title: The US, Europe, and the Balkan Wars
abstract: The withdrawal of American troops stationed in Europe would run parallel to a reinforcement of the European military component of NATO. Thus, US military and political disengagement would allow a more European NATO to play a prominent role in Europe’s security affairs. The vast majority of Western European statesmen were convinced that after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact in 1990, and its sudden absence as a military threat to European security, post-Yalta Europe would seek a new strategic p