The American foreign policy engagement on the Kosovo issue begins with the American Congressman Joseph DioGuardi since 1985, who succeeds in convincing congressional colleagues that the regime of Slobodan Milosevic exercises violence against the Albanian population in Kosovo. From the congressmen initially, the issue was dealt with as a violation of human rights and democratic negotiation. President Bush warns Slobodan Milosevic of using force in the event of a Kosovo conflict. The Dayton Accords set aside the Kosovo issue. This agreement obliges Kosovo Albanians to form the KLA as the only factor to protect from Serbian military, paramilitary, and police violence that exerts continuous violence and genocide against the Kosovo Albanian population. American foreign policy in coordination with the European community urgently seeks a peaceful conference between the parties to the conflict. Despite the organized peace conference, opposing sides do not reach an agreement between themselves and the international community convinces the Kosovar side to sign the deal and take military action against the Serbian army. The Rambouillet conference in france was organized by US President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. This attitude of American politics is proved by the agreement reached with the Albanian side and the NATO intervention in Kosovo. The failure of the US missionary Richard Holbrooke to convince Slobodan Milosevic forced the international community to intervene militarily against the Serbian army. On 24 March 1999, US President Bill Clinton ordered NATO Secretary General Javier Solana to commence airstrikes against Serbian military targets in the former Yugoslavia. After 78 days of air strikes Serbia finally accepts the agreement and signed it. On June 10, 1999, NATO was deployed in Kosovo and assumed the security of the country.
Keywords: American foreign policy, Kosovo, Rambouillet, agreement, NATO.
Table of Contents
1. Warning to Serbia ’’red line’’ by President George W. Bush about Kosovo
2. Kosovo issue at Deyton Conference on the former Yugoslavia
3. The Role of the US Diplomacy at Rambouillet Conference
4. Rambouillet Agreement and NATO Intervention
Objectives and Topics
This work examines the pivotal influence of American foreign policy on the trajectory of the Kosovo conflict, specifically analyzing how US diplomatic pressure and military engagement shaped the events leading up to the Rambouillet Conference and the subsequent NATO intervention in 1999.
- The role of US congressional advocacy in bringing the Kosovo issue to the forefront of international politics.
- The diplomatic transition from human rights concerns to active conflict mediation and "red line" warnings.
- The strategic impact and limitations of the Dayton Agreement regarding Kosovo.
- The complex negotiation processes at the Rambouillet Conference and the ultimate failure of peaceful diplomacy.
- The justification and execution of NATO military intervention as a response to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Excerpt from the Book
The Role of the US Diplomacy at Rambouillet Conference
The yaer 1999 began with a very dramatic situation for Kosovo. Serbian violence and terror had extended. On January 15 1999, the Serbian police and military forces had commited a ghoulish massacre in Reçak, municipality of Shtime, where 45 people were massacred, including children, women and old people. The US President Bill Clinton had condemned the massacre of Reçak with the most powerful words saying: “This is an intentional act and there is no justification about this” (Koha Ditore, 17.01.1999 ). Determination of the Contact Group, USA and EU agreed upon an international Conference on Kosovo conflict, and finally they achieved to get together the delegations of the two parties involved in conflict to start talks to reach an accepted agreement.
Both parties agreed that the international conference on Kosovo issue takes place on February 6, 1999. In the beginning, both delegations had almost opposite stands, where the talks developed in the political plan to continue than with the security one. It was very hard to achieve a draft agreement. Taking into account the delegations aggravation against their stands to reach an agreement from these talks, with the determination of the American Diplomacy, Contact Group and the negotiation representative at Conference, they had taken the most appropriate decision that the talks be postpone until the 23rd of February 1999. (Pepshi, 1999, 108) Blerim Shala, a Kosovo delegation member values the role of the US policy, who expresses that in this situation the Kosovar Albanians were saved because they achieved to prevent the end of the conference, stressing that “It was Mrs. Albright that saved us and the Rambouillet Conference”, who did not want to face with the failure of an international conference. (Shala, 2012, 95). The USA took over the role of prevalent with the main purpose to convince the Albanian delegation to accept the agreement.
Summary of Chapters
1. Warning to Serbia ’’red line’’ by President George W. Bush about Kosovo: This chapter highlights the initial focus of US foreign policy on human rights violations and the issuance of a formal warning to the Serbian regime regarding the use of force.
2. Kosovo issue at Deyton Conference on the former Yugoslavia: This section analyzes how the omission of the Kosovo issue in the 1995 Dayton Agreement contributed to escalating tensions and the eventual formation of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
3. The Role of the US Diplomacy at Rambouillet Conference: This chapter details the intensive diplomatic efforts led by the US and the Contact Group to bring the conflicting parties to the negotiating table following the Racak massacre.
4. Rambouillet Agreement and NATO Intervention: This chapter covers the breakdown of negotiations, the failure of final diplomatic missions, and the subsequent initiation of NATO air strikes leading to the deployment of international security forces.
Keywords
American foreign policy, Kosovo, Rambouillet, agreement, NATO, Slobodan Milosevic, Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, human rights, Kosovo Liberation Army, Dayton Agreement, Richard Holbrooke, military intervention, diplomacy, conflict resolution.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research focuses on the evolution and impact of American foreign policy regarding the crisis in Kosovo during the 1990s.
What are the primary thematic fields discussed?
Key themes include international diplomacy, human rights, the limitations of peace agreements, the role of military intervention, and the geopolitical transition in the Balkans.
What is the central research question?
The work aims to determine how American diplomatic engagement and strategic pressure influenced the resolution of the Kosovo conflict and the eventual intervention by NATO.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The study employs a qualitative analysis of historical documents, political speeches, official agreements, and relevant scholarly literature to trace the policy development.
What is addressed in the main body of the text?
The main body covers the timeline from early congressional awareness in 1985 to the aftermath of the 1999 NATO intervention, analyzing key turning points like the Dayton Agreement and the Rambouillet Conference.
Which keywords best characterize the study?
Central keywords include American foreign policy, Kosovo, Rambouillet, agreement, and NATO.
Why was the "Christmas Warning" of 1992 significant?
It marked a clear shift in US policy, establishing a "red line" and demonstrating that the US was prepared to use military force to protect the Albanian population from Serbian aggression.
What role did Madeleine Albright play in the Rambouillet Conference?
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright acted as a key diplomatic determinant, providing confidence to the Albanian delegation and exerting pressure to ensure the agreement was reached.
How did the failure of the Dayton Agreement affect the situation on the ground?
The neglect of the Kosovo issue at Dayton led to a loss of hope for a peaceful resolution among Albanians, which directly catalyzed the arming of the Kosovo Liberation Army and an increase in local violence.
What was the outcome of the Rambouillet negotiations for the Serbian side?
The Serbian rejection of the proposed agreement at Rambouillet led the international community to conclude that military intervention was the only remaining option to prevent further genocide.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Anonym (Autor:in), 2020, US Foreign Policy Interests on the Crisis and the Kosovo War, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/1143966
