Kosovo Declares Independence

POSTED BY Chris Broussard, 17 February 2008

That's right: Kosovo has formally declared its independence from Serbia, bringing to an end its awkward association with the country that brutally repressed the Majority-Muslim region ten years ago.  The Serbians and Russians have been opposed to the move, calling it a breach of international law and warning it will encourage other separatist movements. 

Kosovars have taken to the streets in celebration, waving their new flag, setting off fireworks, and - get this - carrying posters of Bill Clinton and chanting "Thank you, USA!" and "God Bless America!"  And they've made a ten-foot tall, bronze statue of him to place in the capital city... on Bill Clinton Blvd.  Ann Althouse jokingly suggests that the Kosovars are campaigning for Hillary. 

But it raises a couple good points: war can solve some problems; internationalism makes a big difference; and a military occupation can bring peace and a stable government to a region (but it just may take a decade). 

I do find it a bit ironic that the strong-on-national-defense Republican Party so botched up Iraq (twice), while the pansy Democrats - led by a President who was widely criticized for not serving in the military - orchestrated such a huge success in Kosovo.