An analysis of United States-Albanian security relations in light of the War on Terrorism PDF
Preview An analysis of United States-Albanian security relations in light of the War on Terrorism
Calhoun: The NPS Institutional Archive DSpace Repository Theses and Dissertations 1. Thesis and Dissertation Collection, all items 2004-12 An analysis of United States-Albanian security relations in light of the War on Terrorism Binaj, Dhimiter Monterey California. Naval Postgraduate School http://hdl.handle.net/10945/1314 Downloaded from NPS Archive: Calhoun NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS AN ANALYSIS OF UNITED STATES-ALBANIAN SECURITY RELATIONS IN LIGHT OF THE WAR ON TERRORISM by Dhimiter Binaj December 2004 Thesis Advisor: George Lober Second Reader: Doug Borer Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED December 2004 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS An Analysis of United States-Albanian Security Relations in Light of the War on Terrorism 6. AUTHOR(S) Dhimiter Binaj 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADRES(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate Schol ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 13. ABSTRACT This thesis explores U.S.-Albanian relations, focusing on the security cooperation. Since its inception as an independent state, Albania’s relations with the United States have been the focus of Albanian foreign policy. After the First World War, Albania survived as an independent state largely due to the support given to her by the United States. Albanian-U.S. relations have had their ups and downs, with the most unfortunate period being the post-World War Two period, where these relations were severed and Albania was put under communist domination for half a century. After the collapse of communism, a revitalization of U.S.-Albanian relations took place. Albania is becoming an increasingly important ally for the United States in the Balkans. The security partnership between the two countries reached a zenith during the crisis of Kosovo and was further fostered after September 11, 2001, as Albania unequivocally offered to cooperate with the United States on the war on terrorism. September 11 has changed the way the partner countries capabilities are viewed by the United States. Albania, a perceived Muslim majority country, may prove in the future to be more important to the US through Albania’s contribution to the war on terrorism than through its military capabilities. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Security Relations, War on Terrorism, Regional Stability, Defense 15. NUMBER OF Cooperation, Integration. PAGES 102 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. AN ANALYSIS OF UNITED STATES-ALBANIAN SECURITY RELATIONS IN LIGHT OF THE WAR ON TERRORISM Dhimiter Binaj Colonel, Albanian Army B.A. Military Academy, Tirana, Albania, 1984. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN DEFENSE ANALYSIS from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 2004 Author: Dhimiter Binaj Approved by: George Lober Thesis Advisor Doug Borer Second Reader Gordon McCormick Chairman, Department of Defense Analysis iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis explores U.S.-Albanian relations, focusing on the security cooperation between both nations in the war on terrorism. Since its inception as an independent state, regardless of the ideological fashions, modern Albania’s relations with the United States of America have remained a constant in the shifting pattern of Albanian politics. These relations have been complex in their development and their complexity can only be understood in the historical context of the international situation in general and that of Albania in particular. Their most important feature is that after the First World War, Albania survived as an independent state largely due to the support given to her by the United States. Certainly Albanian-U.S. relations have had their ups and downs, with the most unfortunate period being the post-World War Two period, where both governments failed to arrive at satisfactory arrangements for the establishment of diplomatic relations and hence put Albania under communist domination for half a century. After the collapse of communism, a revitalization of U.S.-Albanian relations took place. In the last twelve years, every Albanian government’s decision to prioritize the strengthening of Albania’s security relations with the United States has been unequivocal and fundamentally sound. In fact Albania is becoming an increasingly important ally for the United States in the Balkans. Although Albania is a small and rather poor country by U.S. standards, the security partnership between the two countries reached a zenith during the crisis of Kosovo. Kosovo’s crisis underscored Albania’s utility as a staging area for NATO’s operations in the Balkans. Albania allowed the United States/NATO to use its territory and air space for the Kosovo operation and also during crises in Bosnia, an allowance that even some NATO allies couldn’t make. After September 11, the Bush administration has made clear that it puts greater emphasis upon coalitions than upon alliances. The close relation between United States and Albania was further fostered after the September 11 terrorist attack in New York and Washington, D.C., as Albania unequivocally offered to cooperate with the United States on the war on terrorism. At a time when the United States is increasingly focused on security outside of Europe, Albania is trying to successfully engage itself on the war against terrorism by freezing terrorist assets, v shutting down suspect Islamic NGOs, expelling Islamic extremists, and providing military and diplomatic support for the U.S.-led actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. This has not only led to unparalleled bilateral cooperation in terms of defense, through which Albania is undertaking the most far- reaching reform in the history of its armed forces, but also to the prospects for Albania of economic and diplomatic payoffs that were previously beyond Albania’s reach. U.S.-Albanian relations have had their ups and down, but widespread positive sentiment toward the United States has been constant in Albanian public opinion. This paper is far from a full study of Albanian-U.S. relations, even though their ups and downs may help determine the complexity and various manifestations of affection toward the United States, but what mattes most is that in the new trend of cooperation on the global war on terrorism, Albania, as a perceived Muslim majority country, may prove in the future to be more important to the United States through her contribution to the war on terrorism than through her military capabilities. vi DISCLAMER The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Ministry of Defense or the Albanian Government. vii
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