Kosovo sometimes referred to as the Fifty-First state of the
United States was from the beginning an American creation. It was part of
Washington's project to consolidate the power of NATO in the aftermath of the
Cold War.
During the 1990's, Serbia was made the paramount enemy as it
was the force within Europe that resisted American expansion. The historical
ally of Russia, Serbian dominated Yugoslavia was a nation that was broken and
increasingly dependent on the US. During the same decade the Serbs refused to
sign on with the West and as a consequence had to be broken. The US proceeded
to defeat its proxy state within secessionist Bosnia in 1995 and then in 1999
facilitated the secession of Kosovo – which proved to be almost an annexation
on the part of the United States.
It's a sordid tale of massacres, paramilitary groups, drug
militias, corrupt politicians and large-scale bombing. There was a refugee
crisis and manhunts for war criminals. It made for good news although in some
respects few were paying attention during the economic boom of the late 1990's
and the excitement over the rapid shifts in culture, lifestyle and technology.
And yet over twenty years later the regional tensions remain
as NATO failed to consolidate its power and Russia is no longer as weak as it
was. Additionally other players like Turkey with historical interest in the
region are starting to get involved. The region is becoming a cauldron of
ethnic and political tension. The Albanians who politically function as an extension
of US power continue to support US interests from Pristina and Tirana and the
large Albanian minority populations in neighbouring countries such as the newly
labeled North Macedonia persist in social and political agitation directed toward
Moscow's allies and Brussels' (Washington's) enemies.
Of course the situation is further complicated by the EU
which has at times existed in a somewhat tense relationship with Washington.
Under Obama things greatly improved and yet under Trump there's a great deal of
angst and confusion – which I'm certain is driving some career strategists and
diplomats to distraction as they feel the clock is ticking.
Once Milosevic was ousted in 2000 the West moved quickly to
install a puppet government and since then the Belgrade government has
officially been working toward moving the pariah nation into the camps of the
EU and NATO. And yet there are other forces at work in the country which seek
to block this process and so even twenty years later the situation with Serbia
remains in doubt.
The Kosovo article demonstrates the level at which the US is
involved in manipulate the Pristina government as it still seeks to control the
situation and the direction of the region. After 20+ years, it can be said that
there are forces within Kosovo that are growing weary of being a US satellite.
Washington is dismissive of Kosovar interests and to no one's surprise treats
its leaders as serving boys. The question is – will Kurti pay a price for his
public disobedience? Time will tell. If those within in Washington that manage
the Kosovo project can have free reign – then yes, Kurti will certainly face
correction. But if the Trump people are involved, who can tell? They serve
their own interests which tend to be more about aggrandising their image and
brand and of course there are the endless concerns for personal family rated
economic interests.
Thaçi is completely a creature of Washington and the powers
that be may turn to internal politics to solve the issue. While The Guardian
(in a brief paragraph) misrepresents the nature of the 1999 war and ignores the
context, they are right in pointing out the importance of land-swap
negotiations. The tension between Serbs and Albanians has not calmed over the
past two decades and in fact it's growing worse. A land swap may bring some
stability but there are many diplomats both in Washington and Brussels that are
concerned over such a prospect as it opens a can of worms. The European map is
a cobbled together politically negotiated settlement that does not reflect
history. While there were significant population transfers after World War II
creating somewhat homogeneous states (which had never existed before) there are
still beleaguered minorities and the contagion of irredentism and pent up
nationalism can quickly spread.
This is all the more a point of concern with Hungary, the
nation that lost over 2/3 of its territory after WWI and continues to advocate
for its minority populations in Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania. The nation also
lost significant swathes of territory to then Yugoslavia and a small province
to Austria. The EU doesn't want Viktor Orban nosing around in the Balkans or
using the land-swap-secession principles to agitate for the interests of
Hungarian minorities in neighbouring Central European and Balkan nations. And
that's just Viktor Orban. There are plenty of other examples.
And now there's Coronavirus which has the potential to rip
the region apart due to the economic damage it's causing. Thus far, the region
has escaped serious problems related to the pandemic and yet what will the
larger European economic fallout be? We don't know and yet it has the potential
to affect the full spectrum of the EU's footprint which would certainly include
the Balkans.
It's a situation that bears watching, all the more when one
considers that Western coverage of any Balkan crisis will be heavily biased and
I clearly remember walking into church (an OPC) in 1999 and hearing about
Kosovo from the mouths of members and even from the pulpit. I also remember
being rather frustrated as I did not believe the commentators were in
possession of the facts related to the historical context, nor were they aware
of what was happening in Europe in terms of post-Cold War policy. I had been
studying the issue for years and had been particularly motivated to do so as I
had been a logistical participant in the Bosnian campaign of 1995 – an event
that helped open my eyes and motivate me to get out of the military and break
with my hitherto Right-wing and nationalist political allegiances.
What they saw were refugees on the news and American
diplomats painting the Serbs as expressions of pure evil. The Serb leaders
Milosevic, Mladic and Karadzic were all evil players to be sure but the America
allies and proxies, the Albanians (including members of the KLA) and the Croats
were not much better. It was if ghosts from the past had reappeared and there
was a great deal of ugliness and horror on both sides. The Balkan Wars were a
spin job and you can be sure it will happen again.
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