Author: Peter Maass

I was born and raised in Los Angeles. In 1983, after graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, I went to Brussels as a copy editor for The Wall Street Journal/Europe. I left the Journal in 1985 to write for The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, covering NATO and the European Union. In 1987 I moved to Seoul, South Korea, where I wrote primarily for The Washington Post. After three years in Asia I moved to Budapest to cover Eastern Europe and the Balkans. I spent most of 1992 and 1993 covering the war in Bosnia for the Post.

U.S. Airdrop Misses Muslims; Relief Planes Fly 2nd Mission Serbs Said to Have Seized Drop Zone Before 1st Flight

The Washington Post
March 2, 1993

SARAJEVO, March 1 – U.S. Air Force cargo planes parachuted a second load of emergency aid to isolated areas of eastern Bosnia tonight, less than 24 hours after the first such airdrop failed to reach the beleaguered Muslim civilians for whom it was intended and apparently ...  (Read more)

Hostility Spreads to Airwaves; Serbs Intercept, Jam Muslim Radio Traffic

The Washington Post
March 2, 1993

SARAJEVO, March 1 – A Muslim shortwave radio operator in Cerska was shouting through the crackling receiver here that Serb militia forces were attacking the east Bosnian town. Then, all of a sudden, a menacing voice cut him off.

“You are lying, you Muslim filth,” ...  (Read more)

A Tiny Coffin, a Swift Prayer; Snow Blurs Snipers’ View as Sarajevans Bury Infant

The Washington Post
February 26, 1993

SARAJEVO, Feb. 25 – Today’s burial of Almedena Seta was like most others here, except that she was only 2 years old when she was killed by a Serb tank shell while napping, and so the coffin bearing her body was no bigger than a pillow.

Funerals in Sarajevo, ...  (Read more)

U.N. Officials Dispute U.S. Airdrop Proposal; Peril to Aircrews over Bosnia Is Cited

The Washington Post
February 22, 1993

SARAJEVO, Feb. 21 –  U.N. military and humanitarian aid officials disagreed today about the wisdom of proposed American airdrops to starving Bosnian civilians, but they concurred that such an operation could entail significant risks to the cargo planes and aircrews ...  (Read more)

Bosnia Acts to End Aid Boycott; Cease-Fire Declared to Assist Shipments

The Washington Post
February 21, 1993

SARAJEVO, Feb. 20 – Under international pressure, the Bosnian government called on the Sarajevo city council today to lift its controversial boycott of humanitarian aid and declared a unilateral cease-fire to facilitate aid shipments.

The government’s turnabout ...  (Read more)

Meet the Only American Soldier in Sarajevo; Army Sergeant from Iowa, Assigned to U.N. Unit, Wants to Return – with U.S. Forces

The Washington Post
January 24, 1993

SARAJEVO – Sgt. Richard Roth is a stealth soldier.

While the Pentagon and White House have fretted about sending armed forces into Bosnia, Roth, a blunt-talking, Marlboro-smoking sergeant from Maquoketa, Iowa, slipped into Sarajevo as part of the U.N. peace-keeping ...  (Read more)