A Chronic Case of Impotence

The U.S., Europe and the U.N. have imposed sanctions, but they don't stand much chance of stopping Serbia's war

Like pre-1914 Europe, the new world order of George Bush died in Sarajevo.

-- French political analyst Pierre Hassner

The comparison is a bit hyperbolic: hardly anyone expects a third World War to blossom from the present fighting in the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina. But in other respects Hassner's comment is right on. The essence of Bush's "new world order," proclaimed shortly before the Persian Gulf war, was that quick, decisive action by international bodies would make the world unsafe for aggression. But when the next test came, in the breakup of Yugoslavia, the U.S. and its European allies floundered.

A year...

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