The drawdown is based on reviews U.S. and NATO officials conduct every six months. Ralston said he fully supports the latest reduction. Only about 5,500 Americans are among the 37,000 NATO-led troops from 39 nations now in Kosovo. Another 2,000 Americans and 5,000 NATO-led troops are in the neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. It is mountainous, wooded terrain.
Families there have members on both sides and have used trails to go back and forth for centuries.
Rather than attempt to seal the border, he said, peacekeeping forces in Kosovo should concentrate on ensuring armed extremists are not going back and forth. U.S. military leaders, he added, have moved more forces down to the border in the U.S. sector to do a more effective job of patrolling. The potential exists for further instability in the region, Ralston pointed out. This area of the world has long been a clash between different civilizations and it all comes to a head around the Balkans. The upcoming April 22 election in Montenegro, for example, is going to be significant because it will indicate whether the people there want independence from Yugoslavia.