www.lesswrong.com/posts/ANLrj5GpD9xxJoQoN/you-don-t-know-what-you-are-made-of-ti...
1 correction found
Which was a warzone.
This trip is dated to about 2005 by the author's own comment, but the Kosovo war ended in June 1999. By late 2005 Serbia and Montenegro was engaged in EU accession-related negotiations, so calling Serbia a "warzone" at that time is inaccurate.
Full reasoning
On the same LessWrong page, the author later comments: "I'm 40 now. This is 21 years ago". Because the post was published on April 8, 2026, that places the trip around 2005.
That matters because the relevant war in and around Serbia had already ended years earlier. The UN Security Council press release for Resolution 1244, adopted on June 10, 1999, says Yugoslavia accepted peace principles including "an immediate end to violence" in Kosovo and a withdrawal of its forces, with international civil and security presences then established under UN auspices.
And by November 10, 2005, Serbia and Montenegro was not being described by official sources as an active war zone. Serbia's Ministry of European Integration states that the EU had already begun negotiations on a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with Serbia and Montenegro and describes ongoing parliamentary, administrative, and economic reforms. That is not consistent with Serbia itself being a warzone in 2005.
So while the region still had unresolved postwar political tensions, the statement that Serbia "was a warzone" at the time of this trip is factually wrong.
3 sources
- You don't know what you are made of till you've been stalked across three countries - LessWrong
In the comments on the post, the author writes: "I'm 40 now. This is 21 years ago". The post itself is dated 8th Apr 2026, placing the trip around 2005.
- SECURITY COUNCIL, WELCOMING YUGOSLAVIA'S ACCEPTANCE OF PEACE PRINCIPLES, AUTHORIZES CIVIL, SECURITY PRESENCE IN KOSOVO | UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases
On 10 June 1999 the Security Council welcomed Yugoslavia's acceptance of peace principles, including "an immediate end to violence" in Kosovo and a withdrawal of military, police and paramilitary forces.
- MEI - News - Key findings of the 2005 Progress Reports on Serbia and Montenegro and Kosovo
"On 10 October 2005, the EU began negotiations on an SAA with Serbia and Montenegro." The page discusses parliamentary legitimacy, public administration reform, and economic conditions in 2005.