January 1, 1996
PRESIDENT CLINTON, AS HE WAS ORDERING THE U.S. ARMED FORCES TO BOSNIA, stated that we needed to make the Bosnian country “a shining symbol of multi-ethnic tolerance.” Was that simply a brash statement made by the President for political purposes or was there a broader, more sinister reason for sending 25,000 troops and another 50,000 in support personnel into the infamous “Tuzla Pocket?”
Rudyard Kipling wrote:-
“The East is East and the West is West and never the twain shall meet.”
This study will reveal some of the history of the peoples of the East as they came into contact with the peoples of the West. As we shall see, the most important area of contact of these two peoples is the area now known as the Balkan States. Because of the limitation of space we will report on only some of the more important incidents throughout history and particularly as they pertain to the current affairs in this area. Rudyard Kipling was an astute observer of these people and his famous statement has more than once proven to be true.
There are other very important matters to consider besides the race issue in that part of the world. The entire world’s geopolitical affairs for well over a millennium have been associated with this territory and its people. The major conflict within all of Christianity (The Eastern Orthodox Church versus the Roman Catholic Church) is centred in this area. We must also realize that the Protestant denominations came out of the Roman Catholic Church so that part of Christianity, too, is involved.