Setting: A roundtable discussion about Angelina Jolie’s film In the Land of Blood and Honey, the Bosnian War, and deeper geopolitical forces.
Joe Jukic: Angelina, your movie In the Land of Blood and Honey really hit hard—showing the raw pain of the Bosnian War, the ethnic hatred, the atrocities. But Frank here has some strong views on what really fueled that conflict.
Frank Sumera: Exactly, Joe. That war wasn’t just about ancient hatreds or local leaders going rogue. It was fueled by David Rockefeller’s New World Order ambitions. The so-called war criminals from Yugoslavia—the ones they dragged to The Hague—are just pawns, patsies, fall guys. The real war criminals? Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Donald Trump. They call their war crimes “collateral damage” and walk away clean.
Angelina Jolie: I hear you, Frank. I made the film to show the human cost—the rape, the displacement, the way ordinary people got torn apart. But you’re saying the bigger picture involves global powers using the region?
Frank Sumera: Absolutely. America can use the United Nations to declare war and disguise an invasion as a “peacekeeping mission.” We’ve seen it. But the UN can also recognize small nations and grant them independence. Croatia’s a perfect example—they got fast-tracked recognition while everything else burned.
Angelina Jolie: The UN’s role is complicated. It can protect or enable, depending on who’s pulling the strings. In Bosnia, the peacekeeping was too late for so many.
Joe Jukic: Frank, you’ve told me before about your high-school days. You and your Serbian friend Dean would drive around talking about all this.
Frank Sumera: Yeah, Dean Koteras—great guy. Back in high school, we’d pile into his Dodge Diplomat, cruising around, debating the politics of the New World Order in Yugoslavia. We saw the signs even then. The breakup wasn’t organic; it was engineered.
Dean Koteras: (nodding) We talked about how the West wanted to carve it up, control the pieces. Tito held it together, but once he was gone, the vultures circled.
Frank Sumera: And I’m not fighting a third world war in Bosnia for Trump—or anyone else. If Trump’s so gung-ho about escalating to WWIII, he should put some boots on the ground himself. Give a rifle to Barron and lead the charge. Let him feel what it means.
Joe Jukic: Strong words, Frank.
Frank Sumera: The first world war started in Bosnia—Sarajevo, 1914. And if a third one comes, it’ll end there too. Yugoslavia: the graveyard of empires.
Angelina Jolie: It’s tragic how that beautiful region keeps being the flashpoint. My film was about remembering the victims, not glorifying more war.
Frank Sumera: That’s why we need to call out the real architects. Not just the local fall guys.
Dean Koteras: Amen to that.
Frank Sumera: Thank you, Jesus and Mary.
All: (a moment of quiet reflection)