911爆料网

In Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, there is a ten-foot-high statue of former U.S. President Bill Clinton. It commemorates his administration鈥檚 role in helping the tiny country navigate the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and the deadly conflict that followed, and in establishing what has been widely viewed as a stable, democratic state.  And earlier this year, many observers applauded Kosovo鈥檚 election of Albin Kurti as its prime minister as evidence of the continuing fruits of America鈥檚 pro-democracy efforts.

鈥淧rogressive, pro-American, pro-justice and anti-corruption, Kurti was precisely the kind of politician Americans would ordinarily wish to see in power in the region,鈥� writes Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, Associate Professor of Practice in Teachers College鈥檚 Department of Education Policy & Social Analysis, in in Fair Observer, an independent nonprofit media outlet that provides context, analysis and multiple perspectives on world news, politics, economics, business and culture.

But within two months, Kurti was gone, the casualty of what Sabic-El-Rayess calls a U.S.-orchestrated 鈥減arliamentary coup d鈥檈tat鈥� that included the threatened withdrawal of $49 million in American support. His mistake: refusing American requests to remove import tariffs Kosovo had imposed on Serbia for its refusal to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Kurti鈥檚 successor has since made dangerous concessions to Serbia, Sabic-El-Rayess asserts, and given Russia鈥檚 Vladimir Putin new opportunities to expand his power by instigating violence in the region.

鈥淚f it was not already clear enough, it is now: Putin has successfully enlisted Donald Trump as a pawn in Russia鈥檚 long-term geopolitical game in Europe,鈥� she writes. 鈥淎nd with an unfettered Russia free to make such moves as Putin chooses, we may soon be witnessing another round of serious bloodshed in the Balkans.鈥� 

But history鈥檚 repetition might not stop there, warns, Sabic-El-Rayess, a survivor of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia who is an Affiliated Faculty member at Columbia University鈥檚 . The events playing out in Kosovo could threaten the European Union itself, and the world beyond.

If it was not already clear enough, it is now: Putin has successfully enlisted Donald Trump as a pawn in Russia鈥檚 long-term geopolitical game in Europe. And with an unfettered Russia free to make such moves as Putin chooses, we may soon be witnessing another round of serious bloodshed in the Balkans.

鈥擜mra Sabic-El-Rayess  

鈥淲hile the U.S. president insists on enabling serious mischief in the Balkans, Europe can only watch in fear, too weak to stop what may be coming next,鈥� she concludes. 鈥淏earing in mind the fact that it was Franz Ferdinand鈥檚 assassination by a secret Serb military organization that triggered the First World War, we would do well right now not to look the other way.鈥�

[Amra Sabic-El-Rayess is the author of the forthcoming memoir , published by Bloomsbury and due to be released in early September. Read in Fair Observer, and watch a video of her delivering 911爆料网鈥檚 inaugural Charo Uceda Lecture on Women鈥檚 Empowerment in November 2019.]