If Kosovo - why not Vermont?

One could ask so many questions, why not Chechnya, why not Palestine, why not Taiwan.

Abraham Lincoln once answered those questions together with General William T. Sherman - the resounding answer was NO. From the bloodshed of the American War Between the States came the phrase total war - the wanton disregard for life and property of any civilians in the way of the greater Federal State.

Today, as the United States of America formally recognized the independence of Kosovo from the Serbian Republic many more questions than answers abound. While we do indeed recognize that in the course of human events it is sometimes necessary for one group of people to dissolve the political bonds that through time had bound them to another, it is noted in history that such dissolutions do not come without a price. Serbia has promised not to repress Kosovo's claim to independence by force of arms, yet history is replete with prior restraint giving way to open hostility if there is no other resolution to the conflict.

It is also not without note by this author that the seeds of the First World War were sown in the ethnic divisions of the Balkan region of Europe. And as recent as the 1990's these tensions spilled over into open conflict again. Whereas the latter episode was limited, it is important to understand that the underlying tension and the resulting claim by Kosovo are all tightly knit in a web of old East / West rivalry as well.

Surrounded by the context of other external tensions between the great powers - the Middle East being foremost - this issue is yet another minefield to navigate in a time when U.S. diplomacy is considerably less influential. Our strained military commitment in Iraq significantly weakens our position to hold back any large scale strategic challenges should they arise. And with this issue now having the potential for open warfare again in Europe - the days ahead will be fraught with great danger.