Will the Next War Erupt in the Balkans?

• Will the Next War Erupt in the Balkans?
  by Justin Raimondo, April 26, 2017, http://antiwar.com/
  As the world focuses on the Middle Eastern and Korean flashpoints, the next war may not occur in either region, but rather in a replay of an old conflict that has been largely forgotten.
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  In an interview with Politico’s European edition, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama threatened war if Kosovo is denied entry into the European Union:
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  “Albania’s prime minister said a union between Albania and Kosovo cannot be ruled out if EU membership prospects for the Western Balkans fade.
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  “In an interview with Politico … Prime Minister Edi Rama said Europe would face ‘a nightmare’ if the Balkans ‘go crazy’ because EU accession is off the agenda, with the region becoming a ‘gray zone in which other actors have more influence than the European Union.’”
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  What does Rama mean by “go crazy”? Sounds like war to me. And that would clearly be the result of a merger between Kosovo and Albania, which Rama is threatening. Serbia would quickly act to ensure the safety of Kosovo’s beleaguered Serbian minority, in that event: and Russia, standing behind Belgrade, would back the Serbs.
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  The reluctance of the EU to admit both Kosovo and Bosnia is rooted in the brazenly undemocratic practices of these two thugocracies, where political violence, election fraud, and open corruption are routine.
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  Since the Kosovo war in 1999, a pan-Albanian movement that seeks to create a “Greater Albania” has spread throughout the region. In supporting Kosovo’s drive for independence, attacking the former Yugoslavia in the process, the US actively supported this movement both militarily and politically.
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  Now it is coming back to haunt us, threatening a replay of the Balkan conflict. In Kosovo, the biggest opposition party is determined to hold a referendum on unity with Albania, despite an explicit prohibition of this option in the country’s constitution. In neighboring Macedonia, sporadic terrorist activity by Albanian separatists has posed a threat to the unity of the country. In Bosnia, where the Muslims dominate the “multicultural” state, the Serbian minority seeks independence. And in Montenegro, they make demands for autonomy alongside a radical fringe advocating for “Greater Albania.” Not even Greece, portions of which are claimed by the Albanian ultra-nationalists, is immune. In short, the Albanian minorities across the region – radicalized by ultra-nationalist ideology – are a destabilizing factor.
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