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I remember some of those flame-laden threads, and want to avoid those, too! The Balkans is a place where you sometimes wish all the sides could lose. The roots of that conflict are in the 400 year Ottoman occupation of the region, and there was and is no satisfactory solution, which is why I always felt we should just stay out of it, and take neither side.

I don't know if the Balkans are important in the WOT or not, to be honest. But the amount of money poured into Bosnia and Kosovo from the Middle East during that conflict by the same "relief organizations" that we have become familiar with in the post 9/11 era leaves no doubt as to the importance that many aggressive-minded Muslims themselves placed on their toe-hold in Europe.

My overall point is that the Clinton administration had no concept of the implications of Islamic militancy as a world-wide force, and didn't calculate this into their decisions. I don't think that the WOT can be separated from the larger phenomenon of Islamic expansionism (not that I think that's what you're saying). I don't know whether the current administration agrees with this, but even if they did, they wouldn't be able to state it publically.

I pretty much endorse what you say as far as I know about the matter which, I must stress, is not all that much. I do know that the fuse which sparked the conflagration of WWI was lit in Serbia, with the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand, and that the Ottoman Empire was pretty much shattered after that conflict. I *didn't* know that they'd been there for 400 years--thanks for that info.
The entire area just seems to be a troubled--and troublesome--region, all the way back to the times of the Roman Empire. A place best avoided, IMHO, unless critical U.S. interests are at stake.
Hope you don't mind me changing the subject, but I just noticed your tag line. How good a chance do you think Thune has? I've never been to South Dakota, but I'd sure consider sending his campaign a donation if it looks like it's going to be close. Thanks.