Chapter 405
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Yugoslav Civil War (2)
Under the strong leadership of Tito, Yugoslavia had maintained itself as a single federal state, but it descended into civil war in 1991.
In fact, ever since the late 1980s when the Soviet Union began to waver, the federation had already shown signs of internal division.
Nationalism—the incurable disease that even the Soviet Union couldn't escape—had been the primary cause tearing the country apart.
Moscow, with its greater heft, had managed to weather this threat relatively smoothly thanks to Korea's attention and support, but Belgrade wasn't so fortunate.
Yugoslavia, which had always played a somewhat independent role even among the Eastern Bloc, had fallen down the priority list for Korean aid and received no help during its crisis.
As a result, nationalists seized control of each republic, leaving the federation as little more than a hollow shell.
The federation, barely clinging to life, finally collapsed in 1991 with the independence declarations from Slovenia and others.
"Slovenia is independent as of today!"
Slovenia's declaration of independence was effectively the opening shot for the dissolution of the Yugoslav federation.
The federation took a passive stance toward Slovenia, which had fired the starting gun for national breakup.
"Over 90% of Slovenia Republic's population is Slovene. Even if we suppress them by force, it would be hard to rule them again. Let's just recognize it."
Slovenian resistance was fierce, and within the Yugoslav federation, there were other enemies that needed to be dealt with first.
After Slovenia, Croatia had risen in rebellion, making it the primary target for suppression.
While the federation allowed Slovenia to break away peacefully, it had no intention of letting Croatia go independent.
The Yugoslav Federal Army scraped together every bit of force it could muster against Croatia.
"Mobilize not just the regular army, but all Serb militias too!"
Through this total war effort, the Yugoslav Federal Army was able to press Croatia hard.
Of course, Croatia didn't go down without a fight.
Croatia systematically dismantled the isolated Yugoslav Federal Army bases within its borders through persuasion, negotiation, and other means, steadily building up its arsenal.
"If we're short on weapons, we'll fight with our teeth."
Croatians, who had built up bad blood with Serbs through ethnic cleansing since World War II, had no intention of admitting defeat in this war of extermination.
"We'll all die before surrendering to those Serb pigs."
In 1992, as the two sides clashed fiercely, Bosnia declared independence too.
"Then we'll declare independence too!"
Croat and Serb populations within Bosnia also took up arms.
This turned the Yugoslav federation's war into a hellish conflict where the lives of tens of millions hung in the balance.
Battles that washed blood with blood raged daily, along with ethnic cleansing and massacres.
But the great powers showed a surprisingly indifferent attitude toward the brutal war erupting in the heart of Europe.
"We can't afford to get involved."
The Soviet Union, with its own nose barely above water, had no interest in intervening in Yugoslavia.
"With the election heating up, where would we find the bandwidth for Yugoslavia?"
The U.S. was distracted by its boiling presidential race.
"We have no reason to get involved right now."
Even Korea, which had the capacity, remained indifferent to the Yugoslav issue.
Europe showed some interest, but compared to the Far East, Europeans lacked the means to intervene actively.
"With Germany and Italy's unification issues still unresolved, worrying about someone else's civil war is absurd."
The great powers' response to the Yugoslav civil war amounted to an arms embargo and some half-hearted negotiations.
Beyond that, everyone maintained a stance of indifference.
This allowed the warring parties to treat each other with extreme brutality.
"Ethnic cleansing? Of course. That's nothing. We're prepared for total extermination too!"
Driving the enemy ethnicity out of an area was child's play.
"We'll rape every woman of their ethnicity."
Under the pretext of polluting their ethnic purity and "purifying" them with their own bloodline, militias threw themselves into killing and raping enemy civilians.
"War is won by the side that fights the dirtiest."
Even regular forces like the federal army and Croats sometimes committed similar atrocities.
"Why? We were neighbors until yesterday."
"If our ethnicities differ, we're enemies."
In this hellish place, the friendly neighborhood uncle from yesterday was raping and killing the girl next door.
People tried to alert the world to Yugoslavia's horrors, but the international community turned a blind eye and deaf ear.
As 1993 summer rolled around, the situation showed no signs of changing.
That's when the American media stepped in.
Major U.S. outlets, including CNN, suddenly took interest in the Yugoslav civil war and dispatched correspondents.
They reported on the brutal realities of the war in Yugoslavia, stirring up attention in Western society.
"How can we tolerate such atrocities in the late 20th century, dominated by reason and rationality? And right in the middle of Europe, no less!"
Public opinion in the West soon boiled over that the issue could not be ignored.
