iitors is apparently crowded witl: Albanianrnnames — has called upon his terrorist/rnlieroin-trafficking buddies to go easy.rn”The news is filled,” Dole confessed inrnUSA Today, “with ominous reports ofrnpower grabs, town-hall occupations,rnnuirderous reprisals, black marketeering,rnextorhon, violent intimidation of Albaniansrnand Serbs alike, and property confiscafionsrnby self-appointed Albanian ‘commissars’rnreputedlv acting with thernknowledge or approxal of Hakim Thacirnand others among your leaders.” It is notrnthe ‘iolence and injustice that disturb thernex-senator —that goes without saing—rnbut the risk of losing “support on severalrnfronts.”rnSenator Dole built his lucrafive careerrnby counting on the ignorance and apathyrnof American voters, few of whom will losernsleep over the rights and wrongs of tribalrnwars in the Balkans, even when Americanrncredibility is at stake. For Americanrnbusinessmen, !iovever. Western Europernis another matter. While the U.S. AirrnForce was reducing Belgrade and NovirnSad to rubble. Chronicles editors madernspeech after speech and gave countlessrninterviews in which we warned our fellowrncitizens not to be deceived by publicrnstatements made by politicians in thernN.ATO “alliance.” Italians, Greeks, andrnHungarians were terrified by this exhibitionrnof naked and immoral force, andrnGermany and France had stepped up discussionsrnfor a European defense force,rnindependent of NATO and tlie LhiitedrnStates. “Pooh pooh” was the general response.rnNow even Henr’ Kissinger is catchingrnon. Writing in the Los Angeles Times—rnconsistenriy the best and most independentrnliberal paper in the United States-rnKissinger wonders: “Did Kosoo markrnthe end of the North Atlantic Treat)’ Organizationrnor at least as we have knownrnit?” Dr. Kissinger is frankly puzzled:rn”The first joint operation of the alliance,rncarried out with extraordinarv politicalrncohesion and blessed both with apparentrnsuccess and low allied casualties, hasrnevoked vehement calls for greater Europeanrnindependence.” In fact, this pastrnJune, the 15 leaders of the EuropeanrnUnion committed themselves to thernprinciple of a separate militar- force thatrnwill act independently of both NATOrnand the United States.rnKissinger goes on to obhiseate the situationrnby talking about the Europeanrnforce as a tool for reducing European resentmentsrnof U.S. power, and he complainsrnabout the short-sightedness of Europeanrnleaders who treat foreign policy asrnan extension of domestic policy. (Howrnunlike their American counterparts!)rnThe obvious fact, however, eludes him:rnMany Europeans are scared stiff of thernUnited States, which has been transformedrnfrom tiieir protective big brotherrninto the biggest bully in the neighborhood.rnThe Italians, at least, get the picture.rnFor years, the Italian parties were pawnsrnof Hieir .American and Soviet sponsors,rnand in early September, four retired generalsrnwere charged with treason for theirrnpart in covering up the 1980 crash of anrnItalian airliner that may have been shotrndown by a NATO plane (guess whose) inrnpursuit of a Libvan jet.rnEnough is apparentK’ enough. PresidentrnCiampi, celebrating the great NATOrnvictory, told a group of 127 Italianrnambassadors that Italy has recovered itsrnpride. Neither NATO nor the UnitedrnNations by itself can guarantee the peacernof Europe, and a restricted group of majorrncountries all have a part to play. In altrernparole, Uncle Sam had better watchrnhis step when even the Italian governmentrnis recovering its militan’ pride. Thernwar for Clinton’s legacy ma- turn out tornbe the worst foreign policy blunder inrnAmerican histor)’.rn—Thomas FlemingrnO B I T E R D I C T A : Renew your passportrnand join Chronicles’ editors inrnNorthern Italy May 24-26, 2000, for arnthree-day conference on Lake Gomo.rnBOOK OF NEXT MONTHrnNext month’s book is Orthodoxy by G.K. Ghesterton. InrnHeretics, G.K. had derided the modernist philosophies ofrnboth socialism and the superman. Ghallenged to providernhis own alternative, Ghesterton produced, instead of a newrnsystem, this restatement of Ghristian common sense: arnmu.st-read for current advocates of socialism, thernsuperman, and the super-race.rnAmerica and Italy were forged in civilrnwars in the 1860’s, over-centralized byrnstrongmen in the 1930’s, and today facernserious challenges from regional and culturalrnseparatists.rnInformal discussions and visits to historicrnsites will complement lectures onrnItalian politics, history, literature, andrnopera. We’ll arrange meetings with Italianrnpolitical and intellectual leaders, andrnwe’ll tr)’to link up participants with counterpartsrnin their profession. An optionalrnfollow-up trip will include some of thernmost beautiful towns of Northern Italy:rnBergamo, Mantova, Ferrara, Parma.rnThe conference price will includernthree nights in a luxury hotel on lovelyrnLake Gomo, as well as breakfast and dinner.rnExperience the real Ital}-, not thernDisney version.rnTake a cruise out to an island lunch,rntalk polities and history with Italian andrnAmerican experts, come face-to-face withrna thriving culture where people workrnhard, make monev, and live well. Thinkrnof 18th-century lakeside villas, medievalrnchurches, fresh lake fish cooked over anrnopen fire. Gall Ghristopher Gheck atrn(815) 964-5811 now, and we won’t tellrnour wife about the silk factory outletrnstore in Gomo.rnRichard Moore, a poet from Belmont,rnMassachusetts, has contributed a poemrnto this issue. Mr. Moore is the author ofrnnine books of poetry, as well as translationsrnof Plautus and Euripides, a book ofrnliterary essays, and a novel, The Investigator.rnMr. Moore gives frequent readingsrnin the Boston area.rnCharles Edward Eaton, who lives inrnChapel Hill, North Carolina, is our secondrnpoet. Mr. Eaton is the autiior of 14rncollections of poetry, four volumes ofrnshort stories, and a novel, A Lady of Pleasure.rnHe is the recipient of the NorthrnCarolina Award for Literature.rnOur cover artist, Sherr)’ G. Wilson, hasrnlived in Rockford, Illinois, for 25 yearsrnbut spends a lot of time in Door County,rnWisconsin. She is dedicated to thernpreservation of nine lighthouses on thernDoor Peninsula. The cover photo is ofrnthe North Kewaunee South PierheadrnLighthouse, which was built in 1891.rnOur inside illustrations are providedrnby our art director, H. Ward Sterett ofrnRoscoe, Illinois. Mr. Sterett received hisrnB.F.A. from the University of Colorado,rnhis M.F.A. from Northern Illinois ihiiversity,rnand attended the L’Abri Fellov-rnship, where he shidied the effect of ChristianiK’rnon art.rnNOVEMBER 1999/9rnrnrn