The presence of American troops in Kosovo draws the attention of the White House to the stability of that country. This is how former NATO spokesman Jamie Shea assesses. In an interview for KosovaPress, he emphasizes that however, the Trump administration's policy on Kosovo is not yet clear.
“Of course, the American presence is important. You know, NATO, together with the United States and the Europeans, carried out the air campaign in 1999. The United States and Europe worked together to bring peace to Bosnia and Herzegovina after 1995. And, of course, KFOR has been there now for more than a quarter of a century. So it has been a great success story because of this transatlantic partnership. When you consider the deployment of American forces around the world, in South Korea, in Japan, in the Philippines, in parts of the Middle East, and of course, in Europe, the number in Kosovo is small. It is very, very small.
It's not a huge burden on the Pentagon budget. But it promotes an extraordinary level of stability and deterrence as well, preventing aggression against Kosovo. So I really hope those American forces stay. You know, maybe the Europeans will have to pay more for that. I don't know, like I said, because Trump is very focused on financial issues. But American troops also keep Kosovo on the White House radar. If the United States has troops in a country, they tend to be interested in the geopolitics of that country and play a role in the diplomacy of the region as well. So I think it's important to have that visible US presence to keep the US engaged in constructive regional diplomacy as well. I don't see the possibility of a new conflict.
But there is always the risk of some incidents like what happened with Banjska, of course, a few years ago, which was a terrible incident. And these incidents, of course, can explode and get out of control. That is true. And we have seen demonstrations and riots in the north. There are people who, of course, want to stir up trouble, when it comes to registration plates or municipal elections, or the role of the dinar in the economy of Kosovo, they see a pretext to stir up trouble. So I think that is a very likely scenario, disinformation campaigns, propaganda and incidents. And I think it is important, that KFOR works very closely with the Kosovo security forces, with the Kosovo police, to have good information to anticipate these incidents, to monitor the border very carefully. So I think there will not be a major conflict, no, but unfortunately, provocations, yes, and that is why we need to be ready”, said Jamie Shea, former NATO spokesman. (A2 Televizion)
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