Genocide at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur PDF
Preview Genocide at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur
Genocide at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century Previous Publications Who Infl uenced Whom? Lessons from the Cold War. Lantham, MD: University Press of America, 2002. Genocide at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur Dale C. Tatum GENOCIDE AT THE TURN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Copyright © Dale C. Tatum, 2010. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2010 All rights reserved. First published in 2010 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States – a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-38363-4 ISBN 978-0-230-10967-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-10967-4 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tatum, Dale C. Genocide at the dawn of the 21st century: Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur / Dale C. Tatum. p. cm. ISBN 978–0–230–62189–3 (alk. paper) 1. Genocide—History—21st century. 2. Genocide—Prevention— History—21st century. 3. United States—Politics and government— 2001–2009. I. Title. HV6322.7.T36 2010 364.15'109049—dc22 2009045429 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company First edition: July 2010 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Transferred to Digital Printing in 2012 In loving memory of my parents, Norris Tatum and Lenora Tatum, and in memory of all victims of genocide. We still have not learned. Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Part I Setting the Stage for Genocide 1 The Cold War with the Third World 11 2 The End of the Cold War 23 3 Politics Gets in the Way 33 Part II The Case Studies 4 Rwanda, the United States, and Genocide 37 5 Bosnia-Herzegovina: The Kitty Genovese of the Balkans 59 6 The War in Kosovo 109 7 The War in Darfur: Genocide on Our Watch 137 Part III Understanding the Problem 8 How We Relate 185 9 The Media 195 10 International Relations and Education 203 Part IV Looking toward the United Nations for a Solution 11 Why United Nations Reforms Will Not Change the Status Quo 213 Conclusion: Genocide in the Age of Obama 235 viii Contents Appendix A 239 Appendix B 243 Notes 245 Bibliography 265 Index 281 Preface In 1940, while he was a student at Harvard, John F. Kennedy published his bachelor’s thesis, Why England Slept. In his book, Kennedy examined one of the fundamental questions of his day—why the mighty British Empire slept while Hitler rearmed Germany for the takeover of the world. Great Britain had the largest empire in the his- tory of mankind, and was an active player in international affairs. Yet, Britain watched as the Nazi and Italian war machines expanded, and failed to take fi rm action to prevent these events from occurring. Today, the United States is in a similar situation. It is the only remaining superpower. But it slept as tragedies unfolded in Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur. Some of the fundamental questions of our day are: Why did these atrocities occur? Could the United States have prevented them from happening? Why did the United States sleep when genocide was being committed? The answers to these questions are not simple. Yes, the United States slept as these tragedies unfolded, but there are multifaceted reasons why she slept. The United States slept because it was not ready to take on the responsibilities that it faces in the post−Cold War era. In other words, the United States is not suffi ciently prepared to deal with the global challenges of the twenty- fi rst century. It has failed to learn from the past. Essentially, the legacy of World War II has been forgotten. World War II was a watershed event in the history of mankind. It was a war fought in defense of principles. World War II was a war against racism and genocide. It was a war that signaled to the world that a common humanity exists and that no person or state has the right to humiliate, abuse, or intimi- date others. A consensus emerged after the war that every person, no matter what his or her station in life, nationality, religion, or race, has inherent worth. To fulfi ll these ends, human rights were inscribed in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It was said that “never again” would the world stand by x Preface and allow genocide to happen. Sixty-fi ve years have now passed since the end of World War II, and genocide has happened “again” and “again.” It happened in East Timor as the writing of this book began, and it is still happening again in Darfur as the writing of this book concludes. What has happened to bring this situation about? How can this still be happening? And, why does the United States consis- tently sit by and watch and wait as innocent people are slaughtered? The fundamental reason why this book was written was to answer the questions stated above. But the most important question that we have yet to answer is why we have not learned from the past. Fifty million people died during World War II. But today, World War II has become a distant memory with no relevance. Therefore, it is no longer a part of the United States’ collective consciousness. Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Darfur have come to symbolize all the lessons that have been forgotten from World War II. They have been the scenes of genocide, torture, rape, ethnic cleansing, and the death of our collective consciousness. These tragedies could have been prevented if the United States had acted sooner and had taken bolder action. Why did the United States sleep as the world beckoned her? Why did she sleep and play the role of Nero and watch as bodies fi lled Lake Victoria during the massacre in Rwanda, as Bosnian women were raped, and as Kosovo was ethnically cleansed? Why does she fail to take action as atrocities are being committed in Darfur? These are the questions that we must ask ourselves and fi nd answers to. For they will surely be asked by future generations. This book argues that the United States slept while these atroci- ties occurred not out of malice or contempt for the rest of the world, but because the United States is not prepared to deal with the world and the crises it faces in the twenty-fi rst century. The United States’ educational system, political leaders, and civic lead- ers have not a dequately prepared it for the challenges the world faces at the dawn of the twenty-fi rst century. And, until changes are made, genocide will continue to occur in the future. Los Angeles 2010
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