Ghost of Kosovo

At the UN Security Council meeting, the NATO military bloc passed the final resolution imposing an economic blockade and military strikes against Bosnia with three votes in favor and two abstentions. Naturally, the Soviet Union's southern neighbor abstained—such an event affecting the territorial integrity of a country demands caution, lest it become a pretext for outside interference.

The Soviet Union's abstention surprised the other three countries. Until then, Moscow had consistently emphasized that the ethnic conflict among the Bosnian Serbs, Croats, and Muslims should be resolved at the negotiating table. Yet at the critical moment, faced with NATO's push for military action, it backed down and abstained.

Even Kozlovich, the Soviet representative to the UN, didn't know what Moscow's top leaders were thinking. Just before the vote, he had received a call from the Kremlin, stressing peaceful resolution of the Bosnian conflict. But when the vote was cast, to everyone's surprise, Kozlovich abstained.

Adhering to the principle of "oppose whatever the Soviet Union supports, resist whatever it calls for," the representatives of the United States, France, and Britain quietly celebrated. Kozlovich, however, silently pushed up his glasses and gave a dark look at their backs as they left.

"Do you really think this is over?" he muttered, eyes narrowing as he watched the departing Western delegates and the disappointed faces of representatives from smaller countries. Clenching a crumpled note in his right hand—a few brief words written on it: waiting for orders—he seemed ready for what was to come.

Meanwhile, on the Bosnian Serb side, Karadzic sensed trouble. Reports from his lower-level officers indicated the Croats and Muslims had received shipments of Chinese-made Kalashnikov rifles, Type 63 107mm rocket launchers, and some Soviet-made AKM rifles. The Type 63 rocket launchers were especially deadly against armed pickup trucks, significantly slowing the Serbian offensive.

Karadzic suspected that one of the five permanent UN Security Council members had sold arms to his enemies. What he never guessed was that China and the Soviet Union were secretly selling weapons to both sides—China supplying light arms more frequently to the Croatian guerrillas, while the Soviet Union half-sold and half-gave away heavier weaponry to Serbia.

When Karadzic voiced his concerns to Victor, the advice was blunt: buy more tanks and heavy artillery. Victor assured him, "No guerrilla group can stand against a T-72 tank. If one isn't enough, get two." Worried about running out of US dollar reserves? "Easy. Mortgage your gold and resources to us."

Though Karadzic recognized this was a trap, he was trapped nonetheless. Forward meant risking death, but retreat was certain death. Once he realized he had been lured into a Soviet leash, there was no breaking free.

Thus, China and the Soviet Union used arms sales to hold all three ethnic groups hostage on Bosnia's soil. The Soviet Union handled arms trade while China took on post-war urban reconstruction, financing the effort through mineral-backed loans. This division of labor drained Bosnia's lifeblood and transformed the country into a pawn for Soviet expansion in the Mediterranean.

Once the Serbs' interests were nearly exploited to the fullest, the war-mongering Bosnian Serbs and the Serbian Republic pushing for unification would become debt slaves to Moscow. Owing vast sums to China and the Soviet Union, would the Serbs still dream of independence? A powerful Serbian empire? That was a fantasy.

Yet Yanaev still needed Serbia to shine. On the eve of the UN resolution taking effect, the Soviet Union delivered its last batch of outdated weapons to Serbia—obsolete SAM-3 missiles and T-54 tanks, half-sold, half-given away. Though the SAM-3s were mediocre, they famously shot down a US F-117 stealth fighter in the 1999 Kosovo War, and Yanaev hoped this intervention would rewrite history—turning back the clock on Yugoslavia's disintegration.

When Milosevic called Yanaev, skeptical and angry, Yanaev fanned the flames. "Sorry, Chairman Milosevic. We can't stop NATO's resolution at the UN. Please understand the Soviet Union's position. Consider the arms a small token from us to our friends."

Yanaev did not want direct conflict with NATO. Protecting a thankless ally risked retaliation from other powers—something he wished to avoid. This was not the outcome Yanaev wanted when he secretly sought to trip up NATO.

Milosevic's anger simmered. "This isn't what we agreed on, President Yanaev. You promised peace talks between the three ethnic groups. Now NATO plans air strikes and blockades."

"You will get your negotiations, Milosevic. But not yet. NATO won't let you sit down easily. We need them to see your resolve, to understand your strength."

Milosevic stopped pacing, realizing what Victor had hinted at earlier. "You mean we...?"

"I know nothing, Milosevic. Your call. I won't interfere," Yanaev interrupted. "But you must ensure the plan appears to be a spontaneous act of Serbian nationalists, not a government conspiracy. Everything must be flawless."

Yanaev was just the instigator; by taking no direct action, Moscow avoided NATO's accusations.

"There's another matter," Yanaev added. "Remember what you said? 'Kosovo is the birthplace of the first Serbian kingdom. Whoever abandons it sins in Serbian eyes.' The ethnic conflicts there are worsening. If mishandled, it will trigger a chain reaction."

"Why bring this up now, President Yanaev?" Milosevic asked warily.

"Simple. I don't want Kosovo to end up like Bosnia. You know how those Albanian reproductive 'cancers' use birthrates and violence to dominate, driving out Serbian civilians and turning Kosovo entirely green."

The Albanian extremists had planned bloody conflicts causing over 850 deaths, burned more than 30 medieval Serbian churches and 420 houses, and forced many Serbs to flee. Kosovo's skies were shadowed by this green cancer.

"The best solution is to expel this group—like Stalin did—breaking them up so they can't reunite. If you don't want to act yourself, I can arrange an international armed group to do it—for a price."

"Declare war on the Albanians?" Milosevic hesitated, his attention torn by the Bosnian conflict.

"Not war. Just make the Albanians live under constant fear. Force them to compromise and surrender—like your religious extremists suffered. Imagine an armed mercenary force loyal to Serbia operating in Kosovo, bombing Albanian settlements to spread panic. The Albanians would live in terror or flee."

"Once the popular base disappears, the rebellion dies. Harassment and attacks are the best way to cut off support. This would be internationally condemned, so it can't be done by your official army—only by covert agents we cultivate."

"Political correctness? The Virgin Mary's halo? That doesn't pay the bills. Compared to CIA methods, mine are tame."

Seeing Milosevic's unease, Yanaev smiled. "This mercenary group won't change Serbia's overall situation much. I guarantee their loyalty. Violence isn't the best solution, but it's the quickest."