Montenegrins have voted for full independence from Serbia. The last time an independent Montenegro existed delegates were gearing up for Versailles following The Great War. Serbia, which annexed Montenegro in 1919, will also likely watch Kosovo become an independent state in the not-to-distant future. But as the old order further dissolves, the work of the U.S. and the EU isn't done -- far from it. Small failed states clustered together in the Balkans can be just as bad as one large failed state. Overwhelmingly Muslim Kosovo, in particular, is very much pro-U.S. and having a vibrant, democratic pro-US Kosovo is obviously in our national security interest. But its economy is poor and civil society weak. The Bush administration and its successor should avoid putting Kosovo and the region as a whole on the back burner of American policy or five years or so from now we may be asking, "Who lost the Balkans?"
Daniel McKivergan
Serbia and Montenegro, RIP
Montenegrins have voted for full independence from Serbia. The last time an independent Montenegro existed delegates were gearing up for Versailles following The Great War. Serbia, which annexed Montenegro in 1919, will also likely watch Kosovo become an independent state in the not-to-distant…
Daniel McKivergan · May 22, 2006
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