One Balkan country seems sorry the Kosovo war is over: Albania.
Albania not only hosted swarms of desperate Kosovar refugees, but was a base for NATO troops, including the never-used 24 U.S. Apache helicopters, and a transit point for supplies and peacekeeping troops going into Kosovo once the Serb military pulled out.Albania is a hard-luck country, and the measure of that is that the arrival of refugees and foreign troops was considered a turn for the better. And now everybody is leaving.
Albania is the poorest country in Europe, ignored when it is remembered at all. For 41 years after World War II, it was a hermit state ruled by a crackpot communist dictator. With the collapse of the communist government, which in its paranoia left behind no sustainable institutions, Albania collapsed into chaos and anarchy. And war then fortuitously broke out next door.
Now, the Albanian government is asking NATO and its U.S. troops to stay on permanently, not only for the economic benefits but for the sense of stability and inclusion in Europe their presence brings. They, in fact, are desperate to have the troops stay, which is possibly why the parliament proposes to make President Clinton an honorary Albanian citizen. In its own offbeat way, Albania has paid a real tribute to the quality and purpose of the NATO alliance.
The request is not without self-interest. The Albanians were promised economic assistance in exchange for their cooperation and have presented a $3 billion wish list of road, rail and power projects. Insofar as those projects are worthwhile and can be reasonably accomplished -- the country is plagued with endemic theft and corruption -- the European Union and NATO should try to comply.
NATO fretted about its role in the post-Cold War era; Albania seems to have found one.