War in Yugoslavia

The Balkans crisis through Salon's lens.

Published February 22, 2000 7:00PM (EST)

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic gave his nod to a peace agreement with NATO on June 3, signaling the end of the biggest military and humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II. The fragile deal calls for the safe return of nearly 850,000 ethnic Albanians forcefully expelled from Kosovo since the crisis began and the deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force of 50,000 to enforce the pact.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Latest Salon stories

Payoffs, fear and bloody conflict

With his usual bag of dirty tricks, Slobodan Milosevic looks to be preparing Serbia to reelect him.

By Laura Rozen

(02/10/00)

A "boneheaded" bombing

A former Army intelligence officer claims he knows what the CIA meant to hit when it hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.

By Laura Rozen

(02/10/00)

Who killed Arkan?

The rise and fall of Zeljko Raznatovic symbolizes how corrupt and morally bankrupt Serbia has become under Slobodan Milosevic.

By Laura Rozen

(01/18/00)


Albanians refuse to lift blockade


A peace that's about to explode As more than 10,000 NATO troops prepare to leave Bosnia, the Clinton administration is simply hoping stability will last until Election Day.

By Laura Rozen

(12/06/99)


There's no place like home


Three Albanian-Americans who fought for the KLA struggle to find their place after the war.
By Elsa Davidson

(08/19/99)


Chaos in Kosovo


Kosovar gangs pick up where the Serbs left off.
By Laura Rozen

(08/04/99)


Revenge is theirs


Kosovar Albanians step up Serbian killings as U.N. peacekeepers look on.
By Alex Todorovic

(07/27/99)


Serbian denial


As anti-Milosevic protests continue, Serbia stands on the brink of civil war.

by Laura Rozen

(07/24/99)


Heroes of horror


Risking snipers, facing sights so dreadful that they weep along with the victims'
families, forensics teams from around the world -- including a team from the FBI --
are performing the heartbreaking but essential task of recording Serbian atrocities in
Kosovo.

By Peter Landesman

(07/09/99)


"The ones who fell on top of me saved my life"


A man who miraculously survived a Serbian massacre tells his terrible story.

By Peter Landesman

(07/09/99)


Politics the KLA way


Divisions between rebel leaders manifest as some leaders split off to form a political party.

By Laura Rozen

(07/07/99)


Follow the leader


As Kosovo recovers from Serbian-inflicted devastation, rival political factions
jockey for position.

By Laura Rozen

(07/02/99)


A land divided?


"Partition" is a dirty word in postwar Kosovo, but for now NATO troops are
enforcing separation between Albanians and Serbs in at least one city.

By Laura Rozen

(06/29/99)

Prisoners of war

A Kosovar town waits for news as thousands of young men are still missing, and believed to be in Serbian custody.

By Laura Rozen

(06/25/99)

The struggle for legitimacy

As the Kosovo Liberation Army works to earn NATO's acceptance, Kosovar Albanians herald the KLA as the liberator of the province.

By Laura Rozen

(06/24/99)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Kosovo resources

+ Beginner's guide to the Balkans

+ A map of the Central Balkan region

+ How you can help

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Hot Table Talk discussions

+ Genocide in Kosovo? [IN HEADLINES]

+ Who is Slobodan Milosevic? [IN HEADLINES]

+ Should NATO send ground troops into Kosovo? [IN INTERNATIONAL ISSUES]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Recent Salon stories

The peace dividend

Businesses are waiting to cash in on the rebuilding of Kosovo.

By Mark Boal

(06/21/99)

Ramsey Clark, the war criminal's best friend

The former U.S. attorney general has become the tool of left-wing cultists who defend Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein and Rwandan torturers as anti-imperialist heroes.

By Ian Williams

(06/21/99)

Barbarism was only a matter of routine

Pornography, drugs and the tools of torture are found in a Serbian police station, where teenagers were among the victims.

By Laura Rozen

(06/18/99)

Return to Kosovo

A war weary people emerge from the rubble with tales of neighbor helping neighbor, regardless of ethnicity


By Laura Rozen

(06/16/99)

Will unhappy Serbs turn on Milosevic?

Refugees flee Kosovo as opponents, Serbian Orthodox Church call for his ouster.

By Laura Rozen

(06/15/99)

Bring me Slobodan's head!

Now that we've won the war and silenced the critics, let's put a bounty on Milosevic.

By Joe Conason

(06/15/99)

Mass graves and mine-riddled neighborhoods

Refugees and NATO troops make their way into war-torn Kosovo.

By Laura Rozen

(06/14/99)

First as tragedy, then as farce

Russia engages NATO in a game of chicken, threatening to send its own troops to Kosovo.
By Laura Rozen

(06/11/99)

The tide turns

Serbian troops begin to leave Kosovo and refugees plan their return as a welcome but uncertain peace takes hold in the region.

uncertain peace takes hold in the region.
By Laura Rozen

(06/10/99)

A stunning victory

The United Nations has learned some valuable lessons from a decade of dealing with Slobodan Milosevic.

