Similar events took place in 1994 and 1995 (See for example "Yugoslavia – An Avoidable War", in its entirety: http://video.google.de/videoplay?docid=5860186121153047571#)
This finally caused the NATO bombing campaign against Bosnian Serbs, carried out between August 30 and September 20, 1995, as justified by Western calls for "humanitarian intervention". Following from the Damascus and Aleppo attacks, could a similar "justification" be around the corner for Syria?
A great irony, of course is the hypocritical stance taken by the U.S. government, which calls for peace on the one hand and is a leading global supplier of weapons on the other. While the Obama administration might have called on the Syrian rebels to lay down their arms, there is a vast difference between official statements and what is being carried out on the ground. Indeed, there is currently a multi-billion dollar deal underway between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia (a leading arms supplier for the Syrian rebels) for the sale of US advanced weapons. (See: http://rt.com/news/saudi-arabia-protests-piety-514/)
This double standard was certainly applied in Bosnia, where the CIA was secretly smuggling weapons into the area despite an arms embargo officially being in place. (See: "Wie der Dschihad nach Europa kam: Gotteskrieger und Geheimdienste auf dem Balkan" ["How Jihad Came to Europe: Holy Warriors and Secret Services in the Balkans"] by Jürgen Elsässer, 2008)
It is worth noting that in the cases of both Syria and Bosnia (among other examples), Al Qaeda-affiliated mercenaries from several Arab countries were involved. In Syria, they integrated the "opposition", heralded by the Western mainstream media as the victims of the government crackdown.
This should come as no surprise. Those who operate under the "Al Qaeda" label are often serving the interests of Washington. In Bosnia, where Mujahideen fighters trained Bosnian soldiers and fought against Serbs and Croats, the Al Qaeda leadership had to approve military actions by the Bosnian Muslim Army. (See: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, http://www.bim.ba/en/79/10/4113)
It is worth noting that in the cases of both Syria and Bosnia (among other examples), Al Qaeda-affiliated mercenaries from several Arab countries were involved. In Syria, they integrated the "opposition", heralded by the Western mainstream media as the victims of the government crackdown.
This should come as no surprise. Those who operate under the "Al Qaeda" label are often serving the interests of Washington. In Bosnia, where Mujahideen fighters trained Bosnian soldiers and fought against Serbs and Croats, the Al Qaeda leadership had to approve military actions by the Bosnian Muslim Army. (See: Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, http://www.bim.ba/en/79/10/4113)
One of the Bosnian Muslims who refused to fight against the Serbs, the previously mentioned Fikret Abdic, created his own safe haven by making a peace agreement with the Serbian side and by forming the "Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia", located in the area of Velika Kladusa. British diplomat David Owen described him as "forthright, confident and different from the Sarajevan Muslims. He was in favour of negotiating and compromising with Croats and Serbs to achieve a settlement, and scathing about those Muslims who wanted to block any such settlement." (David Owen, "Balkan Odyssey", 1995, S. 82)
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