Izetbegovic was not the first to consider declaring independence from Yugoslavia. As the tensions between the republics continued to mount, both Slovenia and Croatia devised plans to withdraw from the federation. However, Milosevic was vociferously opposed to their leaving the union, for he could see that their departure would seriously weaken the federation, thereby undermining his own power in Europe. Consequently, the Serbian president decried all moves toward independence as illegal moves of secession, amounting to civil war. He argued that Slovenia and Croatia had a legal tie to Yugoslavia and could not simply break that tie when it suited them.

Despite Milosevic's protests, on June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia each declared their formal independence from Yugoslavia. The Serb-dominated Yugoslav government reacted to these acts of secession by sending the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) to Slovenia in an attempt to force that republic back into the union...