Put a price on his head

Now that we've won the war and silenced the critics, let's put a bounty on Milosevic.

By Joe Conason

Jun 15, 1999 | The successful conclusion of NATO's war against the Serbian regime brought with it a very tempting opportunity. Virtually from the beginning of the Allied bombing, a wide assortment of talking heads declared that defeat was imminent. After a month or so, many of them were counseling retreat, meaning surrender.

It made me wonder what might have happened if these worthy figures had been the dominant Western voices in 1942, when the war against fascism wasn't going so well. We would probably be living under the Thousand Year Reich and taking compulsory German in high school.

Currently waiting to be arraigned on charges of premature capitulation, fraudulent military expertise and flagrant wrongness are:

George Will -- "NATO's minuet of capitulation has begun ... it's a colossal failure."

David Horowitz -- "We need to begin negotiations with the Serbian regime ... and arrange our exit from the Balkan quagmire, under as face-saving conditions as possible."

Arianna Huffington -- "Even the war's staunchest defenders have begun to admit the failure of the air campaign ... It requires a radical detachment from reality to keep claiming victory."

R. Emmett Tyrrell -- "It seems to me that it is time to call for a cease-fire."

Pat Buchanan -- "We got a disaster on our hands."

Alexander Cockburn -- "We're in the countdown phase to disaster."

Robert Bartley -- "[Clinton] has now backed himself and us into a corner."

Sam Donaldson -- "Bombing won't return [the Kosovar refugees] any more than bombing kept Milosevic from expelling them."

And many, many more.

It's a crowded docket. Special mention must be made of poor William Safire, however, who seems to have come mentally unglued while watching his doomsaying predictions prove false. His present condition may very well be punishment enough. While watching the president talk about the NATO victory on television, the New York Times sage apparently decided that Clinton was speaking directly to him. Or so he said in his Monday column.

(Safire also mentioned that he complained about the president to a canine companion, who, by the way, performed brilliantly at an important Beltway dog show, but ... well, never mind.)

It is tempting to contemplate the embarrassment of the Republicans on Capitol Hill, whenever they emerge from their moral foxholes. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and their crew couldn't decide whether the war was right or wrong, but they wanted to make damn sure they didn't take any blame. Those stand-up patriots wanted this one to be "Clinton's war," and sounded altogether too pleased by the prospect of failure.

But there are more serious topics to be explored than the misconduct of wayward politicians and pundits.

Next Page: Calling all bounty hunters ...

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