To End a War: The Conflict in Yugoslavia--America's Inside Story--Negotiating with MilosevicRandom House Publishing Group, 1999 M05 25 - 464 pages When President Clinton sent Richard Holbrooke to Bosnia as America's chief negotiator in late 1995, he took a gamble that would eventually redefine his presidency. But there was no saying then, at the height of the war, that Holbrooke's mission would succeed. The odds were strongly against it. As passionate as he was controversial, Holbrooke believed that the only way to bring peace to the Balkans was through a complex blend of American leadership, aggressive and creative diplomacy, and a willingness to use force, if necessary, in the cause for peace. This was not a universally popular view. Resistance was fierce within the United Nations and the chronically divided Contact Group, and in Washington, where many argued that the United States should not get more deeply involved. This book is Holbrooke's gripping inside account of his mission, of the decisive months when, belatedly and reluctantly but ultimately decisively, the United States reasserted its moral authority and leadership and ended Europe's worst war in over half a century. To End a War reveals many important new details of how America made this historic decision. What George F. Kennan has called Holbrooke's "heroic efforts" were shaped by the enormous tragedy with which the mission began, when three of his four team members were killed during their first attempt to reach Sarajevo. In Belgrade, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Paris, Athens, and Ankara, and throughout the dramatic roller-coaster ride at Dayton, he tirelessly imposed, cajoled, and threatened in the quest to stop the killing and forge a peace agreement. Holbrooke's portraits of the key actors, from officials in the White House and the Élysée Palace to the leaders in the Balkans, are sharp and unforgiving. His explanation of how the United States was finally forced to intervene breaks important new ground, as does his discussion of the near disaster in the early period of the implementation of the Dayton agreement. To End a War is a brilliant portrayal of high-wire, high-stakes diplomacy in one of the toughest negotiations of modern times. A classic account of the uses and misuses of American power, its lessons go far beyond the boundaries of the Balkans and provide a powerful argument for continued American leadership in the modern world. |
From inside the book
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Page 10
... French military , in whose sector Sarajevo and Mount Igman fell , had recently begun upgrading the road and patrolling it with tanks , part of the new and powerful Rapid Reaction Force ( RRF ) established by French President Jacques ...
... French military , in whose sector Sarajevo and Mount Igman fell , had recently begun upgrading the road and patrolling it with tanks , part of the new and powerful Rapid Reaction Force ( RRF ) established by French President Jacques ...
Page 11
... French . " I jumped out of the Humvee to help , but I couldn't quite grasp what the French soldier was saying , something about a vehicle be- hind us going over the edge of the road . I thought that I had misunderstood him . Behind us ...
... French . " I jumped out of the Humvee to help , but I couldn't quite grasp what the French soldier was saying , something about a vehicle be- hind us going over the edge of the road . I thought that I had misunderstood him . Behind us ...
Page 12
... French and English , I stayed on the road to work with the French while Wes descended . We anchored a rope around a tree stump so that he could rappel toward the ve- hicle , which French and Bosnian soldiers had already reached . Huge ...
... French and English , I stayed on the road to work with the French while Wes descended . We anchored a rope around a tree stump so that he could rappel toward the ve- hicle , which French and Bosnian soldiers had already reached . Huge ...
Contents
The Most Dangerous Road in Europe August 1521 1995 | 3 |
The Greatest Collective Failure 199193 | 27 |
A Personal Prelude 1992 | 34 |
Copyright | |
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To End a War: The Conflict in Yugoslavia--America's Inside Story ... Richard Holbrooke Limited preview - 1999 |
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Administration agreed agreement Air Force Albright Ambassador American asked Balkan Banja Luka began Belgrade bombing Bosnian Serbs called Carl Bildt cease-fire Chirac Chris Hill civilian Clark colleagues commander conference Contact Group Croatian Croats Dayton Dayton agreement delegation Deputy diplomatic discussion Donilon draft eastern Slavonia effort elections ethnic Europe European Federation final Foreign Minister Frasure French Geneva Gorazde Haris Haris Silajdzic Holbrooke IFOR Igman implementation issue Izetbegovic Joulwan journalists Karadzic Kerrick Kornblum Krajisnik later leaders meeting ment military Milosevic Milosevic's Mladic Muslims NATO negotiating team Owen Pale Pardew Pauline Neville-Jones peace Pentagon Perry political President Clinton Prijedor problem refugees Republika Srpska Russian Sacirbey Sandy Berger Sarajevo Secretary senior September Serbia Shalikashvili Silajdzic Srebrenica Strobe Talbott talks tion told trip troops Tudjman United Nations wanted Warren Christopher Washington White House York Yugoslav Yugoslavia Zagreb