In the face of war, faltering negotiations, failed diplomacy, and suffering civilians, I now turn to Murphy's Law to help explain the latest mishap to redden the face of Uncle Sam in the increasingly messy conflict in the Balkans. Murphy's Law 4: "If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong. Corollary: If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then."
Indeed, Murphy seems to be the only one on the ball these days. At a critical juncture in formulating a diplomatic solution to the Kosovo crisis, the United States made an appallingly tragic oversight and bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, causing an uproar in China that culminated in a massive nationwide protest sanctioned by the government. Even our European allies are beginning to express some "deep dissatisfaction" (to use the oh-so moving and expressive language of diplomats) at the grave error. At the most fundamental level, it is time for some serious self-reflection on the part of the United States.
It was only last week that Russia finally reached an agreement with the US and its allies on a plan for peace that included an international security force in Kosovo to implement precautionary measures against further conflict and to guide the return of displaced Albanian refugees. More importantly, it was decided that this force would be mandated by the UN Security Council, not only to provide credibility to the effort, but to assuage any fears of Western troops blanketing Yugoslav soil.
Enter the Big Mistake. The Chinese government may well use its veto power as a permanent member of the Security Council and block any resolution supporting the force. One could argue that the possibility seems relatively remote, considering that the heightened tensions brought on by the incident should die down by the time the Council brings in such a resolution, not to mention the fact that China would hesitate to veto such a resolution that was backed by Russia. However, this does not take away from the fact that the US has some serious explaining to do to the Chinese people, who are now being led into a nationalistic frenzy by a government desperate to push aside its concerns of a slumping economy, increasing unemployment rates, and government corruption. This is the perfect opportunity to rally the people against the evil Americans, and pass out government produced-signs saying "Kill the Americans" and "Clinton is a Nazi."
So much for American diplomacy abroad.
While explaining to the Chinese people how the most powerful nation in the world with the most advanced techniques in intelligence and surveillance could make such a gross mistake, one that led to the deaths of three Chinese journalists, the US also should start owning up to its allies in Europe. They are beginning to wonder if they are investing a bit too much of themselves in an what amounts to an air war largely conducted by the US military. Both Germany and Italy, key partners in NATO, have publicly expressed concern that the Europeans have allowed the United States to adopt too much power in the campaign against Yugoslavia.
European officials seem to be justified in questioning the ability - actually the eyesight - of the Americans, considering that the CIA apparently has issues distinguishing between a huge, marble structure with blue mirrored glass and flying Chinese flags (the embassy) and a concrete building known as the Federal Directorate for Supply and Procurement (the Yugoslav arms agency that was the intended target).
So the question poses itself: should we be not only ashamed with the irresponsibility of our government, but perhaps frightened at the reality of the situation? We now are aware that this sort of thing can happen at any moment, even during the most crucial moments of a conflict. The government apologizes, expressing "deep regret at the loss of innocent life," and yet I must ask, where is the accountability here? Will we ever take responsibility for our actions? "Oh, but it was a mistake," says Mr./Ms. Government Official, and Americans pat themselves on the back for a job well done in defending human rights and promoting democracy and the American way in the Balkans.
Meanwhile, we, as American citizens, must question the nature of this mistake and its consequences. This sort of carelessness in war games will continue unless we demand that our own government be held responsible and not be allowed to politely excuse their actions as an inevitable consequence of their bravery. The US, very early on, refused to place ground troops in the conflict because it apparently spends obscene amounts of money on building up the military just to project an image of the most powerful nation on the planet. (When it comes time to defend its ideals, we have all the strength of Boy Scouts) And yet, the government can somehow justify how it killed three people - not soldiers, but journalists.
This is indeed a frightening reality. Is this enough to make people demand answers, or will we continue accepting rhetoric?
Sarada Peri is a sophomore majoring in political science.
