rhetoric and rethink the case for cuttingrnIsrael loose. The Israelis, who almostrnsold the Chinese an advanced snreillancernaircraft (until we reminded themrnthat the’ risked the benefits of our alliancernif they followed through on therndeal), are people we don’t need “going itrnon their own” as we prepare to face offrnwitii China over control of the West Pacificrnover the next decade.rn—Ted GruenrnDallas, 7XrnDr. Trifkovic Replies:rnThat resurgent Islam would be less of arnthreat to American interests if the UnitedrnStates were perceived in the Arab worldrnas more evenhanded is not a remarkablernclaim. It has been made by journalists,rnpoliticians, and policy analysts too numerousrnto meuHon.rnMr. Gruen is right about the way inrnwhich the Serbian holocaust has been airbrushedrnfrom histor-, but he is wrongrnabout Tito’s reasons for doing so. Far fromrn”seeking to smother interethnic strife,”rnTito kept it on the back burner throughoutrnhis ?5-ear rule to ensure his role as the indispensablernarbiter. He played divide etrnimpera witli his own subjects and thus preventedrnthe development of institutions forrnconflict management that could outlivernhim. The Serbs got the worst of it not on-rnIv because Tito was a Croat but becausernthe}’ were the most numerous group, andrnhe needed a more level field for his game.rnTlicre was no better way to ensure that thernwounds remained imhealed than to pretendrnthev didn’t exist. The fruits of Tito’srnapres moi le deluge were obvious a decadernafter his deatli.rnMr. Gruen’s reference to the “ghastlyrnnew archipelago of Serbian-run deathrncamps” di.sappoints mc. Doesn’t he readrnChronicles’? We have repeatedly andrnconincingly debunked the myth of variousrnYugoslav ahocitics and “genocides” —rnfrom the “picture that fooled the world “rnto Racak. The fact that the “mainstream”rnmedia ha’e often followed in our footstepsrnsome years later is a compliment wernare too modest to emphasize as often asrnwe should.rnI am surprised by Mr. Gruen’s claimrnthat “we never heard of [Kostunica | untilrnafter the aerial bombardment stopped.” Irnhave counted four references to Dr. Kostunicarnin these pages before the bombing,rnincluding a lengthy quote of his inrnmv article, “Slobodan Milosevic, OurrnS.b.B.” (Views, June 1997), and ThomasrnFleming’s remarkabl)’ prescient predictionrnthat one day Kostunica wouldrnbecome Yugoslavia’s president (“Turnrnto the Dark Side,” Perspective, Januaryrn1999). As for Dr. Kostunica’s alleged failurernto condemn war crimes, in his messagernto The Rockford Inshtute’s conferencernon U.S. policy in the Balkans lastrnNo’ember (see The American Interest,rnFebruarv 2001), he said that “we shouldrnstop pretending that there is a story ofrnblame from vhich the Serbs are exempt.”rnHe continued: “We know enough aboutrnthe world to know that international politicsrncan distort the idea of justice. Let mernassure you: Anti-Serbianism is as commonrna prejudice in the Balkans as is anti-rnAmericanism on the world stage. The essentialrncase for justice, the need for it, isrnsimply this: that the human heart erasesrnit. We accept that the judicial processrnshould be an integral part of eventual reconciliation.rnBut the instrumental izationrnof judicial retaliahon can only postponerneffective reconciliation, and make itrnmore difficult.”rnOn Property RightsrnI applaud your interest in property rightsrnin the April 2001 issue, “Your Land IsrnTheir Land.” I was especially interestedrnin the article “For Keeps! A ChristianrnDefense of Property” by Scott P. Richertrn(Views), since I have come to know andrnwork with two of the four families whornare used as examples of the expandingrnmisuse of eminent domain and “QuickrnTake.”rnThe plight of the Torres and Ditzlerrnfamilies came to my attention more thanrna )ear ago when a concerned citizen contactedrnthe Illinois Conservation Voters,rnof which I am a founding member. Thern’I’orrescs believed that the threat by therncity of Rockford to take the properh- onrnwhich their grocer)’ store sits and give it tornanother grocer is un-American. As L,upernTorres, son of the owner, asked me, “Canrnthis happen in America?” ApparentK thernanswer is yes, as the Illinois SupremernCourt’s April 19 decision in SouthwesternrnIllinois Development Authority v. NationalrnCity Environmental, L.L.C. indicates.rnIn that case, private j^roperh’ was takenrnfrom one owner and given to another becausern”the legislature has vested in thernI Southwestern Illinois Development]rnAuthorit’ the power of eminent domainrnto assist iir the development of commercialrnprojects including racetracks andrnparking facilities. The acquisition of thernProperty being in furtherance of the publicrnpurpose, the Authorit) did not abusernits discrehon by the use of its eminent domainrnpowers.” The Torres case is still inrnlocal court.rnThe Ditzler case, where half of a legallyrnblind veteran’s family homesite wasrnseized for a road project, remains unresolvedrnas well. Now, Tom and Jan T)itzlerrnare waidng for a court date to be set torndetermine the value of the property thatrnwas seized last summer. The four-lanernroad is being built directh’ adjacent torntheir home. Large portions of their remainingrnproperh’ have flooded as a directrnresult of the road building. Should waterrndamage to the rest of their property’ bernconsidered in the final settlement? Andrnwhy is Winnebago Countv’ insisting thatrnthe Ditzlers take payment for the properh’rnbefore the jury trial that will determinernthe settlement?rnHow has this happened in America?rnSurely there are groups or people who,rnupon learning the compelling facts andrncircumstances of these cases, wouldrncome to their aid?rnOver the last year, Illinois ConservationrnVoters contacted (among others) allrnof the following organizations and individuals:rnPacific Legal Foundation;rnCommon Cause; Defenders of Propert)’rnRights; the Rutherford Institute; AmericanrnVeterans organizations; Lighthousernfor the Blind; Oprah Winfre’; GeraldornRivera; Rush Limbaugh; IJ.S. Rep. DonaldrnManzullo (R-IL); U.S. Sen. RichardrnJ. Durbin (D-IL); and Secretary of thernArmy Joseph WestiDhal.rnIn all of our communications, we offeredrnto provide additional informahonrnand assistance to facilitate their actions tornaid these families in defense of theirrnpropert}’ rights. Shll, none of these organizationsrnor individuals came to the aidrnof the Torreses or Ditzlers. The ChicagornTribune eventually ran a front-page storvrnon the Ditzler issvie, and Illinois Gov.rnGeorge Ryan vetoed “Quick Take” legislationrnthat included language related tornthe Ditzler propert}’.rnBoth of these cases are still in court.rnBoth families need your help in defendingrntheir propert}’ rights.rn— ReneeAMcNittrnIllinois Conservation VotersrnFox River Crove, ILrnJULY2001/Srnrnrn