Nurdzihana: People descend to such an unbelievably low level; trying to justify themselves by saying the war was for some goal-that someone demanded it of them. But there was no reason for the war-except robbery.

Kristina: War wasn't caused by simple people. This wasn't a popular, national movement.

Valentina: I don't think smart people, even professionals, can explain why all of this happened.

****

" What caused the war?" I'd ask, trying not to be too leading in my question. I wanted to give the woman across from me free rein, invite her to tell me what she really thought. Twenty-six times I asked, each time waiting for some version of the sigh of resignation ("That's the Balkans!") put forward by many international leaders and repeated by obedient bureaucrats and soldiers. Looking for corroboration, I was consistently disappointed. These women had a very different perspective.

Just trying to survive, they weren't listening to policy-makers' declarations I heard, of how this was an age-old and inevitable conflict the rest of the world had best stay clear of. In fact, the international community, represented by the so-called Contact Group, was paralyzed by opposing allegiances that reached back to World War II and by the dual key agreement that required UN approval before the use of air power.