Secrets and Complexities........

Ah - found it. Dunno what there is to explain exactly - article does a good enough job on that - but it sure is interesting! And "Belgrade's major tourist attraction" it would be, for sure!

Hey, nimh. I was curious about the guards who were killed. Do you suppose that was an urban legend to sex up the entire thing to lure unsuspecting tourists? I wouldn't be surprised, would you?

I doubt it - because a tourist attraction it sure is not yet. That remains a pipe dream - for now the whole complex remains jealously guarded in secrecy by the state, is what I understand. And who knows, perhaps Mladic is indeed in there hiding ...

Wow!

Hee hee, nimh. There used to be an expression:

Hitler is alive and well and living in Argentina.


Soz, I always smile a bit when I see the word "WOW!" I gotta post a thread on favorite non words, sometimes.

I don't get into the political threads much, cause I really don't have much to say.

Now where is that Thok? He's big on "....this day in history.."

Mladic is actually often assumed to be hiding somewhere in Serbia-Montenegro, in any case - whether or not protected by (elements in) the Serbian army or security police ...

There's been a rift in the government there over whether Serbia should even co-operate with the Hague court and extradite (people like) him or not for a long time now (most famously between Kostunica, then President and now PM, and Djindjic, then PM and now dead, with Kostunica being against co-operation ...)

So, nimh. You think there is a possibility that Mladic is in that complex? Wouldn't that be something, but why would those soldiers be killed, or as the article implies, one was shot, and the other committed suicide. Us mericans are captivated by intrigue.

Well, I'm veering dangerously into dreaded conspiracy theory ground here (which is not my style at all), but ...

Well, first, firmly within sanity zone is still the observation that Mladic and other war criminals who havent been surrendered to the Hague court are often (and credibly enough) said to be hiding somewhere in Serbia, possibly/probably with the knowledge or even protection of (forces within) the Serbian army/security service apparatus. Some in the country's government itself, for example PM Kostunica, are known to be against extraditing such war criminals, and can perhaps plausibly be assumed to at least not want to know where Mladic is hiding exactly. (If the government knew and still would refuse to extradite him, it would mean a full frontal confrontation with the EU and US, on whom Serbia relies for financial support).

OK, so say Mladic or lower-rank but still prominent enough war criminals are somewhere in Serbia, and elements in the security apparatus might be in the know or even complicit. (Remember, under Milosevic the security apparatus was responsible for staging assassination attempts of opposition politicians - well they've actually been found guilty of murdering one prominent possible rival - we're not talking sweethearts here. And tho Djindjic did his best (at times) to cleanse the system, he too had to be circumspect, and the current government would be even more cautious again. So it's possible enough that there are still elements in the security apparatus protecting Mladic c.s.)

Now imagine that they did indeed give him the possibility of hiding in that ultra-secret tunnel system - but now we're firmly into speculative conspiracy theory ground - then if any two ordinary soldiers, whose job is simply to stand guard at the gates and who don't ever get inside - suddenly would happen to see that someone like Mladic is in there ... then they'd better not be able to tell anyone, right? Better have them both be dead? The conflicting versions of how they died sound odd enough to think something might be amiss ...

Hey, it's possible ... in Serbia nothing is impossible. I mean, they just assassinated a PM there last year. On the other hand, compiling various more or less probable conspiracy theories is an unhealthy national hobby in Serbia, so ...

nimh, to tell you the truth(whatever that is). Conspiracy theories aren't all veiled allusions and stuff. Some may indeed be spot on. Ever hear of Eric Rudolph? Well, I haven't either, lately.

The entire point of this thread is simply a search into countries outside the borders of the US of A. I have only my teaching experience to guide me, but I am really trying to experience what others feel. Not one of us is really all that different, you know.