nationalists--depending on the fervor of their nationalism and, accordingly, the degree of irredentist manipulation of history--claimed large swaths of Bosnian territory as their own. According to this view, BosniaHercegovina had no legitimacy as a separate nation, civilization, or state. Those who had lived in the land for generations and were not Serb (or Croat) were foreigners who had to be removed from it by all means necessary.

The shock troops in Bosnia for this brand of nationalism were Radovan Karadzic, General Ratko Mladic, and their confreres in the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS). Tihomir Loza explains the logic underlying the strategy and the tactics adopted by the Serbian nationalists in Bosnia.

What actually is the crime in Bosnia, the practice known in the West as "ethnic cleansing?" Undoubtedly it has beenthey try to go back. According to numerous testimonies, special military expeditions from Serbia and Montenegro have sought not only to slaughter and expel but also to inspire or force the indigenous Serbs to do the same. The formula for territorial occupation that the expelled are compelled to accept is "either them or us." At the present score, the reality of course is "them."

It had been a long time since Europe had heard anything like the phrase Judenfrei. It returned again to Europe but it had a fresh ring: "ethnic cleansing." Entire villages were wiped out. Specific forms of assault were developed to inspire terror. Concentration camps were set up again on European soil reviving an earlier continental innovation. It all was part of the war that the