By Ian Williams

(06/10/99)

Waging diplomatic war

NATO is dictating a peace deal at the U.N. that will virtually guarantee Kosovo's future independence.

By Ian Williams

(06/09/99)

Getting to yes: Why Milosevic is balking at peace

As diplomats wrangle, Serbian forces reportedly loot Kosovo cities.

By Laura Rozen

(06/08/99)

Prisoner of its past

The recent eruption of anti-Americanism in China reflects a deep-seated historical identity as "victim" that is holding back its emergence as a major power.

By Orville Schell

(06/08/99)

The day after

As Kosovo prepares for peace, big questions remain about the KLA, Slobodan Milosevic, and the future of Kosovo independence.

By Laura Rozen

(6/04/99)

Is it peace yet?

Cautious optimism prevails in the Balkans as Milosevic settles for a worse deal than the one he rejected at Rambouillet.

By Laura Rozen

(06/03/99)

Milosevic plays the U.N. card

The Serbian president appears to wave the white flag, and the blue United Nations banner is set to fly again in former Yugoslavia.

By Ian Williams

(06/03/99)

The beginning of the end

News of a peace deal in Kosovo raises hopes and skepticism among Balkans watchers.

By Daryl Lindsey

(06/04/99)

Will Milosevic's indictment matter?

They're not dancing in the streets of Sarajevo yet, because the indicted Serbian war criminal may never be brought to justice.

By Laura Rozen

(05/27/99)

Text of the Milosevic indictment

The U.N. International Criminal Tribunal charges the Yugoslav president with murder, persecution and deportation.

(05/27/99)

NATO in denial

The conflict in Yugoslavia is a war that NATO cannot win, and should not be fighting.

By Tom Hayden

(05/27/99)

You can't negotiate with a war criminal

But a circus tent of NATO opponents, from Tom Hayden to Arianna Huffington, won't face reality.

By Ian Williams

(05/27/99)

A visit to "no-man's land"

An endless stream of refugees waits in desperate limbo between Kosovo terror and crowded camps.

By Rob Mank

(05/26/99)

Traumatized refugees build a camp metropolis

As NATO troops go back to war, residents develop their own civilization.

By Mark Schapiro

(05/25/99)

How close can NATO get to the KLA?

The accidental bombing of a rebel compound reveals the West's uneasy relationship with indigenous anti-Serbian forces.

By Laura Rozen

(05/24/99)

Who will save Albania?

The poorest country in Europe may be hardest hit by the Balkans war.

By David Rieff

(05/24/99)

New Kosovar exodus alarms aid groups

More than 13,000 refugees pour into Macedonia, telling of massacre at Grastica.

By Laura Rozen

(05/23/99)

New Kosovar exodus alarms aid groups

More than 13,000 refugees pour into Macedonia, telling of massacre at Grastica.

By Laura Rozen

(05/23/99)

Rumors of peace

Milosevic may soon declare victory -- and make the West pay billions to rebuild Serbia.

By Laura Rozen

(05/19/99)

A good war?

Human rights groups battle over whether NATO's Kosovo mission can be
defended on humanitarian grounds.

By Tamara Straus

(05/10/99)

Hillary does Brazda

Another day, another celebrity visit to Macedonian refugee camps.

By Rob Mank

(05/14/99)

Give war a chance

American leftists could learn something from their European counterparts --
war is the only way to stop Milosevic.

By Ian Williams

(05/14/99)

Refugees protest treatment by Macedonians

Kosovar Albanians are clashing with police as refugee camps reach their
saturation point.

By Rob Mank

(05/12/99)

Why the Chinese embassy was bombed

A senior intelligence official says the CIA team in charge of choosing
targets has no recent Belgrade experience.

By Jeff Stein

(05/12/99)

Beijing journal

An American student watches the not-so-spontaneous uprising against NATO
and the U.S.

By S.H.

(05/10/99)

Milosz: Peaceful coexistence is still possible in the Balkans

The Nobel Prize-winning poet, whose own country was devoured by its
powerful neighbors, supports the NATO attacks -- and holds out hope for
the future.

By Tamara Straus

(05/10/99)

Macedonia closes border

Thousands of Kosovar Albanians are stranded or turned back.

By Rob Mank

(05/06/99)

Declaring war on undeclared war

A lawsuit could force President Clinton to get Congress' OK on Kosovo.

By Jake Tapper

(05/06/99)

Will Macedonia unravel?

Imagine 26 million Cuban refugees on the shores of Miami, and you'll understand how NATO's mission in Kosovo has destabilized the region.

