Kosovo Declaring Independence a Bad Thing

Most American would probably say they support Kosovo's declaration of independence. But I have changed my mind since originally reading about it. Although we believe in the rights of individuals for self government, we have to be careful how we handle these situations. I would liken Kosovo declaring independence to if the Kurdish region of Iraq declared independence. Both can site oppression and ethnic cleansing by a former government. Both are ethnically different than the rest of their country. But we would not support the Kurdish part of Iraq from declaring its independence. Both situations would cause less stability in their regions.

Would the Serbs be justified in using force to keep Kosovo part of Serbia? Yes. The United States used force in the civil war to keep the South as part of the United States. We justified our use of force on the basic principle that a Nation State has the right to do what is necessary to keep itself together.

The other problem is that if Kosovo is allowed to become independent without the approval of Serbia, then what will happen in other parts of the world? Will Chechnya follow suit? What about areas in Europe that are ethnically one nationality, but their territory is in another country? (Anyone remember how Hitler justified annexing territories in France and Poland because the people living there were Germanic?)

Although we love to see people fighting for their rights and throwing off other peoples control, as a nation, we need to do what is the right thing for the world. We must not encourage independence in this situation

Kosovo declares independence

As Hillary Clinton makes the case for the return of a Clinton presidency, we are seeing echoes of one of the legacies of the first President Clinton. A decade after the end of the war in Bosnia, Kosovo has declared independence from Serbia. So far, the Serbians are angry, but vowing to oppose the move only diplomatically. But in the Powder Keg of Europe, can we ever be sure we are far from war?