r nuclear weapons to fall into the wrong hands. To offend the Serbs, and thus the Russians, would have been political suicide.Second, what exactly did Yugoslavia mean to the United States. As stated above, with the breakup of the Soviet Union, the Cold War was over. We no longer needed to nurture ties between Eastern European states in order to head off the spread of Communism. Yugoslavia didnt have an impressive economy where American business interested could invest and reap massive dividends. Much like most of the Eastern and especially Southeastern European nations, the economy was lackluster and uninviting to foreign investment. The third reason that the United States chose not to interfere and perhaps the most important is that intervening would imply a long-term commitment of men, equipment, and supplies. The recent Gulf War had devoured many of the resources that would have been needed to complete an operation in Yugoslavia. Furthermore, the terrain of the area was as inhospitable as Viet Nams was in the 1960s and 1970s. Engaging the military in an operation in Yugoslavia would offer the same challenges that Viet Nam offered. There was no popular support for either side of the conflict in the United States. What monetary or economic gain could be made by intervention? Finally, who really cared? I know that last one seems particularly cruel but if we examine the conflict, the people of Yugoslavia and those people alone seemed to be the only ones feeling the effects of the battles. The fighting was primarily in Croatia... not in Greece... not in Hungary... and not in Italy. Perhaps the e!Executive branch of the United States considered this to be a rather internal problem and not the concern of the international community.Germany didnt help matters either by jumping the gun and recognizing Croatia before it met the standards set by the European Community. Under the EC plan, Croatia would have to make a constitution...
