Since the class readings focus on what went on in Yugoslavia during the late 90's I thought this might be of interest. Apparently,
Slobodan Milosevic died of natural causes earlier in the day. It looks as if Milosevic was "tried" to death.
This is a huge embarassment for the tribunal and NATO which botched the war from the very beginning. How could NATO think that spending $200 million dollars on a drawn out, four year mess, be a good idea? NATO could have made everything a lot easier for itself had it just hung the guy right from the beginning. Was it not obvious that Milosevic was guilty?
Of course, the critics are right that the tribunal could have been a lot more efficient and wiser. Even though this tribunal turned out to be a big waste of time it is an important indicator of how critical certain values are to the the West. NATO could have just eliminated Milosevic and swept him into the dustbin of history. Yet, they spent the money and suffered through the public embarrasment because "the West" stands for the rule of law and "civilized" behavior in international relations. I believe these values are intrinsic to the West's identity and explains why the West had to go through the mess that was the Milosevic trial.
In the end, I think for Western governments, the commitment to these values gives it the legitimacy it needs to garner the support of its own people.
Hopefully, future leaders will learn from the Milosevic trial and be a lot more efficient and use much more common sense.
