Rambouillet Peace Conference - Hawaii Pacific University

Boshkovich 105
were part of the SFRY with Kosovo which is/was a Province of Serbia (as people would
say apples and oranges). Lastly, is not this a great excuse for the Serbs in Bosnia
(Republic of Srpska covers 49% of Bosnia) to request independence as the last stage of
collapse of the SFRY?
Still, there are some important individuals in the US who also think that
independence of Kosovo is not good idea. One of them is James Lyons (U.S. Navy
retired Admiral) who use to serve as commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, senior
U.S. military representative to the United Nations, and deputy chief of naval operations,
where he was principal adviser on all Joint Chiefs of Staff matters. He said that ―…more
than 300 mosques have been built in Kosovo, funded mainly by Saudi Arabia where the
radical teachings of the Wahhabi sect are promoted‖. Admiral Lyons also explained that
leaders of the KLA have connections with the global jihad movement, as well as with
organized crimes, and still they represent ―…the dominant element in the local Albanian
administration…”. More importantly he noticed that the US is endorsing formation of
‗Taliban-like‘ state in the heart of Europe. That is something that will be dangerous for
stability of the region. At the same time it will complicate US relations with Russia and
China which are already bad due to issues over Iran, Taiwan, North Korea and Middle
East. 269
If the writer of this paper could give some advice to the Serbian and Albanian
authorities it would be to come back to the table and find the solution that would satisfy
both sides. Of course, that would mean that neither side would get 100%, but more
importantly neither side would lose 100%, which is the case at this moment. Actually, the
269 The Washington Times, ―Kosovo Train Wreck-Warnings,‖ January 2, 2008,
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jan/02/kosovo-32train-wreck-warnings/