Customer Reviews

Peacekeeper: The Road to Sarajevo

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Maj.-Gen. Lewis MacKenzie takes you through the Hell that was the United Nations Protection Force in the former Yugoslavia. MacKenzie presents a candid look at the problems of modern Peacekeeping and offers solutions for them. He is highly critical of the United Nations's policies regarding Peacekeeping and explains there impact on the mission in depth. The book is also a summary of MacKenzie's experiences in the field during his deployment. It also toches on the role the media plays in Peacekeeping. For an exciting look at Peacekeeping from the trenches this is _the_ book. It is no wonder Gen. MacKenzie has become the 'Peacekeeper.

Gen Mackenzie has pretty much seen and done it all when it comes to UN peacekeeping operations. From fairly innocuous duty in the Sinai, to a more complex situation in Cyprus and Central America, to the ultimate test for the UN--the Balkans.
Gen Mackenzie's insights also highlight how the UN has adapted (or failed to adapt) to the growing complexities of multinational peacekeeping, in an age where superpower rivalries are no longer able to keep warring factions in check.

Worthy of note is the battle Mackenzie faced dealing not only with the warring factions in Bosnia, but also the warring faction's ability to utilize the omnipresent media to shape public opinion.
Mackenzie's story of the beginning of UNPROFOR should be mandatory reading for those attempting to pursue multinational peacekeeping efforts in a complex, multiethnic environment.

Good anecdotes, and a very enjoyable read

Excelent book. Very revealing. Good stories, funny at times and serious at times. Great read.

I found the two previous reviews, one by Michael Smith and the other by an unidentified reader, both mean-spirited and uninformed. The latter reader I will disregard because his anonymity makes him unworthy of comment.

First, I wonder why it took Smith 6 years to get around to reading MacKenzie's book? That's 6 years of hindsight that the author never had, so any abberations could be seen as dated.

Next, was Smith there in Sarajevo when the Serb artillery was reducing the beautiful Olympic city to ruins? Did he know how it felt to try and communicate with the UN in New York only to have a recording because the staff was home for the weekend?

Canadians have always been rated highly as peacekeepers because they come from a society that is judged as fair and tolerant of all peoples. The accusations of religious and ethnic intolerance are surprising - but maybe because of having to duck bullets and shells one sometimes loses this trait.

I think Smith and his ilk would be happy if Canadians stayed home when the next trouble spot happens in Europe. Then Smith can watch from his Paris address while his EU compatriots try and solve the problem. Because, after two world wars and dozens of peacekeeping campaigns where thousands of Canadians have died, it's time for Europe to handle its own problems.

General MacKenzie probably made a lot of enemies during his command. But outside of ethnic communities, one would be hardpressed to find a person who doesn't think highly of this man.

And next time, Smith, read the book when it comes out.

I would warmly encourage anybody interested in Balkans to read this book. Author was commander of UN forces, first in Croatia and than in Bosnia. Like me, he came with an anti-Serb, propaganda influenced, opinion to serve in Yugoslavia, only to discover situation to be completely opposite from what media reported in the West. He writes objectively at all times, but many muslims from Bosnia (who were the most brainwashed of all sides, by their government) will not agree with him. Fact is that great majority of people who were fighting or who lived under muslim Bosnian government believed that they are fighting for multiethnic Bosnia...However, their government consisted from mostly only muslims, led by a TRUE FUNDAMENTALIST Alija Izetbegovic and their real aim was an independent muslim state in Balkans. Izetbegovic has since 1970's preached fundamentalism, what is easy to check from his books. And generous support that he enjoyed from his friends in Iran, made him feel strong enough to start the war and later break many cease-fires (Lord Owen, Lord Carrington, Cyrus Vence, general Lewis Mackenzie and many more leading westerners in Balkan are witnesses and living proof to this).He joined forces with his traditional friends, CROATS (Izetbegovic himself was a Nazi soldier in Bosnia in W.W.II) who were together fighting for Hitler against Serbs. Add to them another Hitler's ally, Albanians and you slowly getting the picture.....

Gen. McKenzie wrote a great book about peacekeeping in Bosnia. He is very honest man with a lot of experience in peacekeeping. He had hard time in Bosnia because beside war on the field there was a very strong media and political war. He did his best. Read it!
More things you can find if you read some reports of French Gen. Morion (reading his reports to UN). Useful link: http://www.srebrenica-report.com/

Great book - I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the events of the civil war in ex-Yugoslavia. In this book Gen MacKenzie describes the events as they actually happened. As a citizen of Sarajevo, and a witness of the beginning of the war in Sarajevo and Bosnia, I acknowledge Gen MacKenzie for writing this book, and spreading the truth for the sake of the victims, their families, and all citizens of Sarajevo and Bosnia.
One correction: in this book Gen MacKenzie refers to the hospital as Kosovo and the correct name is Kosevo.
Take your time to read this book, so you can create your own opinion on the cause and the events of the begining of the bloody civil war in Bosnia.
In addition to this book, research Internet by learning more about Sarajevo local warlords, watch YouTube videos and you will see that Gen MacKenzie said the truth.

