The documentary film, "Yugoslavia, the Avoidable War," by George Bogdanich is designed to make western viewers take a critical look at their involvement in the wars of the 1990s. It contends that many of the worst events in the Balkan wars were contrived for the western news media. Some of the massacres and atrocities that were reported and publicized (usually with bodies on display) were concocted by the Bosnian Muslims to arouse international opinion against the Serbs. The film argues that US television's favoritism of black and white depictions of heroes and villains, led to a scenario of good guys [Bosnian Muslims] versus bad guys [Serbs] in the mainstream western news coverage of the war. That NATO, particularly the US, promoted this idea to ensure popular support among its citizens is not something any student of the Balkan conflict can refute easily. While there was criticism and press coverage of some Croatian and Bosnian Muslim atrocities, these actions got much less coverage in the western media than Serbian atrocities. The question that needs to be answered is this: were the Serbs really the evil aggressors or did the Bosnian Muslims just have a better public relations department? This may seem an insensitive question but it is important for NATO members to understand why they got involved in this conflict. Unfortunately, in international affairs there is little that is black and white. Each side in a dispute usually has at least a few good reasons as to why they are fighting. The documentary uses information provided by the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other respected organizations that investigated reported events after they had occurred. The filmmakers attempt to show that NATO may have acted more in its own self-interest than in the interest of peace in the Balkans.
