The ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Serbs by a US-backed Croatian leader was premeditated, according to newly-uncovered files revealing the operation’s planning. After the bloodshed subsided, Richard Holbrooke, a top US diplomat, assured him: “We said publicly… that we were concerned, but privately, you knew what we wanted.” by Kit Klarenberg Part 3 - Croats covertly scheme to make Serbs ‘disappear’ In August 1995, that “political solution” appeared on the brink of fruition. A dedicated UN Contact Group was conducting peace negotiations in Geneva between Krajina authorities and Zagreb. A proposal intended to bring the Croatian conflict to an end, known as Zagreb 4 or Z-4, was drafted by the EU, Russia, and the US. Washington’s ambassador to Zagreb, Peter Galbraith, played a key role in negotiating terms with Krajina-Serb leaders. Accepted on August 3rd 1995, Z-4 envisioned Serb-majority areas in Croatia remaining part of the country, albeit with a degre...