Brit Marcus Tanner, right, at the UN press briefing Sarajevo. Marcus was one of the few foreign journalists who could speak the language, whatever it's called these days. There was no way for a journalist who did not speak the language and who was not acquainted with the cultures and mentalities involved to understand this war. The United States, as far as I can tell, no longer believes in input from area specialists. That's because they interfere with pressure politics from whoever has the juice. I met a guy who was raised in China and Korea (parents were missionaries) and who spoke a number of Asian languages. He was an early ambassador to North Korea. He said "politicians think area specialists are weirdos who tell jokes in unintelligible languages, eat strange food, and do wild dances with exotic women. And they are right!"