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"One of the lessons learned . . . today's peacekeeping operations are as complex as unconventional combat operations and are best conducted by well-informed and well-prepared forces who are familiar with each other's operations and concepts before they enter the operation area."1
Introduction
The last 18 years of history in the nations that formed the former Yugoslavia were tumultuous times, fueled by nationalism, clan wars and simmering medieval era blood feuds between various warring parties. In 2008, the newly independent nation of Kosovo lived up to that reputation and provided a challenging set of problems for Intelligence Section personnel assigned to 35th Infantry Division (Forward), Multi-national Task Force East (MNTF-E), Kosovo Force (KFOR) 9.2 The U.S. led MNTF-E assumed command of the NATO peacekeeping operation less than two weeks prior to Kosovo wide parliamentary elections and less than 90 days before Kosovo declared itself independent of Serbia.
As the guidon passed between the incoming and outgoing commanders, it is certain many leaders pondered the numerous intelligence gaps that would haunt the G2 over the next nine months. The question that weighed heavily on everyone's mind: Would there be a repeat of the 2004 Kosovo wide riots that caught both the KFOR and the international community by surprise? Additionally, MNTF-E wanted to pinpoint when Kosovo would declare itself independent and how the ethnic Serb population inside and outside Kosovo would react. By late 2007, Kosovo's independence was certain as the Quint3 became stalemated in negotiations with Serbia and Russia. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik summed up the European perspective on Kosovo during the Declaration of Independence in February 2008, "The Balkans have already lost too much time. It was necessary to draw a clear bottom line. Now the path is free for the region to free itself from stagnation and start dynamic development anew. The long-term stabilization of the Balkans and its integration in the European Union remains our uppermost goal."4
Is U.S. military involvement in Kosovo an anachronism given the current direction of the U.S. Army? Are lessons learned in Kosovo relevant in the current War on Terror? Kosovo is significant for many reasons, the least of which is its potential as a breeding ground for Islamic extremism. According to a U.S. State Department report,...