The Road To Kosovo: A Balkan Diary

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 288 pages
• Published by: Basic Books; Subsequent edition March 9, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0813337674
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0813337678
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Weighs: 12 ounces

Product Review
In the summer of 1998, freelance journalist Greg Campbell got into a rental car in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, and drove across Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro into Kosovo, where Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic had recently begun stepping up an ongoing "ethnic cleansing" campaign against the ethnic Albanians who make up the majority of the region's population. Staying with local journalists--some of whom were also part of the underground Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA)--Campbell was forced to confront the consequences of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia.

But, he notes, what happened in that region is equally, if not ultimately, the consequence of the ineffective "protection" offered by NATO forces, including American troops. Drawing on his observations from a 1996 trip to Bosnia, Campbell elaborates upon the unwillingness of those in command of the implementation (later known as stabilization) forces, or SFOR--particularly the American commanders--to do anything more than the bare minimum required by the 1995 Dayton peace accord. Consequently, many Serbian war criminals enjoyed continued liberty, civil unrest continued to flare, and SFOR blamed local authorities for not solving the problem. Under those conditions, Campbell argues, it was inevitable that Kosovo would become another Bosnia.

The Road to Kosovo provides valuable background on the conflict between the Serbs and the Kosovars and NATO's track record in keeping the peace in the Balkans. It is also filled with chilling images of the chaos and terror of modern war. The book should be read by anyone hoping to understand why the 1999 intervention by NATO could take place--and how it might have to differ from earlier actions in order to be judged a success. --Ron Hogan --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Atlantic Monthly, Phoebe Lou Adams
His report is valuable for a brisk history of the centuries-old grudges haunting the region, and for descriptions of cranky mountainous country, vile roads, and local opinions--among them, and perhaps most important for future political considerations, the complaint of a frustrated peacekeeper: "I can't point a gun at someone and order him to stop hating his neighbor." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
I think this book details why politicians and large political / military organizations like NATO have such a difficulty in successfully performing low level military conflicts like the peacekeeping effort in the Yugoslavia region. This book details by representing the destruction and ongoing fighting, just how ineffective the peacekeeping process was at the start due to a half-hearted commitment by the political leaders. The military in the conventional sense, is not a police force or social working group, the purpose of the military is to destroy the enemy. When asking this force to go about a job they are not designed for with one hand tied behind their back and the constant fear of every decision being second-guessed, is there any surprise that the effort did not work for some time. I think this book provides one with a good start to understanding the civil war in Kosovo. I think one would need more details to have a better understanding of what will need to take place for this area to live in peace. A good follow up would be to read Waging Modern War by Wesley Clark. Comment | | (Report this)