The Muslim-Croat Civil War in Central Bosnia: A Military History, 1992-1994 (Eastern European Studies (College Station, Tex.), No. 23)

Rating:
Summary: Revision Of Second Hand History Writing
Review: Denying that there took place a military offencive cooperation between Bosnian Muslims and mujahedin troops in Central Bosnia (from 1992 onwards) is not a clever way of argumenting the facts built up steadily in this work of recent military history. That fact is too well documented to be questioned. Besides, this book is about the warfare in Bosnia from 1992, not about the Ustashe killing some Serbs during WWII. But of course, some people wouldn't want to see this book written. Rather another propagandic book about the niceness of all Serb actions (or Bosniak for that matter). Slowly, very slowly, well documented books about the war in Bosnia are starting to be published, written by historians rather than journalists with second hand oral information at disposal.

When the Serbs attacked Bosnia the first people to resist were the Croats through the Croatian Defence Council (HVO). Had it not been for the HVO, Bosnia would have been overwhelmed almost immediately. Charles Shrader's superlative new history establishes that it was the Bosniak side that started the war in order to cleanse Central Bosnia of its Croats. Shrader also points out the transit of arms via Croatia to Bosnia and the continued co-operation of HVO and Bosnian forces throughout the Muslim-Croat conflict.

Shrader is a respected American military historian. Further, his book is published by American Texas A&M University press's Eastern European Studies. These studies have an editorial board which contains people sympathetic to the Bosnian state, and who were critical of Tudjman. In other words, this is a book that is credible and cannot be dismissed as Croat propaganda.

Thousands of Bosniaks were accepted as refugees in Croatia. If Croatia were an aggressor on the level of Serbia why would Bosniaks seek refuge there? And why would Croatia accept them - especially when it had its own refugees to contend with - if the intent of the Croats was to establish a Croat state on Bosnian soil?

The Muslim-Croat war was over in 1994 - with many Croats ethnically cleansed from Central Bosnia. Croat and Bosnian forces then devoted all efforts against the Serbs. In 1995, Croatia launched Operation Storm. Croat forces recaptured last swathes of its territory. In the process, the beleaguered Bihac pocket in Northwestern Bosnia was saved from a Srebrenica style fate. Serb forces were rolled back and peace in Bosnia was achieved. And then 49% of BiH was given to the Serbs by the international community!! Incredible.

If you compare the population consensus of 1991 to the post-war 1999, you will quickly see that the proportionate number of Croats in Central Bosnia is dramatically lower. And that the number of Bosniaks living in Western Hercegovina is almost the same as the pre-war level. The number of Bosniaks living in Western Hercegovina was never great. Someone well versed in the history of Bosnia should know that very well. Why don't you mention anything about the large number of ethnically cleansed Bosniaks (and Croats) from Serb-held territory? Makes me wonder...



Rating:
Summary: Objectivity? or the Truth!
Review: It continually amazes me when people criticize Croats in Bosnia Herzegovina for protecting there interests. Prior to reading this book, it was obvious to me that the Bosnian Muslims never wanted want an ally in Croatia and the Bosnian Croats, which supplied them with arms, food, and took in refuges before they turned on them. Strategic error on there part that they will never overcome. This is from someone who defended there actions for a long time, but no more.

It always seems that the Yugoslav propaganda about Ustase killing hundreds of thousands of Serbs comes out. But the Fact remains, Hitler formed 2 divisions of SS from Bosnian Muslims who also were in Ustase (Pavelic's Vice President was a Croat-Muslim from Herzegovina), Serb Cetniks were allied with the Nazi's as well, and the Partisans (Tito) were butchers just as Hitler and Stalin were. Killing hundreds of thousands of Croats and Serbs after the war.

From the beginning of the war when Alija Izedbegovic always thought the Serb dominated Yugoslav army would defend him, a big mistake which he and the people of Bosnia paid for brutally. From a strategic stance this book makes the most sense that i have read to date. No one else has gone as deep to figure out what actually was happening on the ground. I wonder why?

People continually forget that reporters are not Military experts, nor do they have the expertise to assess a situation. This books view of a military point of view is key and understanding what the Bosnian Muslims were doing prior to break out of war between the two sides. This book just makes sense.

