Word: nato
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...just over a decade ago that NATO forces bombed Belgrade in Operation Allied Force, a mission aimed at halting Serbia's brutal repression of Kosovo. Since then, Serbia has been slowly shaking off its status as a European pariah, inching toward the West and moving away from its historical ally, Russia. Then, on Tuesday, it turned a corner on its path to international respectability by formally entering a bid to join the European Union, a club that includes many of the countries that once tried to pulverize the Balkan nation...
...fighting organized crime as priorities for the government. And E.U. officials were pleased with the austere 2010 budget approved by Serbian lawmakers Monday that meets the strict terms of a recent International Monetary Fund loan. Belgrade is also rethinking its military options after neighbors Albania and Croatia joined NATO earlier this year, meaning most of Serbia is now surrounded by the alliance that bombed it in 1999. Serbia has already joined NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) program, a cooperation framework for NATO member aspirants. (See the top news stories of the year...
...Another barrier to membership is Serbia's continuing belligerence toward Kosovo, where about 10,000 people were killed and 850,000 driven from their homes during the war. Although NATO ousted Belgrade's tanks from the territory in 1999, Serbia still refuses to accept the loss of its province. Indeed, Serbia's condemnation of Kosovo's declaration of independence last year even raised concerns about a possible new military intervention. "Serbia still needs to come to terms with the war crimes of the 1990s and go through the painful but essential process of breaking from the stranglehold of the nationalist...
...controversy comes at an awkward time, with Germany under increasing pressure to contribute more troops to the NATO mission in Afghanistan. Despite doubts over the German mission in Afghanistan, on Dec. 3, the Bundestag voted to extend the mandate by another year, until 2010. There are now about 4,300 German soldiers in Afghanistan - most are based in the north of the country - and Germany is the third biggest troop contributor after the U.S. and Britain. But the U.S. is looking for a bigger commitment. "More German troops would be very welcome," Richard Holbrooke, President Obama's special envoy...
...Barack Obama's first overseas trips as President was to Turkey. When he visited in April he focused on the significant role the country - mainly Muslim, officially secular, and a member of NATO - has to play in the Middle East. Heralding "a model partnership," Obama said Ankara had an important part to play in global peace. "Turkey is a critical ally. Turkey is an important part of Europe. And Turkey and the United States must stand together," he told Turkish MPs in parliament...