional staff and parts of academia.

2) Regarding Iraq, there are as many casus belli as there are serious thinkers about the matter.  From my perspective, the main ones relate to Saddam's breaking of provisions in the cease-fire agreements (concluded after gulf war 1) and to moral considerations.  Given your 'immovability' on the subject, I will spare you the details or particulars.  And the subsequent 'difficulties' (both in Iraq and elsewhere) should not be confused with the casus belli.

3) If your comments regarding Taki were meant to be "sarcastic", that would suggest that your 'roots' are more likely to be Belgian than German.  Not that this well-guarded 'secret' matters.  Taki gets often quoted on the Brussels Journal, and I note that he is often quite a soundboard of 'conventional (media) wisdom' on the subject of Iraq.  I hope that he realises that that kind of 'wisdom' is very fickle, short-term oriented, and subject to fashion and to superficial 'success' (or lack thereof).

Are you truly convinced that the vast majority of Americans have full knowledge of the treaties signed and in Paris during 1919 (and their implications), and the analytical skills to apply these to current goings on in the Balkans?

Secondly, I would disagree with you (I believe) on the casus belli for the invasion of Iraq, as the contention that the Ba'athist regime was actively pursuing WMD programmes has been since proven false. Moreover, there is strong evidence that intelligence on the subject was manipulated and even manufactured by the American intelligence community and by the SIS or MI6. Equally ridiculous was the assertion that Hussein was in league with Al-Qaeda, especially as the latter was antithetical to the Arab nationalism that he and his party believed fervently in. You will note that Islamists clashed with Egypt's presidents Nasser and Sadat, who were also Arab nationalists. I am not seeking a prolonged running argument with regard to Iraq: you will not change my mind on this subject, and I am not interested in changing yours. My comment re: Taki was sarcastic given my aforementioned opinions. Far from forgetting, I believe he is also highly critical of the casus belli in question.

P.S. If you are truly interested, in honoring my username, you would write it either Kapitein, Captain or Kaptein.

@ Hauptmann Andre

For the first time, in quite a while, I agree with the gist of all your comments.

Two minor 'defects'.

-- It is not "America" that seems to have forgotten "Versailles", but rather the State Department and its foreign policy 'elite'.  The same applies to Europe. 

-- Taki did not "forget" (that Saddam etc...) but rather he refuses to 'see' or 'acknowledge'.  There is a difference.  Forgetting may be bad, but head in the sand attitudes are much worse. 

It seems wherever you look in Europe there are Islamists plotting. While this move isn't likely to help the situation, some of the reactions seem like people are picking the easy target, when the problem is much more widespread and harder to deal with.

It seems contradictory to import hundreds of thousands of Muslims annually to address labor shortages and at the same time complain when they set up a small state for themselves next door.

Julia Gorin: ...Serbs are showing a glimmer of rational behavior – amid 20 years of the “free world” foisting terrorist neighbors upon them.

Au contraire! Each belligerent in the Balkan struggles was inspired, to greater and lesser degrees, by both national and religious supramcism. Each engaged in armed irridentism, annexation and ethnic cleansing. Moreover, the militaries and paramilitaries of all resorted to unconventional forms of warfare, including "terrorism" to secure tactical and strategic victories.

Though I am wholly opposed to the relentless blame and scorn heaped upon the Serbs and their nation-state, I am not ignorant of their active and aggressive participation in the violence that ensued during and after the dissolution of the Yugoslav state.

Caroline Glick: ...it is also true that they [Kosovar Albanians] have allowed their territory to be used as bases for al-Qaida operations; that members of the ruling Kosovo Liberation Army have direct links to al-Qaida...

This was reminiscent of the Spanish Civil War. Unfortunately, no "international brigades" marched to the assistance of the Serbs as they did to the Albanian cause. However, it is entirely possible that dedicated Russian "volunteers" will augment and advise the Serb military and paramilitary units in the event of future encroachments upon their nation-state or neighboring enclaves.

Caroline Glick: But if the Muslims in Kosovo have been targeted for annihilation by the Serbs, then how is it that they have increased from 48% of the population in 1948 to 92% today? Indeed, Muslims comprised only 78% of the population in 1991, the year before Yugoslavia broke apart.

Ultimately, the Serbs will be the greatest victims of ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, Kosovo and Croat enclaves have a much stronger chance of uniting with their compatriots than the isolated and besieged Serb outposts do.

 
Paul Williams: ...President George W. Bush has sanctioned the genocide of thousands of Serbian Christians in the Balkans...

Pure hyberbole. Moreover, the more "genocide" is used easily and loosely, the more its meaning is diminished.

Taki: We go to war against the only secular leader of the Muslim world, Saddam, unleash death and destruction and waste our men and resources...

Taki forgets that Hussein was developing WMDs and was linked with Al-Qaeda and the Taleban.

Vojislav Kostunica: America humiliated and forced Europe Union to discard its basic principles. Europe bowed before America, and it will be held responsible for all the consequences that will arise from Kosovo’s independence.

Certainly America has forgotten the mistakes made at Versailles and repeated them, albeit with a country of far less import.

Stephen Schwartz: Albanians, although Muslim in their majority, are fanatics only about their appreciation for America. Albanian Islam is moderate, and constitutes a bulwark against radicalization of European Muslims. Albanians avoid conflicts over religion and are satisfied to allow each among them to choose how to, or whether to, practice the religion of their choice.

So I am to take it then, that Kosovo is merely an experiment in demonstrating that European Islam is "moderate"? The Belgian folly begins to pale in comparison...

Personally,I'll be paying particular attention to what Tariq Ramadan has to say about the evolving situation in the Balkans.

http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/thornton022108.html