Bosnian Serbs are now holding more than 350 UN peace keepers as human shields, chaining them to military installations. Pictures of these pathetic men in chains and handcuffs looking frightened flashed across television screens around the world.

As the Serbs were making a mockery of the UN and the world, British Prime Minister John Major was wringing his hands and meeting with his top civilian and military aides.

Across the Atlantic the Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien burned the midnight oil as he held urgent consultations with his cabinet and Canada's allies.

The whole of Europe is now pondering the fate of their peace keepers now under the mercy of the murderous Serbs.

This new dimension has added a dangerous turn to the waging war in the unfortunate country. The West now will be forced to pay a heavy price for their dilly-dallying on the situation in Bosnia. The events in the past two weeks are the results of inaction and indifference by the major powers and the UN Secretary General Butros Ghali whose hands are stained with the blood of the innocent Bosnians.

His two accomplices in this macabre and bloody drama, Cyrus Vance and David Owen, too will never be able to wash the blood of the victims of the psychotic Serbs. It was deliberate procrastination and the policy of appeasement two years ago that encouraged the Serbs to go ahead. Added to this was the covert and overt support given to the Serbs by Ukraine, Russia and Greece. The Germans had their own agenda as did the French. The United States had no clear-cut policy and Clinton vacillated and apart from some strong words did not do anything. The first NATO air strikes were a fiasco. Six bombs were thrown of which four failed to explode. The Serbs gleefully held press conferences to thumb their noses at the world. The Organization of Islamic Conference did denounce Serb brutality. However that was ink on paper and a dialogue of the deaf. 

To whom were they talking? It was to a callous group that had no intention of taking any action as they had an agenda of their own.

NATO which geared itself in record time for strikes during the Gulf crisis is undecided on the use of force. Even saber-rattling is out of the question and NATO Secretary General Claes, who was quick to point out the "danger of Islamic fundamentalism," is quiet about Bosnia. The fact-dragging by NATO and the rest of Europe as the bloody aggression by the Serbs continues is criminal. The same people who were quick to go to combat against the ragtag Haitian army are soft against the Serbs.

All these culprits should be exposed. Douglas Hurd, the British Foreign Secretary has unveiled British duplicity by his numerous incoherent statements on Bosnia which the British media has criticized.

The British want to appease Yeltsin and the Russians who themselves have embarked on a bloody rampage in Chechniya.

Added to this lack of purpose and indecision is the division among the various Western states on how to deal with the Bosnian crisis. Everyone wants to pass the buck so it seems.

The French threaten to pull out is copycatting the British. However, French Prime Minister Alain Juppe is hoping for a recognition of Bosnia by Slobodan Milosevic the Serbian President.

The notorious and cunning Serbian President is scoffing at such pleas by the French Prime Minister and others. He wants the immediate lifting of the embargo and aid for his country.

This is the manner the Western leaders are being treated by this brigand.

On the other hand the international terrorist Radovan Karadzic refuses any dealing with the UN except on his own terms.

The United Nations throughout its history has had its ups and downs. However, it has never sunk so low in esteem as under the "patronage" of Butros Ghali, who for his own devious purposes and whether by omission or commission is contributing to this blood bath only a few hours drive from Rome and Vienna.

History will blacken his name and curses will be showered on him by the victims of one of the greatest genocides of the twentieth century. Ghali and his European accompanies were the ones who watered down any resolutions to counter and contain Serbian aggression. He was against air strikes by NATO.

And the United States listened to him. This is the same US that used its first veto against the Arabs on the Jerusalem issue. Any blood other than Jewish is of no value to the hawkish Madeline Albright and her likes in the US administration. One has to belong to a certain community for the US to act. Unfortunately the Bosnians don't belong to a "favored species" nor do they have any resources.