NATO intervention to protect Albanians in Kosovo has given rise to numerous theories on the true reasons for U.S. intervention. Kosovo remains essentially a protectorate of NATO and the UN. The Albanian majority demands independence but most Serbs would like the province returned to Serbian control so the issue remains a festering sore. Many Serbs remain utterly convinced that NATO intervened to protect Albanians living because the United States is in the thrall of Albanians.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a student of the Diplomatic Academy asked me about the strength of the pro-Albanian lobby in the United States. I confessed that I had never heard of a pro-Albanian lobby in the U.S. The idea that Albania, an incredibly poor and disunited nation, or its Diaspora managed to control U.S. foreign policy sounds like a bad sequel to “The Mouse that Roared” – a film in which a tiny European nation seeking to lose a war to the U.S. in order to get foreign aid accidentally conquers America by stealing the “Q-Bomb.”

If I received this sort of question, which at least shows an understanding of our political system if a misguided belief about the strength of pro-Albanian political groupings, from students at the Diplomatic Academy, you can imagine what ordinary Serbs must think. At the University of Niš, located in southern Serbia not far from the border of Kosovo, a middle-aged woman was utterly convinced that the Albanian mafia paid the United States to invade Kosovo. Her convictions were not nearly as disturbing as the firm belief of a young man that lack of evidence of Albanian mafia influence in the U.S. was itself evidence of Albanian power. “Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean someone is not out to get me” is not just a joke around here.

There certainly is an Albanian mafia but its major victims are West European car owners and the Albanians themselves. When Montenegro was a center for stolen cars, a comedy program created a spoof commercial with the slogan: “Come visit Montenegro! Your car is already here!” Montenegro has rejoined Interpol and is cleaning up its act but legal owners of missing Mercedes might want to travel further south to Albania or Kosovo. The Kosovar Albanian mafia controls most of Kosovo’s economy but they remain motivated by personal greed, not ethnic nationalism.

Cutbacks in spending on American diplomatic efforts haven’t helped matters. While many West European countries are expanding their efforts, we are closing consulates and cultural centers that make possible the dissemination of an alternative point of view and allow foreigners to get to know America better. The dollars saved are a fraction of our military budget but the loss in goodwill is enormous. As one student at the Diplomatic Academy in Belgrade eloquently argued, America needs to get back in the business of public diplomacy in order to gain more understanding and support.

Belgrade saw the doors to its American Cultural Center permanently close thanks to the swinging of the budget axe in Washington. The home of the former American Cultural Center is now occupied by the Spanish Cultural Center. Belgrade and Niš now have “American Corners” as part of a belated effort to restore some of what was lost. Don’t be too impressed by the Bushies just yet. The American Corner in Niš is in the attic of a building above the much larger French cultural center. The local employees of the State Department work very hard to promote greater knowledge of American culture but space limits their ability to accommodate materials or members.

More work needs to be done and one would think (hope? pray?) that Congress might be persuaded that the payoff for Americans is critical in terms of security. Our invasion of Iraq has contributed enormously to American diplomatic isolation around the globe. One Serbian woman in Niš said to me she would like any American president who would give something besides bombing a chance. (Democrats shouldn’t celebrate foreign support just yet – the U.S. bombed Serbia during the Clinton era.) However, our failure to use our resources to engage the rest of the world to the best of our ability over the long-term helped assure our isolation at a time when our links with foreign nations are crucial.