I cannot conceive, nor has it been posed, what we intend to gain by supporting Kosovar independence from Serbia. I have said several times in these pages there is only the obvious desire to show our “even-handedness” to Muslims. We really have no dog in this race. We may get a military base out of this, but with a few thousand troops in the area, we have that already.

We have used the United Nations to conspire the break-up of a member nation for no clear reason other than to gain favor with terrorists. Kosovo is the United States’ Balkan Tragedy.

UPDATE:

 Let me preface this by saying I do not agree with current US policy on Kosovo. This alarms a lot of my GOP peers, but our reasons for supporting the arbitrary carving of an independent nation in the southern Slavic region are strictly driven to appease the Muslim Street. Not only is that ridiculous - it won’t work.

However, I look at this particular article and wonder why it is slanted as if Russia’s stance on the issue is somehow a surprise.

Russia goes its own way

If the deadlock in the UN Security Council over the final status of Kosovo signals any future trends, it is that Russia has finally dispensed with any lingering beliefs that it should work with the United States to set the global agenda.

One of the legacies that Vladimir Putin bequeaths to his successor is Russia’s changed position in the world. Moscow no longer has any interest in making minor modifications to a policy largely predetermined in Washington. And the principal beneficiary of this changed perception may be Iran.

“Russia has finally dispensed…”?

Only the most myopic would think Russia would side with the US on this particular issue. Only the slightly less myopic would tend to believe Russia is going to side with the US, in the UNSC, on much of anything else. The US and Russia tend to be on opposite sides of most issues being presided over in the UN, since many of these issues tend to impact one or the other nation or its surrogates. These are matters of influence for Russia or the US in most cases - or are matters related to support for an ally.

The IHT article linked above makes it sound like Russia is defying the US giant - but the world better recognize that Russia is a world power still, and becoming stronger.

My curiosity has been steeping lately about Kosovo, mostly because of writings by Mike Averko, Walid Phares, and others. I have been doing a great deal of reading about the hisotry of the region, and the events which have led us where we are today. My conclusion remains that mandating an independent Kosovo is going to blow up in our faces.  Kosovo is already autonomous and functions as an independent state in most respects.

Germany is a mighty advocate for Kosovo to become an independent stat and to follow in the footsteps of other newly created nations in the region; specifically to join the EU. Germany’s reason for this appears to be based upon a foreign policy decision in 1990 to become a stabilizing force in Europe. Perhaps this is an oversimplification, but you can decide that.

The United States is involved in pushing for Kosovar independence with no clear policy reason. I, and others, assume this stance on Kosovo is related to an attempt to show the Muslim world that the US is not “anti-Muslim”.

Something which strikes me first is how “Four Powers” - ish the entire Kosovo argument has become. Germany, Russia, France, UK, and the United States have exerted their influence in the region to attempt to bring about their individual desired results. However, I don’t detect a great deal of concern for the effects of these foreign policy stances on the inhabitants of the region.

Continue reading Kosovo - Self-Determination?…

In my house, we still watch Red Skelton. My kids love the characters portrayed by that lovable comedian. Red Skelton was also a conservative, who believed in protecting traditional family values in America. In 1969, Mr. Skelton was wont to speak out against the attacks on these values - attacks more virulent today than every.  Some of us may have forgotten what this pledge means - allow Red Skelton to explain it again.

Thanks, Uncle Don!

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