However, when it came to concrete solutions—what exactly to do—people had no answers.
"Can't we just negotiate with leaders like Serbia's Milošević to sort it out?"
It was nonsense.
If they were the type to listen, they wouldn't have killed so many people.
"Would Hitler stop the Jewish massacres if we appealed to him?"
The ultimate solution was force.
There were no sharp alternatives besides projecting military power, but European leaders refused to even consider that option.
More precisely, they couldn't.
If Europe formed its own force independently, who would take command? How to resolve institutional and legal issues? Who would bear how much of the costs? They'd have to iron out endless problems.
As if that were even feasible.
European leaders spouted empty table talk and tough words on Yugoslavia without action.
Pyongyang watched the situation unfold and read America's intentions.
"You're waiting to swoop in as the Superman savior of Europe at the last minute? Nice picture you're painting."
But there was no rule saying only America had to play that role.
While America waited to set the stage, Bae Seong-jun moved the government to signal UN intent to intervene in the Yugoslav civil war.
Once the government's move became public, domestic Korean opinion soured dramatically.
"Bae Seong-jun's trying to drag us into a problem that has nothing to do with us."
"Where's he planning to pour our taxes?"
Even without CIA opinion-shaping, Koreans weren't favorable to intervening in Yugoslavia.
"They're not even Third World allies. Why waste military resources helping them? I can't understand it."
Despite fierce domestic opposition, Bae Seong-jun didn't back down.
"Director, is there any good to be gained by pushing an issue with such strong public opposition?"
"There probably isn't."
Bae Seong-jun was a politician; he could do that math.
But he couldn't yield on Yugoslav intervention.
'This is the question of whether Korea can replace America or not.'
If Korea could share the image of world policeman that the Far East America had monopolized, it would be one step closer to seizing supremacy.
From a long-term view, the war costs spent this time would be an investment repaid many times over.
Bae Seong-jun resolutely pushed his will through.
"Huh? Korea moved first? How does that change the picture?"
The White House had waited for the decisive moment, only to let Korea steal the lead.
"If we sit this out, Korea will end up solving Europe's problems for them."
"Declare intervention immediately!"
America hastily declared its intervention in the Yugoslav civil war.
With the two superpowers declaring intervention side by side, Yugoslavia was struck by lightning out of a clear sky.
"What did we do wrong to get tag-teamed by 1st and 2nd place?"
Precisely, 3rd place was an enemy too.
The Soviet Union agreed to lend its scattered Eastern Bloc bases to Korean forces.
In June 1993, the first multinational force unit launched airstrikes on Yugoslavia.
The kickoff was, of course, America.
It was inevitable that America, with its massive air and naval forces stationed in Europe, would act fastest.
America unleashed fierce bombings on the Yugoslav Federal Army using cutting-edge weapons like the F-117.
"We'll make sure the Koreans can't rack up kills even if they intervene."
In the heat of the bombing campaign, America made a mistake.
"Huh? That's the Republic of China embassy over there?"
In its lightning-fast operation, the U.S. military accidentally bombed the embassy of its ally, the Republic of China.
The strike killed or injured 16 Chinese diplomats.
America apologized to the Republic of China, but Chongqing—already at odds over the LA riots—didn't accept it lightly.
"You tried to remove one boil and ended up with another."
While America proceeded more cautiously with its Yugoslav bombings, Korean air and naval forces arrived on the scene.
Korea didn't feel the need to rush like America, so it took a more measured approach to avoid blunders.
"What matters is acting, not how many kills we get."
For Korea, simply demonstrating it could project force here swiftly was enough.
"So think carefully. America talks security, but we can provide that too. No— we can offer even firmer guarantees."
After all, the Soviet giant that Europe feared was on a leash held by Korea.
Korea thrashed Yugoslavia while showing its prowess was no less than America's.
The Yugoslav Federation couldn't withstand the merciless airstrikes from Korea and America for long.
"Negotiate. Let's negotiate."
Less than two months after Korea and America moved, Yugoslavia raised the white flag, forcing Europe to confront its own impotence anew.
"Security really does depend on the superpowers, after all."
The only difference from before was that Korea had emerged as an alternative to America.
Of course, Europe wouldn't ditch America for Korea overnight.
The solidarity built with America and their shared Christian societal bonds still ran deep.
However,
"Planting the awareness that Pyongyang can be Washington's alternative on security matters is achievement enough."
Bae Seong-jun was prepared to be satisfied with each step toward hegemony.
Climbing the stairs one by one would eventually seat him on the throne.
And that day wasn't far off.