By David Rieff

(05/05/99)

Just "Before the Rain"

War hits close to home for Macedonia's most celebrated filmmaker.

By Laura Rozen

(05/05/99)

Winning ugly

Despite his gaffes -- meeting with war criminal Arkan, praying with Milosevic and dissing the leader of the Kosovar Albanians -- Jesse Jackson gets his men.

By Alex Todorovic

(05/03/99)

A Serbian opposition to Milosevic?

Vuk Draskovic's words of criticism kindled hope that he might speak for a Kosovo compromise, but his own nationalism could stand in the way.

By Andrej Krickovic

(05/03/99)

NATO's Achilles' heel

History, geography and suspicion underlie popular anti-NATO sentiment in Greece.

By Thomas Goltz

(04/29/99)

GOP slammed over Kosovo

Democratic congressional leaders accuse Republicans of undermining foreign policy.

(04/29/99)

Draskovic fired

The Yugoslav deputy prime minister is removed from office for criticizing Milosevic.

By Alex Todorovic

(04/28/99)

"We are on our own"

Serbian dissidents are encouraged by Vuk Draskovic's moment of honesty amid Milosevic's propaganda.

By Laura Rozen

(04/28/99)

Giving NATO the middle finger

Belgrade tries to win the war of symbols.

By J.G. Freund

(04/26/99)

The big buildup

By Laura Rozen

On the ground in Macedonia, it's beginning to look a
lot like a ground war is coming.

(04/20/99)

Campbell stirs the soup

By Jake Tapper

The Silicon Valley Republican is trying to force President Clinton to obey the War Powers Act, but first he'll have to convince GOP colleagues.

(04/20/99)

The "progressives' war"

By Joe Conason

Nothing shows how outdated our concepts of "left" and "right" are more than the confusing politics behind NATO's war in Yugoslavia.

(04/20/99)

Sending out an SOS

By Jake Tapper

Since 1990, former Sen. Bob Dole has been warning the world -- and two U.S. presidents -- about Serbian tyrant Slobodan Milosevic's pending bloodletting. Why wasn't anyone listening?

(04/19/99)

Miss Israel visits the Balkans

By Flore De Preneuf

A Jewish relief agency flies a planeload of Kosovar refugees to Israel, where the country's mixed feelings about a Muslim "Greater Albania" -- and its own Arabs -- awaits them.

(04/15/99)

War is hell -- for GOP politicians

By Harry Jaffe

Torn between internationalism and isolationism, Republicans try to make the best of Kosovo.

(04/15/99)

Murdered by Milosevic

By J.G. Freund

At a dissident's funeral, Belgrade's democracy movement worries about its future

(04/14/99)

Back from the dead

By Laura Rozen

A Kosovo journalist NATO reported killed is working to get news out to refugees in Macedonia.

(04/14/99)

Our Kosovo idiocy

By Camille Paglia

Expensive bombing won't change this slaughterhouse of medieval hatreds.

(04/14/99)

The lucky ones

By Laura Rozen

At a refugee camp in Macedonia, women and children tell of the horrible price of freedom.

(04/13/99)

A specter haunting Europe

By Tamara Straus

The war in Yugoslavia brings U.S.-Russian relations to the brink.
(04/13/99)

It takes a (global) village

By Daryl Lindsey

As the humanitarian relief effort in Albania and Macedonia mounts, international organizations are seeking the cash and kindness of strangers.
(04/13/99)

Prince of deception

By David Horowitz

Clinton has squandered our most precious asset -- the credibility of our military as a deterrent -- and now he is poised on the slippery slope toward a ground war.
(04/12/99)

"The first yuppie war"

By Jeff Stein

Politics, not bad weather, keeps NATO airstrikes from decisive damage in Yugoslavia.
(04/10/99)

Hated in Macedonia

By Laura Rozen

U.S. troops, like Kosovo refugees, know how it feels to be despised.
(04/08/99)

Divided we stand

By J.J. Goldberg

American and Israeli Jews are split over the crisis in Kosovo.
(04/08/99)

The bleak gets bleaker
By David Rieff
The Kosovo crisis will almost certainly be succeeded by a crisis in Macedonia, in Montenegro, in Albania and, finally, in Serbia itself.
(04/07/99)

"Better to be killed by the Serbs"
By Barbara Demick
NATO had spy photos of miles of refugees fleeing Kosovo a week ago. Why weren't we prepared for the disaster at the border?
(04/06/99)

The wobblers
By Joe Conason
Led by George "Wobbly" Bush, most Republicans look silly pretending to be anti-war activists.
(04/06/99)

The cruelty is unimaginable
By Laura Rozen
Macedonia cracks down on Kosovar refugees to force other nations to pitch in.
(04/05/99)

Belgrade under siege
Belgrade under siege NATO warplanes and missiles strike more strategic targets in and around the Yugoslav capital on the 11th night of bombing.

