To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia

Popular (as opposed to academic) accounts of the destruction of Yugoslavia fall roughly into 2 types: those which support the Nato propaganda that Serbian aggression was the cause of all the problems, which without exception offer no sources, but actually are more tentative in their conclusions than hacks who quote them; and the few well-sourced and annotated books which deal with the verifiable facts and give blame to all sides, especially meddling from the USA and NATO, and tend to see Serbia more sinned against than sinning. Parenti's book falls into the latter group, and I have found nothing to disprove anything he says. Parenti is a brilliant and engaging writer and this is the best short introduction to the course of the wars, and I believe a more-or-less accurate interpretation of the forces at play. However, being so brief it may not convince the skeptical; so view it as a brief outline of the wars and a brief outline of the contrarian case, to be followed up with Diana Johnstone's ' Fool's Crusade' and Kate Hudson's 'Breaking the South Slav Dream', and 'the Srebrenica report' by Edward Herman et al (available online), and then their academic sources if that isn't enough. What clinched it for me was looking at the' forensic evidence of the Srebrenica massacre'( available online ) presented at the Hague trial. As of 2004, the number of bodies IDENTIFIED from sites around Srebrenica was not 8000, not 800, not 80 but 45. Which could indicate that someone was overstating their case. Not Parenti!

THE TRUTH THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (9/14 people found this helpful)

The reviewer who gave this excellent book one star, has trotted out the same old ant-serb propoganda without doing their own research. It's obvious that they haven't actually read the book!. The quisling Natasha Kandic's organisation is funded by the US and it is they who gave her the video, which was shown at the Hague trial. The video in question was obviously doctored, For instance the time and date at the bottom of the video kept changing or (disappearing altogether!). The reviewer said that the 8,000 Bosnian Muslims allegedly killed at Srbrencia had been "confirmed" confirmed by whom? The original figure that the Red Cross gave (and this is where the generally accepted, but false figure is derived from) was 7,000 MISSING, this includes those who managed to reach the Muslim lines at Tusla. The Bosnian Muslims refused to give any figures to the Red Cross in regard to those who reached Tusla. There is evidence that some Muslim men were executed at Srbrencia in revenge for the countless attacks against Serb villages around Srbrencia, probably by paramilitaries or mercenaries (a Croat mercenary admitted taking part at the Hague Tribunal and was later released-for falsely testifying against Milosevic!). The 7-8,000 figure is not supported by the bodies exhumed in the Srbrencia area. The dead are mainly a mixture of Muslims and Serbs killed in fighting over three years. If it's the truth about the break up of multi-ethnic Yugoslavia that you are after, then read this book along with John Laughland's "Travesty" about the Milosevic Trial (the paperback is on sale at Amazon.)

Welcome antidote to the propaganda (14/19 people found this helpful)

This excellent little book shows Parenti at his best.This writer is a breath of fresh air and an antidote to the propaganda and sheer rubbish trotted out by such 'left-wing' magazines like Red Pepper ,which supported the criminal violence documented by this spot-on little book.Even Chomsky was fooled by the massive propaganda-barrage put out in support of this war of aggression.The war against Yugoslavia was based on at least as much disinformation,half-truths,fabrication and downright lies as the aggression against first Afghanistan and then Iraq.It was sickening to watch the so-called 'liberal left' cave in to this barrage of bullshit and support the most criminal aggression Europe has seen since 1945. But not Parenti! Parenti does not allow the fact of a communist or formally communist government and society blind him to the propaganda manipulation of an entire layer of liberal opinion across Europe and the US in the service of an illegal aggression which,it turns out, was based on the same half-truths and smoke and mirrors as Dubya's 'war on terror'.It is wonderful to see Parenti stand up for truth, justice and international law when even Chomsky was taken in!

A Gross Distortion of Reality (8/36 people found this helpful)

I am familiar with the history of former Yugoslavia, especially its bloody disintegration as I lived there and read quite a lot of Western books about it. But this book is a gross distortion of reality. The author tried to provide alternatives to the reader by cynically picking up selective and controversial references not related to the truth.
It is like reading a mythology. Writing style does matter even in mythology and I often enjoy it. But you have to remember that it is a myth as opposed to the facts which always remain facts. So let me summarize only few of Parenti’s myths:
He tries to make a link between Ustasi during World War II and the government of Croatia during the 1990s. However, the truth is that Croatia of the 1990s was in a desperate struggle to defend itself from the Serb aggression that had occupied 1/3 of Croatian territory.
He unleashes hell against Bosnian Muslims and Kosovar Albanians that suffered so much from Serb atrocities. The massacre in Srebrenica committed by the Serbs against Bosnian Muslims is the largest one since World War II. The figure of 7,414 that Parenti mentioned but ignored, is even higher. The actual number confirmed is over 8,000, excluding those considered “missing”. We have seen executions of young civilians by Serbs in Srebrenica on video tape that was provided not by Croat, Bosnian Muslim, British or the U.S. “propaganda”, but by the Serbs themselves (by Natasha Kandic) to the Hague Tribunal. In this way Parenti shows a blatant disregard of human lives. Innocent civilians massacred in Recak that shook the world, are catalogued as terrorists. Half of Kosovar Albanians deported by the Serbs is ignored and reversed to ethnic cleansing of the Serbs.
Parenti seems to blame the U.S. and NATO for what happened in former Yugoslavia. But at the end, it was the “hegemony” of the U.S. and NATO that stopped atrocities that the Serbs were committing against their neighbors. In reality, the Serbs were a nation killing the nations and that is totally different from the title of Parenti’s book.
When it comes to the U.S. “hegemony”, Parenti and many people around the world should be aware of one thing: that the world has never lived without empires. Now, ask yourself a question: which one was the best? Was it the Soviet Union and other communists that killed over 100 million people or the number that outnumbers the people killed in both World War I and II? Which empire would you see the best in the future? I leave this question to be answered by Parenti.

A masterpiece (18/29 people found this helpful)

Parenti is simply amazing! He uncovers all those "details" that were hidden from us, when talking about the Wars in Yugoslavia. He writes brilliantly and his knowledge is profound. Parenti shows us that it was Croatian and Bosnian leadership that started and WANTED war in Yugoslavia. He also demonstrates to us that Milosevic is not as bad as we would think and that, if compared to Tudjman or Izetbegovic, he shouldn't be even considered as a nationalist. And, above all, he remains objective and neutral. After reading it, you will want to do it again and again! Bursting with little known facts, this book is written using simple language and it is dedicated to all social classes. Do not miss this book

To Kill a Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia

Michael Parenti

Reader Reviews:

short, digestible and correct account of Nato destruction of a modern European nation (3/5 people found this helpful)

THE TRUTH THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (9/14 people found this helpful)

Welcome antidote to the propaganda (14/19 people found this helpful)

A Gross Distortion of Reality (8/36 people found this helpful)

A masterpiece (18/29 people found this helpful)

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