A Washington journalist referred to President Clinton's handling of the Kosovo affair as "Churchillian". One can easily guess what this meant to imply. As Churchill stood alone after the fall of France in the face of the Nazi menace so too Clinton resolutely stood facing the Serb menace. There are other interpretations even if one ignores the problem of scale in weighing the Wehrmacht versus the Serbian army. One would be the common appreciation of cigars. Churchill was famous for his cigar smoking and in honor of his dedication, there is one named after him. The Churchill is seven inches long and has a 47 ring guage. Whether there will ever be a Clinton is problematical. Another possible reference is to Gallipoli. Churchill, at that time first lord of the Admiralty, was a foremost spokesman for the Dardenelles operation despite the opposition of Lord Fisher, the first sea lord. The failure to take Gallipoli cost Churchill his position and was a blot on his career until the second world war. Although Clinton is claiming a great victory in Kosovo, the future is uncertain and eventually it may be as great a blot on the U. S. and his career as Gallipoli was for Churchill.

Actually, it isn't necessary to imagine what Churchill's attitude towards the Balkans was or even would be today. Fitzroy Maclean has given us in his book "Eastern Approaches" a very clear idea of the workings of Churchill's mind in the perilous days in 1943. Maclean and a few others were parachuted in to Bosnia to ascertain the ability of Tito and the Partisans to thwart the twenty divisions that Hitler had sent to conquer the Balkans. In Churchill's mind the objective was the defeat of the Nazis.

He was motivated by national self-defense for if Britain and the Allies failed, the English would be subjected to tyranny. His objective was crystal clear and he was ready to aid Tito and the Partisans if they could help in keeping the twenty divisions in Jugoslavia while the British and Americans made headway in Italy. Churchill's government was committed to King Peter but the King's supporters, the Cetniks, were fighting the Partisans rather than the Germans.

Maclean, after fighting with the Partisans and arranging the air drop of supplies by the British, met with Churchill to assess the situation. He flew to Alexandria and briefed Churchill on the fighting prowess of the Partisans. The discipline of the Partisans was strong primarily because the leadership was communist and adheared to an ideology. Although the different ethnic and religious groups hated each other then as they do now, their hatred of the Germans was even greater. They were willing to attack the Germans even if it meant reprisals and the death of Jugoslavian civilian hostages. Maclean told Churchill that the support of Tito would strengthen the communist hand in the Balkans after the war. He predicted, quite accurately, that a communist regime would probably result and that the government would be aligned with the Soviet Union. Both Maclean and Churchill knew what this would mean for the people of Jugoslavia.

The conversation was the following:

Churchill: "Do you intend to make Jugoslavia your home after the war?"

Maclean: "No, Sir."

Churchill: "Neither do I. And, that being so, the less you and I worry about the form of government they set up, the better. That is for them to decide. What interests us is, which of them (Partisan or Cetnik) is doing more harm to the Germans."

If Churchill were the President of the United States of America and Albright and Talbott suggested the attack on Jugoslavia, he would have inquired about their domiciles in the year 2000.