You have to also figure, why Dario Kordic received a 25 year sentence for not killing anyone or ordering an attack on anyone. You also have to wonder why The Hague convicts people of genocide for only 25 years. I wonder why Sefer Halilovic has not gone to The Hague for his atrocities when he commanded Yugoslav forces and the Bosnian Army. Doesn't make sense, does it?

I had a chance to attend a lecture given by Mr. Shrader when he was in Chicago, he said that no Bosnian Muslim would ever meet with him nor would the Bosnian government give him assistance in speaking with troops or opening up there archives to see what there actual plans were. Speaking to him shed more light on who was more open to documentation and who wasn't (Bosniaks).

Rating:
Summary: Coming from an "objective" military historian
Review: Well, forget about objectivity in this book. All of Shrader's acknowledgements are to Americans and Croats at the beginning of the book. Not a single Bosniac or Serb is acknowledged in helping him write his book (not surprised).

His brief history of the former Yugoslavia at the beginning of the book is quite one-sided and the Ustashe genpcide in the Independent State of Croatia is minimised. He describes the genocide of Serbs from 1941-1945 as Ante Pavelic fighting his "Serbian enemies". When describing the recent Croat war crimes of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995) there is one instance when he refers to HOS (Croatian Defense Forces), a neo-Nazi paramilitary formation, war crimes against Serbs in the Herzegovinian town of Capljina. He refers to them as "excesses".

How shallow and immoral can you go!? Now, getting back to the conflict in central Bosnia. According to Shrader, the Bosnian Muslims started the aggression against the poor Croats in January 1993, supported by foreign mujahideen. So, he believes that it was the Bosniacs who "stabbed the Croats in the back". Yet, the take over by Croatian nationalists of the town of Novi Travnik in October 1992, and the ethnic cleansing of the town of Prozor of its Bosniac inhabitants in the same month is strangely omitted.

Anti-Bosniac and militant Catholic hard-liners like president of the self-proclaimed "Herceg-Bosna" statelet, Mate Boban, former mayor of Busovaca, Dario Kordic (who was sentenced to 25 years in the Hague, by the way) and others are not criticised one bit. In fact, Mate Boban is presented in a positive light! He only strongly criticises the HVO in the barbaric attack on the Muslim village of Ahmici. He believes that was the only time when the Croats used "disproportionate" force to achieve their military objectives. There was also a group in the Zenica area called the "Jure Francetic Brigade" led by Zivko Totic. For those who are unaware of who Francetic was, he was a fascist butcher during WW2, responsible for the slaughter of numerous Serb civilians. He was kidnapped and his 4 bodyguards were killed. I say: good job! I certainly won't shed any tears over someone who's idol was the cut-throat butcher Jure Francetic.

Also according to Shrader, Croats were completely cleansed from the region of Travnik, Novi Travnik, Vitez and Zenica and attacked in Busovaca, Kiseljak and Zepce. Funny how according to the Repatriation Information Centre consensus of 1999 concerning the Croat population of these areas, proportionately there are alot more Croats living in these municipalities, compared to their Bosniac counterparts in Herzegovina, completely cleansed of its Bosniac population during the war.

(...)Also, unlike mosques in Herzegovina which were all dynamited or burned down by Croat extreme nationalists, the vast majority of Catholic churches were left alone in central Bosnia.

So, there you have it. Shrader's book may well fool those who are not well versed in the history of Bosnia but for those like me who are, this book is nothing more than a lame attempt to prove that the Croats were only defending themselves from Bosniac aggression. How is it that only Mr. Shrader knows the "truth" about the Muslim-Croat war, and all other historians and journalists have managed to get it wrong??? Puh-leeze!

Rating:
Summary: Wanting to become a Croat!
Review: What a biased book. I don't know what's agenda behind his writings, but this is of no historical of educational value to anyone. Boy, did we have more than our share of "knowledgeable" people like him. Without his book I would never have known what happened in Bosnia (lol). Please, give this man a candle, don't leave him in total darkness. Maybe a pair of glasses. Just today (04/12/2004), I was reading his interview to a leading Croatian newspaper and was shocked. Biased, anti-islamic, anti-serb, but pro-croatian to the last drop of his blood. I hope they give him the citizenship for this bunch of lies. He'd just like to be a Croat, but he can't.