Response to What does Anti-War mean?
It means different things to different people. Very few people like war but some are prepared to accept it if they think is it justified. Others never find it acceptable in any circumstances.
One of the proplems is the information people have in making their judgement as to whether it is justified or not. So in the case of Milosovic the term "genocide" was used a lot and that was enough for some people to say that anything goes - the genocide must be stopped.
If you look at the facts however - things appear different. Milosovic is a murderer - no doubt about it but claims of 100000s killed by him before the bombing have never been substantiated. 2,000 appears to be a much more accurate estimate according to Ed Herman (who I have a lot of time for) in a recent print article.
The question therefore is what action is justified in this case. I don't think razing a country to the ground, causing millions of refugees (who knows how many died as a result of the infrastructural damage) and leaving countless unexploded cluster bombs (a war crime) is justified. There are ways to deal with situations like this that don't cause this level of harm.
Crucially, it is accepted that the level Milosovic's murder dramatically increased because of the bombing as a response to it and this was accepted by NATO at the time as a predictable response.
I think the idea that everything in Kosovo is fine now is not true. 1000s have gone missing - refugees that never returned and the country in ruins.
There were better ways to get Milosivic in the dock. One man brought to justice at an unthinkable human cost - I don't think it was worth it and moreover I don't think that was NATO's motivation.
Created By: tony thegreek