Given the present complex ethnic, social and political situation in the region of the former Yugoslavia, and taking into account the other regional Balkan rivalries, what path should be taken by the EU, NATO and the UN to develop a stable and peaceful environment in the former Yugoslavia for the long-term?
Defining their New Roles: EU, NATO, and UN
The genocide has been silenced, and in fact, the outbreak of violence throughout the Balkans has, for the most part, been carefully contained. The fighting in Bosnia has ceased, Kosovo too, for that matter, and fighting between security forces and Albanian rebels has been minimized in Macedonia. With the possibility of EU and NATO membership now hovering above them, all the countries that were carved out of the former Yugoslavia had their "carrots" placed on the string by the European Union and the United States. So, is the peace secure? Have the Balkans finally found stability after so many years of turmoil?
As an American serving in the American military, I would like to suggest that the Balkans have finally been stabilized.
NATO Summit in Riga, November 2006
English: The Western Balkans.
The Balkan peninsula as defined by the Soča-Krka-...Additionally, as America continues its "War on Terrorism" with campaigns in Afghanistan (and possibly soon Iraq), and the situation continuing to spiral into a hopeless state in the Israel-Palestine conflict, I would also like to suggest that the Balkans are no longer an American concern. Unfortunately, I do not think either of the preceding comments are so easily said off-the-cuff, and without presenting a very strong argument (which is a feeble attempt at best), could just as easily be ignored. However, I feel there is some basis of truth in them both--with the emerging force that the EU has become, and the path to obscurity that NATO finds itself on, there are definite roles required for all parties...