From: Miroslav Antic <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: NATO'S UNCERTAIN COMMITMENT IN THE BALKANS [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK] Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- NATO'S UNCERTAIN COMMITMENT IN THE BALKANS *** (Editor's Note: The bombing of Serbia and Kosovo escalated NATO involvement in the Balkans, but its military and peacekeeping presence have increased without a strategic plan. Now NATO has stepped into the civil conflict in Macedonia, but its credibility as a force for pluralistic governance is being questioned throughout the region. Most agree that international peacekeepers are needed, but thus far NATO's peacekeeping commitment to Macedonia appears flawed, shortsighted, and half-hearted. As part of FPIF's Self-Determination and Governance project, we are looking closely at solutions to ethnic conflicts such as those in Macedonia. In a new commentary produced as part of that effort, Robert Greenberg, who recently returned from an extended stay in Macedonia, concludes: "The alternative to the presence of a fully engaged NATO is bleak. If NATO would withdraw without guaranteeing a peaceful resolution, fighting could easily break out again. If NATO does not take its peacekeeping role seriously now, it will likely need to return to Macedonia with more troops in the not-too-distant future. Concerted action is needed now to prevent yet another region in the Balkans from being traumatized by an appalling ethnic war." To read the entire commentary and other analysis about self-determination issues, visit FPIF's self-determination page: http://www.fpif.org/selfdetermination/index.html.) _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
