THE LAST WORD
George F. Will
Kosovo’s Dark Meaning
The United States, which quickly recognized Kosovo's independence, has not always been so tolerant of the principle of secession.
In 1915, a year after a spark struck in the Balkans ignited a European conflagration, Walter Lippmann, then 26, wrote: "When you consider what a mystery the East Side of New York is to the West Side, the business of arranging the world to the satisfaction of the people in it may be seen in something like its true proportions." Recently, another Balkan rearranging occurred—Kosovo's secession from Serbia. The disintegration of Yugoslavia, a "nation" largely created by Woodrow Wilson, is complete.
Before World War I ended, Wilson embraced "self-determination," not knowing he was sowing dragons' teeth. His secretary of State knew. Robert Lansing wondered "what unit has he in mind? Does he mean a race, a territorial area or a community?" He said the "undigested" phrase "self-determination" was "loaded with dynamite." On Sept. 26, 1938, a World War I corporal happily agreed.
Pressing the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia on behalf of the Sudeten Germans, Hitler proclaimed: "At last, nearly 20 years after the declarations of President Wilson, the right of self-determination for these three and a half million must be enforced." Because of the havoc Hitler had unleashed on behalf of Germans outside Germany, in 1944 Churchill endorsed—with Roosevelt and Stalin agreeing—ethnic cleansing. Postwar stability would be built by scrubbing Germans from non-German countries. "Expulsion," said Churchill, "is the method which ... will be the most satisfactory and lasting."
Jerry Z. Muller, a Catholic University historian, writing in Foreign Affairs on "the enduring power of ethnic nationalism," notes that "massive ethnic disaggregation" in Europe—often using "radically illiberal measures"—has followed the dissolution of three multiethnic empires, the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Romanov, into nations. Making ethnic communities roughly congruent with national borders both reflected and reinforced the belief that ethnically homogenous nations would be internally harmonious and pacific toward neighbors.
Ethnic sorting-out has produced a Europe in which more nations than ever have a single ethnicity. The subsequent fate of three exceptions to that rule—Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia—"demonstrated the ongoing vitality of ethnonationalism." Muller says "the fact that ethnic and state boundaries now largely coincide" has produced "the most stable territorial configuration in European history." This homogenization, Muller believes, has taken a toll on Europe's cultural vitality: "With few Jews in Europe and few Germans in Prague, there are fewer Franz Kafkas." Most Europeans, having no interest in Kafka, probably think cultural blandness is a price worth paying for peace. But peace might be a casualty of the principle behind Kosovo's secession—the "right" of ethnic self-determination.
Before Lawrence Eagleburger was secretary of State, he was ambassador to Yugoslavia. Serbians, he says, have behaved badly and perhaps deserve their loss. For a millennium, however, before the population shifts of the past 50 years produced an Albanian and Muslim majority in Kosovo, it had a Serbian majority and was the heart of old Serbia. More than 160,000 Serbians remain in Kosovo, at the mercy of Kosovars, who are, in the Balkan tradition, imperfectly merciful.
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Member Comments
Posted By: getzel @ 04/11/2008 11:44:47 PM
Comment: George Will is a USA government Minister of miss information.
The spark George refers to was an excuse and a well planned one at that, not a spark. The Moscow weapons company, then operating under the Czar, wanted: free access through the Bosporus straits and Constantinople; France wanted Alsace-Lorraine; both wanted a European war to achieve their goals; and they got one. Moscows, precursor to the KGB, armed and assisted in whipping up a nationalistic fervor in Serbia against Austria. Franz Ferdinand was caught in the Turkey shoot on June 28, 1914; France and Russia rushed to war almost before the dust settled and Russia was mobilized and moving by July 24 before Serbia responded to the Austrian ultimatum. Bosnia and Herzegovina had been annexed by Austria in 1908 because Russia encouraged Austria to annex them, while at the same time Russia was telling Serbia how bad the annexation was and that Serbia better stand up to Austria.
Ethnic nationalism predated the Great War by a generation.
So Why does the Government Minister of miss information, George Will, go on to tell us about nationalism and self determination after the war?
We must assume this is the governments way of telling us about a coming war.
Source material: C J H Hayes: A brief History of the Great War 1920
A F Pollard: A Short History of The Great War 1917. J S Bassett our War With Germany 1919.
No, the USA should not take actions that result in the implementation of a Sharia terrorist government; in Kosovo, the West Bank, Gaza, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Lebanon, et al. A representative government is fine provided the people of the area want one; not fine at the point of a gun. Kosovo is a Sharia terrorist government today: bad policy. The Hamas independent government in Gaza is a Sharia terrorist government; likewise West Bank; likewise Lebanon if Hizbully gets it, Likewise Iran since Jimmy brought the Ayatollah, watch out or you get one in Pakistan; et al
It is never the moral high ground to assist in imposing a Sharia terrorist government on people that always includes: honor killing, hanging gays, women as chattel: virtual slaves, legal to murder & rape & pillage non -Muslims; that is the moral low ground. Yes, these throwbacks to the seventh century should be confronted or you get a burqa, will bow to Mecca or be killed.
Why Will George not write about Condoleezza Rice and the Oil Supertanker with her name on it; OK they erased her name so she could go in politics;
Islam is at war with The West because Islam can not survive a free market, free speech to criticize Islam world, representative Republic.
The governments of the world led by the USA and Russia and international law, have defined a set of war rule parameters that guarantee no war can be won by good guys and that guarantee nice long lasting wars with lots of weapons sales.
Intelligence analyst: Getzel
Posted By: Ellinas @ 04/01/2008 10:46:14 PM
Comment: I just wanted to add as information to the forum that the Arvanites of Southern Greece do not consider themselves Albanian because they have been incorporated into the Greek melting pot for generations and hundreds of years. This is what I meant about "feeling" Greek regardless of blood. They are now simply Greek and don't want to hear anything more about it. Unlike the muslim Chams who fled into Albania after WW2.
Posted By: Ellinas @ 04/01/2008 10:36:27 PM
Comment: altin36: Let's agree to disagree about Greeks being brainwashed by our Church. And I never claimed that we are direct descendants of our Ancients. However, being Greek is different than blood genaelogy: it is about "feeling" Greek which is more important. The rest is simply easy to fall into place once this exists, including fervent patriotism for anything Greek. We are similar to the US in the matter of being a historic melting pot. Look how seriously we defend our Macedonian history and heritage. I will also disagree with you regarding Greece's view of "Northern Epirus". While historically during the creation of our Republic, there was the idea of a Greater Greece (Megali Idea: Big Idea), and during communism a need to "protect" our fellow Greeks in Albania, there is no modern movement to take any Albanian land by any serious person. As far as I am concerned, we have no major "Albanian" problem in our country or yours. Except for maybe what the Greeks are to do with all those illegal immigrants.
You may be right about Kosovo not joining Albania...yet. Perhaps it will need to be separate for the moment to act as leverage (2 Albanian areas instead of one on the international stage). But eventually, I think it will join. It would be interesting what will happen when the Albanians of FYROM and Montenegro decide to act more loudly. Also, it will be interesting to see what the Serbs in Mitrovica will decide to do. How much can you cut down an area so the minority becomes a majority before this becomes just silly? I wish that both you and your Serbian neighbours find a mutual and acceptable solution.