MAJGEN Mackenzie's memoir is highly unusual in the literature about Bosnia at the time in that it covered his experiences in the war from a military perspective.

The book starts out with a short description of his years in the military and in peacekeeping/monitoring prior to his deployment to the then Yugoslavia. His description of his early time as an Athletics officer brings a smile to anyone who has spent time in a less than active military unit and his scattered insights into leadership are worth the price of the book alone. I still remember his attitude that "take care of the job and the job will take care of you" in response of a superior who thought career planning was the true calling of an officer.

His description of his car racing hobby is hilarious at points and while the stakes may be high, he shows the goofy sense of humor that is the hallmark of experienced soldiers. The coverage of his time in Cyprus was interesting as was his linking Karadzic' proposal for a Green Line through Sarajevo and the conflict in Cyprus. The period of Cyprus and the amusing (although still dangerous) encounter with irate Greek Cypriot airmen guarding a fake radar installation but Cyprus covers more in the way of lessons and descriptions of how Peacekeeping works.

The period of Bosnia covers roughly the latter two-thirds of the book and benefits from the well-endowed cynicism soldiers have of anybody in a conflict area. This was applied not only to the warring parties but also to the local and New York UN staff. As in anything, this was not a monolithic assessment but in general, his view was that the civilian UN system was simply structurally incapable of meeting the needs of troops in the field. This applied to logistics, information updates, and attempts at diplomacy. Redundant systems of peacekeepers, conflict monitors and others are criticized as well.

One can tell that he viewed the ambush of the JNA convoy in Sarajevo to of been particularly bad or at least it seems influential in his trust of the various sides. JNA troops were attempting to figure a way out of their barracks and other positions in Bosnia. Alia Izetbegovic landed at the JNA controlled airport (this was before the JNA completely became the VRS) and was taken prisoner by the surprised JNA troops. MAJGEN MacKenzie (then just BGEN) entered the JNA base and attempted to calm a crowd of protesters assuming they were urging his release only to learn later that they were Serbs urging the JNA to kill Izetbegovic. That was on of his early lessons in the impossibility of clearly distinguishing between the warring peoples.

BGEN MacKenzie and UNPROFOR finally managed to arrange a trade of returning Izetbegovic and a few members of his staff to the Bosnian Government in return for the JNA being able to withdraw a general and his staff. The agreement was shaky at first but completely broke down when members of the Patriotic League (the SDA's private militia only partially incorporated into ABiH) attacked the UN-JNA convoy despite the Bosnian government having guaranteed their safety. Soldiers who had been stripped of most weapons could do little as some Muslim troops killed JNA troops without provocation. They later claimed to be operating under orders from the Bosnian Presidency (who knew about the trade and terms as part of the negotiations). That MAJGEN Makenzie devoted an entire chapter to the incident indicates the impact it had on him.

One can tell a certain distrust of Muslim/Bosnian Government claims after that incident and also one notes small terms that might indicate a certain sympathy to the Bosnian Serbs. This is beyond his general practice of strict neutrality. He described the lackluster presentation of the Serb case made by Karadzic and GEN Mladic before French President Mitterand as a "missed opportunity". The areas in which he strays into sympathy for the Serb side are few and far between but they indicate that he is not immune from getting entangled in the clashing perspectives.

By and large, his approach is distrustful of all sides and in maintaining that cynicism, he provides a muddled picture of what the conflict was but provides a better image of what it was not. He has also been noted by others and his own admission that he was one of the most outspoken commanders Canada or the UN have ever had. One previous reviewer provided a link to a website of scattered interests.
http://www.freeserbia.net/Documents/Lobby.html
It provides a detailed and accurate depiction of Serb lobbying efforts in the US but derides Bosnian Serb claims later confirmed by multiple US, UN, and other military sources.

One of the most intriguing aspects that MAJGEN MacKenzie never covered in detail was the differences in perception between military personnel in the area and the Western journalists. Key aspects are only hinted at such as a press conference where several journalists objected to changes made by a translator or the description of three UN APCs as 15 Serb tanks.

It is a fine memoir with much to commend it to the reader but the potential was even greater. It is only out of disappointment with what could have been that I give it four stars. The sincerest form of flattery (plagiarism) has been seen with other authors taking chunks of his book and only giving a passing attribution.

It is well worth the price for almost any interest.

While it is difficult to ascertain exactly how much has been directed towards payment for speakers and journalists, the SUC and Serbnet have set up a special fund for this purpose. Based on former UN General Lewis MacKenzie's own admission which was later corroborated by Serbnet -- that he was receiving over $15,000 per speaking engagement -- the amount spent on MacKenzie represents more than what the SUC is paying to PR firms such as Manatos and Manatos, Inc.


A complete referenced study can be seen on this serbian website:

http://www.freeserbia.net/Documents/Lobby.html

Please do not buy this propaganda material!!!

General MacKenzie has written a horrible book. His involvment, and role in the conflict are still being questioned. Just a remainder that he was retired immediately after he was fired from Bosnia. During his tours through USA, it was discovered that he recieived money from the Serbian lobby in Canada and US. Does anything else need to be said?