The Conflict

During 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conducted an extensive bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FR Yugoslavia, comprised of Serbia and Montenegro). Yugoslavia, a former Communist country, had been a federation of several provinces that each had some level of autonomy. FR Yugoslavia had been, off and on for almost ten years, at war with provinces that had declared their independence. In 1999 FR Yugoslavia attempted to keep the former autonomous province of Kosovo from seceding from the union.

Ethnic

• Kosovo is largely Albanian and Muslim, and Serbia is largely Serbian and Orthodox Christian. The Albanians generally want to secede from FR Yugoslavia because they feel inadequately represented and protected. The Serbians generally want to preserve the larger union, which they feel is part of an historic empire.

Political

• NATO appears to feel pressure to...