The area of Kosovo is no stranger to conflict. In 1389, the invading Muslim Turks defeated Christian Serbs on the Field of Blackbirds in Kosovo. Kosovo fell under Turkish rule, which allowed Albanians to migrate from the south. This greatly increased the Albanian population of Kosovo. Six hundred years later, Slobodan Milosevic used this ancient battle to create a dispute between the ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, who are Islamic, and the Serb Kosovars, who are Christian. This was the beginning of the modern crisis in Kosovo. Milosevic removed the autonomic government of Kosovo, which is mostly Albanian, and sent Serb police forces into Kosovo. The Albanians in that area are demanding independence from Yugoslavia while claiming "[Ethnic Albanians] have no spiritual or ethnic background with the Serbs" (Ake 73).
             The Albanians also make claims of persecution and oppression by the Serb forces. A guerilla tactical army, known as The Kosovo Liberation Army, was formed to fight for Kosovo's independence. In response to this, Serb soldiers are forcing the Albanians to leave Kosovo. The military campaign in Kosovo, led by the North American Treaty Organization, is known as Operation: Allied Force. The operation is a series of missile attacks that target Serbia. It is NATO's attempt to bring an end to the human rights offenses brought upon the ethnic Albanians in that area by Serb military forces. Even though there is sufficient evidence for America to intervene in this dispute, I do not believe that America should. Henry Kissinger talks of the cause of the war as he writes, "The war in Kosovo is the product of a conflict going back over centuries. It takes place at the dividing point between the Ottoman Turks and Austrian Empires, and between Islam and Christianity" (38). America cannot get involved in this ancient holy war and expect to resolve it. It has been going on longer than America has.
             Intervention on our part decreases our countr...