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| Europe |
| Mercenaries, Extremists Become Major Balkans Export |
| 2014-08-17 |
| [RFERL.ORG] During the Cold War, Yugoslavia sent thousands of teachers, doctors, engineers, and other professionals to work in all corners of the globe. Now some of the countries of the former Yugoslavia are becoming notorious for a different human export -- jihadists and mercenaries. And the numbers seem to be on the rise, despite measures in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia to stop the traffic. On August 8, a Bosnian citizen named Emrah Fojnica, 23, went kaboom!in a suicide kaboom in Iraq during an attack by the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIL. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 Serbs would make good mercenaries: they battled the Germans for 4 years using successful guerrilla warfare tactics; Many Croatians fought well (but cruelly) for the Germans; Bosnian SS Muslim fought terribly and were the only SS Division to be disbanded by the the Reich during the war. I realize I am generalizing, but I believe the Serbs and Croats would make good mercenaries. (Bosnians and those from Kosovo I would give them the role of suicide bombers - many of this last group are Muslims.) |
| Posted by: borgboy 2014-08-17 18:37 |
| #5 Daughter spent very enjoyable summer in Croatia a few years ago, right by the Bosnian border. The folks in Mali Ston all went to Bosnia to buy their meat, it was lots cheaper (as long as you didn't pay duty...) By her accounts the people were pretty normal (though too many were anti-Semitic) - smoked too much, and by my standards (not hers) drank to much, but... pretty normal. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-08-17 17:25 |
| #4 Ain't that the truth, P2k. One of those lasting effects was the Wilsonian notion of self-determination which has led to the current preponderance of tribes with flags. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2014-08-17 15:23 |
| #3 Oh, let's not forget the Serbian military sponsoring of the Black Hand action that put Sarajavo on the map a hundred years ago. The world is still paying for that one. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-08-17 13:38 |
| #2 In previous decades, this was what the Balkans exported: chaos. Under the communists, the 'Iron Curtain' saw to it that the chaos stayed bottled up. With the opening of the borders (think EU), the genie was let out. Borders and frontiers provide a 'friction' to social change, slowing down effects. Be careful what you wish for. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2014-08-17 12:55 |
| #1 Thank you Mr Clinton. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-08-17 12:18 |