At a time when America’s image among ordinary Muslims is overwhelmingly negative, Kosovo stands as a unique example of a country where Muslims wave the American flag with pride. The small Muslim country consistently ranks as one of the most pro-American nations in the world due to past US intervention. It would be foolish for America to ignore the one place where our military intervention was met with sincere gratitude, and where our values and flag are respected to this day.
Beginning after the Second World War, Kosovo and its ethnic Albanian population were under the tight control of Yugoslav authorities. Their language, culture, and Islamic practices were all suppressed. After the fall of Yugoslavia in the 90’s, its Serbian-dominated successor state, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, cracked down even harder on Kosovo, prompting its Albanian population to take up arms in the form of the Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës (UÇK), the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). In 1996, the KLA began an insurgency, attacking Yugoslav police stations and government offices. However, before the creation of the KLA, Kosovo had already been inching towards independence through the creation of new Kosovo-specific government institutions that rivaled Belgrade’s. Nevertheless, in 1998, fighting between the KLA and Yugoslav forces erupted into a full-scale conventional war. While both sides committed atrocities, Yugoslav forces would be responsible for a vast majority of them, specifically carrying out the ethnic cleansing and massacre of Albanian Kosovars.
These crimes would not be ignored. In June of 1998, President Bill Clinton, horrified at Yugoslav atrocities and worried about the condition of displaced Kosovars in the ensuing winter, declared a national emergency. Through the latter half of 1998 and the beginning of 1999, peace talks would fail due to Belgrade's rejection of any post-war NATO administration over Kosovo. NATO geared up for a direct military intervention with the stated goal of “Serbs out, peacekeepers in, refugees back.” The air campaign crippled Yugoslav forces and led to Yugoslavia accepting NATO terms and withdrawing from Kosovo.
Since then, Kosovo has enjoyed a robust NATO security presence and full recognition from the United States and European allies following its declaration of independence in 2008. However, Kosovo is unique in its unconditional gratitude and love for the United States as a Muslim-majority country. The streets of its capital, Pristina, are adorned with countless American flags. On the honorifically-named Bill Clinton Boulevard in Pristina, an 11-foot statue of Bill Clinton was erected; behind the statue is a giant draped American flag. Unlike in many other Muslim-majority countries, this gratitude for American intervention is not seen. So what gives?
First, Kosovo holds a composite and coherent identity that, unlike most Muslim countries, makes it naturally inclined to align with the West. Kosovo is distinctly European, sharing many cultural traditions with other Southern European groups. Kosovo embraces many European ideals like classical liberalism, democracy, and equality. However, it’s also distinctly Islamic. Its residents follow a more moderate version of Hanafi Sunni Islam, rendering the country absent from the influences of Salafi radicalization. This combination of Europeanism and moderate Islam helps keep its shared European ideals at the forefront of civic and political life while simultaneously staying true to its Islamic identity. This combination aligns Kosovo with the liberal democratic West while maintaining a cultural bridge to the Muslim world. Moreover, the tiny country directly counters the notion that the West’s values of democracy and classical liberalism are not compatible with Islamic practice. Kosovo proves that religion is not determinative of civilizational allegiance; rather, culture, civic identity, and history are.
Finally, American intervention in Kosovo was swift and welcomed by the local population. By contrast, our intervention in Iraq faced drawn-out insurgencies and foreign meddling from actors such as Iran. This made our military victories there less decisive compared to our victories in Kosovo. But amid growing disillusionment with American interventionism, our policymakers would be remiss to forget the resounding success of American intervention in Kosovo. Our interventions are not perfect, but the growing “Iraq Syndrome” undermines our national security and moral role; swift campaigns like Kosovo’s show that decisive action can save lives and build lasting goodwill. Not only did the United States gain a new ally in the region, but we also saved countless lives while helping build a Muslim-majority country, further proving America isn’t an enemy of the Muslim world.
To this day, Kosovars continue to have faith in us, even as others have lost faith in our foreign policy and our ability to intervene in humanitarian disasters. America is a moral power, and Kosovo stands as a shining example of our ability to transform nations in our image and spread American values. Kosovo knows that America is great because America is good; let us be the Americans that Kosovars know us to be.
