Slovenia's break was mild because of the monoethnic culture. It was clear from the start, however, that the Serbs in the Krajina and East Slavonia, and the Muslims in Mostar, were going to have a hard time of it in an independent Croatia. When Germany recognized them prematurely, Baker actually admonished Germany (and opposed them) as being reckless. Do not forget the Vance-Owen compact which set the lines for contemporary Bosnia back in 1991-1992.

Then Baker came on board the war wagon after the real fighting started. And in the end, even after Vance-Owen, even after 100,000 people had died, many more were ethnically cleansed, the USA and NATO ended up with the biggest military base outside the USs borders in the entire world: Camp Bondsteel.

Madeleine Albright and her infamous comment to Colin Powell: "What good is an army if you're not going to use it?" Or even worse, "Is it worth it for 500,000 Iraqi children to die for lack of food and medicine?" Albright: "Yes."

Add lunatic Wesley "I will start ww3" Clark to the mix and you have a boiling cauldron.

Prior to that, GHW Bush was actually recalcitrant to start wars. Remember, after Iraq invaded Kuwait, the US Ambassador there, April Glaspie, defended Saddam (they were buddy, buddy) because the Kuwaitis were stealing oil from the Rumaila oil field (like the "I'll drink your milkshake" scene from the film "There Will Be Blood"). It wasn't until Thatcher called GHWB and told him to buck up that the USA actually began banging the war drums. GHWB was actually a war veteran. He apparently needed Thatcher to tell him about war's necessity. And of course, his own reticence to go to battle was understood internally as well because the USA, and general Schwarzkopf, knew there was no point in occupying Iraq. They turned away from Baghdad after establishing the no-fly zone. A lesson GHWB's war mongering son could never ever grasp.

Samantha Power, who wrote the an excellent book on genocide, has Obama's ear. Unfortunately, she adventurous sense of using the military as well.