US ambassador under fire for comment on Slovenia's independence war

Two Slovenian veterans' associations strongly criticized on Friday U.S. Ambassador to Slovenia Joseph Mussomeli for his improper statement over Slovenian independence war. In their strongly-worded joint statement, the Associations of Veterans of the War for Slovenia, and the police veterans' group Sever said that they would "not allow anyone to insult Slovenia." In an interview with local broadcaster POP TV earlier this week, Mussomeli said that Slovenia might have won its independence "too easily." "Ten people died in the war...I think that when you bleed together, when you suffer together, when you struggle together, you have more of a sense of national identity," he said. In response, the two Slovenian veterans' associations demanded the top U.S. diplomat make "a clear apology to all the victims of the war and their families." The two organizations also welcomed the Foreign Ministry's decision to summon the U.S. ambassador for talks on Thursday. Mussomeli's statements were "unnecessary and inappropriate," said the then Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar. The Slovenian Independence War, or the 10-Day War, was a civil war in former Yugoslavia that followed the Slovenian declaration of independence on 25 June 1991. More than 300 people were reportedly killed and wounded during the war which started from June 27, 1991 and ended on July 7, 1991. Mussomeli, U.S. ambassador to Slovenia since October 2010, has been criticized for his frequent public statements on issues and challenges faced by the Slovenian society. In 2013, some Slovenian diplomats accused Mussomeli of inappropriate interfering with internal politics of Slovenia.