On July 13th, 1995, in the Dutch compound at Potočari in the UN-mandated "Safe Area" of Srebrenica, Serbian forces got down to the serious business of massacre. Before it was over, thousands of adult Bosnian men, as well as numbers of women and children, would be
systematically killed while UN peacekeepers stood helplessly by, powerless to stop the slaughter.
"Never again", huh? The UN is a complete failure at its primary mission. Blue helmets in a war zone = disaster.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I think the "peace-keepers" should be issued firearms. You can't keep the peace very well if you can't even defend yourself, much less the people you've been sent to "look after".
ReplyDeleteI don't think they were "powerless." I suggest that they were "will"-less, at least the politico's that defined the ROE were. There is plenty of power, just not much will to use it.
ReplyDeleteThe willingness to use the tools at your disposal. This defines power. The Serbs used theirs. The Dutch watched as it was taken from them.
ReplyDeleteLiterally, use it or lose it.