You can Always Pass on Prishtina

Back when I lived in Russia, Kosovo was big news. The Russians were really pissed off that NATO was bombing Serbia for its actions in the Serbian province of Kosovo. The Serbs were trying to drive out ethnic Albanians, usually Muslims, in favor of ethnic Serbs, usually Orthodox Christians.

This would make Kosovo, a historic center of unrest, more palatable to direct rule from Belgrade. It also parallels Russia’s ageless problems with Chechnya. There, ethnic Muslims have historically fought against Moscow’s Orthodox Christian rule.

NATO would have none of that though, and bombed Belgrade to convince Slobodan Milosevic that he should let Kosovo become and independent country. Only Americans would think this anything but a dangerous precedent. Europe is filled with concentrated minorities that all want independence, mainly on religious or ethnic lines. Kosovo is a perfect example.

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