Erm, ok, lessseee here. We bombed them in order to capitulate defacto control of a chunk of land that has been theirs since 1300s, handed it off to the Muslim insurgents, and now recognize said land as an independent country redrawing borders in Europe for the first time since the WW I. Any of this sounds like a good idea we’re doing ? Would we be slightly pissed, say, Mexicans declare their own state in southern CA, and France and Germany recognize them ? C’mon. Redrawing borders ANYWHERE invites chaos. It’s already started. Palestinians have said ‘Kosovo’s no more special’. Basques in Spain have been fighting for their independence for decades. How are they less worthy ?
Russians have about 20 places that others could start peeling their territory off, while there’s Russian minorities in Georgia, Ukraine that could say ‘we want to go to mother Russia’. And we’re gonna say ‘no, can’t do that, but Kosovo’s ok’ ? What about the Kurds ? Chop off some Turkey and some Iraq and give it to them ? Maybe they’ll declare unilaterally too.
How big of a mess this is. Jesus Christ can’t believe we’re being this stupid. Especially as our military is stretched with deployments. Mark my words, if Russians retaliate somewhere where we are weak (and they’re masters of linkage, and have been really pissed by this), we’ll look like real idiots. And we don’t want to look weak, as Islamists are watching.
>>...can’t believe we’re being this stupid.<<
I don’t think we are.
Which means our motives (and information) are not all on the table.
One correction. The Serbs set up the state of Rashka in the sixth century in the area now known as Kosovo.