(04/05/99)

Bloody blundering: Clinton's cluelessness is selling out Kosovo
By Christopher Hitchens
If administration leaders really expected NATO airstrikes to accelerate the carnage in Kosovo, they should be indicted for war crimes.
(04/05/99)

Darkest Europe
By Richard Rodriguez
Today's heart of darkness lies at the far end of the Danube. And the savages have white skin.

(04/05/99)

Shades of Srebrenica
By Laura Rozen
Refugees tell of Serbian soldiers commandeering relief vehicles, echoing the Bosnian slaughter.
(04/02/99)

From Baghdad to Belgrade

Scott Ritter says when it comes to war, the Clinton administration is the gang that couldn't think straight.

By Jeff Stein

(04/02/99)

Covering Kosovo like Monica
By Jake Tapper
Can the White House wage war when every private Oval Office strategy battle gets leaked to the media?
(04/02/99)

Captives face trial
Clinton rails at Milosevic after Serbs parade battered American POWs in televised prelude to Friday trial.
(04/01/99)

Arm the KLA?
By Laura Rozen
Watching what looks like genocide, a growing chorus begins to ask whether it's time to arm Kosovar rebels.
(04/01/99)

Limp Willy?
By Frank Smyth
Clinton's critics blast Kosovo "genocide," but disagree about deploying ground troops.
(04/01/99)

"Pec is burning! Where are the ground troops?"
By David Brauchli
An AP photographer who fled Yugoslavia at the 11th hour reports on the horror in Kosovo.
(04/01/99)

Humanitarian enclave?
By Daryl Lindsey
Experts debate NATO's options for protecting Kosovar Albanians without a massive commitment of ground troops.
(04/01/99)

Milosevic's proposal
The Yugoslav president says he's ready to stop his campaign against Kosovar Albanians and take his place at the negotiating table, but only if NATO halts its airstrikes.
(03/31/99)

Beginner's guide to the Balkans
By Laura Rozen
A week ago, few Americans could find Kosovo on a map. What's behind the crisis Clinton's committed to solve.
(03/31/99)

Kosovo update
By Laura Rozen
Macedonian officials turn back a train full of refugees and detain hundreds more at the border.
(03/31/99)

Bombing the baby with the bathwater
By Veran Matic
Each missile worsens the humanitarian disaster that NATO is supposed to be preventing.
(03/31/99)

End game?
By Jeff Stein
As the crisis spirals out of control, everybody scrambles for a quick solution. Everybody but Milosevic.
(03/30/99)

Postcards from Yugoslavia
Edited by Anthony York
E-mail lets ordinary citizens get their story out to the world.
(03/30/99)

A raft of refugees?
Reports of genocide, political assassinations and a Serbian "scorched-earth policy" punctuated the sixth day of allied bombing in Yugoslavia.
(03/29/99)

Calling Kosovo
By Laura Rozen
Serbs and ethnic Albanians are united -- in misery -- as the bombing and the terror continue.
(03/29/99)

The empires strike back
By Jeff Stein
As the world focuses on the Balkans, the return of Germany and Japan to military action barely made news.
(03/29/99)

Outlaw nation?
By Laura Rozen
Even Serbs who hate Milosevic are outraged at the NATO bombing.
(03/27/99)

Day Two: The airstrikes persist
NATO bombards Yugoslavia for the second night, saying it will attack, disrupt, degrade, devastate and destroy Yugoslav forces unless Milosevic capitulates.
(03/26/99)

The view from Italy
By Gabriel Kahn

As missiles take off from Italian airbases, and Albanian refugees stream in from Kosovo, Italians remain ambivalent about the United States.
(03/26/99)

Kosovo's "cyber-monk"and his mailing list
By Don North
E-mails from an ancient monastery offer rare independent news from a region under siege.
(03/26/99)

The bombing begins
By Jeff Stein
Will NATO strikes push the Serbs to peace talks, or engulf the region in blood
chaos?
(03/25/99)

The Kosovo myth
By Christopher Ott
A battle fought 600 years ago animates the Serbian lust for a province now populated by Albanians.
(03/25/99)

Banned in Belgrade
By Janelle Brown
The Web provides links to Serbian diatribes, Albanian liberation dispatchesand Yugoslav radio you can't get in Yugoslavia.
(03/25/99)

Thunder from Yeltsin
Dissed by NATO over Kosovo, Moscow pulls out of the alliance's peace partnership and cancels a date with the White House.
(03/24/99)

Bombing Kosovo
NATO launches its first airstrikes against Yugoslavia, ushering in a new era of the Kosovo crisis.
(03/24/99)


By no byline

MORE FROM no byline


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Al Gore U.s. Military