Chapter 963 Crazy!

Kosovo War!

In Liu Tao's own notebook, just five words contain the last war in the 20th century that attracted worldwide attention.

Once upon a time, Yugoslavia was so powerful in the Tito era.

In that era, more than 8 million tourists from the East and West camps traveled to Yugoslavia every year, which not only brought considerable tourism revenue to Yugoslavia, but also reflected its cultural influence. At that time, Yugoslavia was highly industrialized, and its per capita GDP exceeded that of all other socialist countries, roughly at the same level as developed capitalist countries such as Greece, Portugal, and Spain.

As early as the 1960s, the TV penetration rate in Yugoslavia had reached 50%, which means that almost half of the families in Yugoslavia had TVs in the 1960s. By the end of the 1970s, the TV penetration rate had reached almost 70%, which means that almost every family in Yugoslavia had a TV.

In the 1970s, every family in Yugoslavia had its own car, and the average income of Yugoslavs had reached $1,500 by the end of the 1970s.

Economic development also promoted the great progress of Yugoslavia's culture, sports and other undertakings. At that time, other socialist countries generally regarded Western films and books as a scourge, but Yugoslavia took the lead in allowing the introduction of Western films and books that did not violate Yugoslav laws. At that time, Hollywood blockbusters could be seen in Yugoslavia as soon as they were released, and Yugoslav films and books were also exported to all parts of the world. Yugoslav classic films such as "Walter Defends Sarajevo" and "The Bridge" also have a wide influence in the world like Soviet films.

Yugoslavia's Red Star and Guerrilla teams have long dominated European football, and at the same time, Yugoslavia's basketball level is second only to the United States. In 1960, the Yugoslav football team won the gold medal in the men's football at the Rome Olympics. Yugoslavia reached the finals of the 1960 European Cup in France and the 1968 European Cup in Italy. Yugoslavia was able to enter the semi-finals at the 1962 Chile World Cup.

Politically, Tito, Egyptian President Nasser and Indian Prime Minister Nehru jointly proposed that under the bipolar structure, the majority of small and medium-sized countries should pursue an independent foreign policy and not ally with either of the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. This is the "Non-Aligned Movement" known to the world. By participating in the Non-Aligned Movement, Yugoslavia followed the trend of the world's people pursuing peace and opposing war, and catered to the independent nationalist sentiment that was prevalent in the world at that time.

This greatly enhanced Yugoslavia's influence and voice in international affairs. The two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, chose to respect Yugoslavia's independent non-aligned policy and win over Yugoslavia to prevent Yugoslavia from falling to another camp.

In terms of military, Yugoslavia built an army of nearly one million people, and also had a reserve force of about 2 million. At that time, the Yugoslav People's Army was the fourth largest army and the third largest army in Europe. This force was so well-equipped and well-trained that even the Soviet Union at that time was wary of Yugoslavia, while European and American countries praised Yugoslavia as the "Balkan Tiger".

The Yugoslav Army, which had more than 1,100 tanks, more than 600 anti-tank self-propelled guns, 1,300 armored vehicles of various types, and tens of thousands of various artillery pieces, was one of the "strongest ground forces in Europe" until 1992.

At its peak, the Yugoslav Navy had 10,000 officers and soldiers and 80 ships of various types, and also had independently produced submarines. The Air Force had 32,000 officers and soldiers and more than 400 fixed-wing aircraft, more than 200 propeller aircraft, and more than 200 helicopters.

At that time, if anyone said that Yugoslavia would fall apart in less than 15 years, and the major member states would divide up the legacy, he would definitely be called crazy. If anyone said that Yugoslavia's land would be in flames in less than 20 years, he would definitely be regarded as a lunatic.

Liu Tao pointed directly to the homeland of South Slavia, warning the Americans of the possibility of starting a war here.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is still not to be underestimated. Besides, the US government is constantly cutting military spending and is unwilling to start a war. How could it possibly start a war in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia!" A think tank shook his head repeatedly.

The two republics of Serbia and Montenegro jointly established the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, inheriting the main position of Yugoslavia. Now the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has 102,350 square kilometers of land and a population of over 10 million.

Although the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are far inferior to those of Yugoslavia, the armed forces still have 135,000 people, 1,270 tanks, 270 armored vehicles, 3,200 cannons, 750 anti-tank guns, and 1,850 anti-aircraft guns. The navy has 10,000 people, equipped with 80 frigates of various types, speedboats, patrol boats, minesweepers, torpedo boats and an anti-submarine helicopter squadron. The Air Force has 350 fighters and 160 armed helicopters.

The Americans will only attack the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia if they are crazy.

Not to mention, everyone knows that the US government is suppressing military spending, and it is even reported that the US military spending will be suppressed to 50 billion US dollars next year.

How can the US military start a war without money?

However, when Liu Tao said this, the other leaders all frowned slightly.

In this kind of thing, we should be prepared for the worst.

There are always various possibilities in the game between major powers.

It is the most basic to use each other, confront each other, and constantly adjust foreign policies according to the development of the international situation.

There is a tacit understanding between major powers.

That is why it is not difficult for the Americans to detonate this powder keg in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

As early as the Tito era, the seemingly powerful Yugoslavia has always had hidden dangers. For a long time, the Serbian, Croatian, Slovenian, Albanian and other ethnic groups living in Yugoslavia have always lacked a unified national psychological identity. Historically, these ethnic groups have both long-term integration and various grievances. As the main ethnic group, Serbia has only a relative advantage in terms of population size or political and economic strength, but it does not have an absolute advantage greater than other ethnic groups combined.

When Tito was there, he could suppress this problem with his unparalleled prestige.

But after Tito was gone, this problem became unsolvable, and Yugoslavia never had a strong man from heaven. As a result, in less than 12 years, the powerful Yugoslavia fell apart, and the major member states became independent sovereign states, divided up Yugoslavia's assets, and then became the much smaller Federal Republic of Yugoslavia now.

But there are also many problems within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

There are Serbs, Albanians, Montenegrins, Hungarians and other ethnic minorities within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Montenegro, with a population of less than 700,000, has always believed that it is small in number and low in position, and is seemingly close to Serbia but actually alienated. The calls for independence within Montenegro have never stopped.

As for the Albanians in Kosovo, they also have the same problems.

As long as the Americans provoke, the entire Balkan Peninsula, the European powder keg, will explode!