Bosnia's long shadow over British foreign policy

the economist

the crisis in libya

AS THE debate continues over how far Britain should (and realistically can) push calls for a no-fly zone over Libya, it is no surprise to hear politicians urging caution citing Britain's entanglements in Iraq and Afghanistan as unhappy models to avoid.What I had not expected, but should have expected, was how many voices for action cite the example of Bosnia, and the Balkan wars of the 1990s. It is not just that Europe's shameful failure to prevent genocide in the Balkans was a formative experience for a whole generation of British ministers. Some close observers of Balkan suffering now hold key posts in the present-day coalition government....more...

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http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2011/03/crisis_libya