Ethnic rivalries, demanding to be united in a homeland that preserves their culture and language is something that we hear usually in the context of Africa and the Middle East. Those conquered lands were drawn up arbitrarily in order to keep colonial rule, and the export of natural materials flowing.
Now in some parallel universe it is Europe that keeps popping up with ethnic minorities that desire the self determination of a homeland, never mind that they had one once and it got taken over because some states aren’t viable as independent countries. Translation: you got conquered way back when because of superior numbers, technology, and strategy; how will this time be different?
While the Balkans is technically Europe they have not behaved like it except when they were under the control of the USSR, of course that was because soviets would kill everybody if trouble started up. Not the most imaginative way to solve a problem but, if it works it can’t be too awful right?
Now fast forward and we have the people of Kosovo, who are now wanting their own country in order to prevent the violence they suffered at the hands of the Serbians under Milosevic. (Fun Fact: Republicans called Clinton’s involvement in the area irresponsible and unnecessary, and felt that any foreign involvement without a clear exit strategy was treasonable. Now it is patriotic.)
The problem with Kosovo getting a country, is that it does set a bad precedent to other parts of Europe beyond the Balkans. Spain for example has existed as a conglomerate of several different ethnic groups. Portugal was the one that got away, and got to be its own country back when burning witches was cool. The most modern day independent of these have been the Basques who have used terrorist tactics in order to force the issue of independence.
Now to be fair they have calmed down the bombing bit because the followers of Islam seem to have that market of negative press cornered. The invisible hand of the market does work in mysterious ways after all. Kosovo getting its independence would be a very sticky international allowance of the Basques getting their own country. Especially if Venezuela decides to mount a pre-emptive strike.
Then of course we have the lovely people of Chechnya, who have been trying to rid themselves of Russian rule since, lets say 1234 because it is a nice number. Chechnyans don’t mind the violence so much, cause nothing will make the Russians be sympathetic to your cause than killing women and children. They must have taken classes at the Palestinian University of Kaboom.
Then of course there is the outsider of the European Union Turkey, which I favorably call the good Muslims, because they use their military to attack radicals, not funding them to blow themselves up at Western Embassies. They have a problem with the Kurds that has lasted since Alexander the Great left.
Now I support the Kurds, they don’t harbor terrorists to attack America, they are one of the few ethnic groups that are hated as much as the Israelis are in that part of the world. They don’t resent us for Daddy Bush telling them to rise against Saddam’s regime and then turning around and saying helicopters are cool to fly in the no-fly zones, thus cutting the Kurds to ribbons.
But they still don’t get their own country. Now I understand having an economically weak, militarily underfunded, only natural resource is sand, has worked for Jordan all these years, but a united stable Iraq would be better for everyone. Excluding of course the people who die in the ethnic cleansing non-civil war they have.
What I am saying is this, we expect this kind of mess from other places in the World. Europe has always thought of itself as better, having royals marry their relations does that to people, look at Kansas, but keep it together Man, You’re Europe For God’s Sake.
