U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan and requested
U.N. and NATO intervention.
Rambouillet Meeting and Air Raids On February 6,
1999, the Contact Group established peace talks be-
tween the warring parties in Rambouillet, France.
Both Albanian and Serbian diplomats objected to
the proposed accords, but the Albanians finally
agreed to sign. Miloševi 6 agreed to diplomatic ob-
servers in the region. However, in the summer, his
army began a new offensive, and thousands more Al-
banian refugees fled into the mountains. Russian
president Boris Yeltsin and Clinton then met in Mos-
cow and issued a joint statement calling for negotia-
tions and for Serbia to end its attack, but on Ameri-
can initiative and over Russian objections NATO
began a new bombing campaign in Serbia. Clinton
ruled out American use of ground forces but indi-
cated that four thousand American peacekeepers
would go to Kosovo after the armistice.
NATO objectives in the air raids were to stop all
military action, end violence and repression, with-
draw the military and police as well as paramilitary
forces from the region, establish an international
military force and the return of refugees, and force
Belgrade to adhere to the Rambouillet Accords.
NATO troops including 31,600 Americans and 1,300
Canadians entered into neighboring Albania and
Macedonia for protection. About 10,000 Albanian
refugees came into the United States and 5,000 to
Canada.
Finally, Miloševi 6 and NATO reached an agree-
ment in June before a possible ground invasion, and
NATO and Russian troops came to the province to
supervise the area that was divided between the Al-
banian and Serb populations. About 600,000 Alba-
nians returned to Kosovo, and 200,000 Serbs and
Roma left Albanian areas. Twenty thousand Russian
and NATO troops moved into Kosovo as peacekeep-
ers, while the Serbian forces left the area and the
KLA demilitarized.
Impact The Kosovo conflict, along with the other
wars in the Balkans, established U.S. leadership in
dealing with changes in the Balkans, especially Yugo-
slavia, in the 1990’s. Although Washington operated
principally through NATO, tensions between the
United States and the various European countries
led to a number of rifts. The conflict also demon-
strated that Washington was willing to use armed
force to ensure its policies.
Further Reading
Brune, Lester H.The United States and the Balkan Cri-
sis, 1990-2005: Conflict in Bosnia and Kosovo.Clare-
mont, Calif.: Regina, 2005. A discussion of Ameri-
can involvement in the conflict by an author who
has written many books on American foreign
policy.
King, Iain, and Whit Mason.Peace at Any Price: How
the World Failed Kosovo. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell Uni-
versity Press, 2006. An analysis by authors who
have written about the ethics of world crises. They
believe that NATO was unprepared to deal with
the crisis.
Norris, John.Collision Course: NATO, Russia, and
Kosovo. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005. An out-
standing summary of the conflict.
Ramet, Sabrina P.Thinking About Yugoslavia: Scholarly
Debates About the Yugoslavia Breakup and the Wars in
Bosnia and Kosovo. New York: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 2005. A distinguished author surveys
and analyzes the literature and debates about the
Yugoslavia crises but with a Croatian bias.
Frederick B. Char ySee also Albright, Madeleine; Bosnia conflict;
Clinton, Bill; Cold War, end of; Dayton Accords; Eu-
rope and North America; Foreign policy of Canada;
Foreign policy of the United States; United Nations. Kwanzaa
Definition African American holiday celebrated
from December 26 to January 1
In the 1990’s, Kwanzaa gained widespread popularity,
and its commercialization became evident in this decade.
The term “Kwanzaa” comes from the Swahili phrase
matunda ya kwanzaa, meaning “first fruits of the har-
vest.” The holiday was created by Maulana “Ron”
Karenga in 1966 as an attempt to affirm and cele-
brate African American culture and values. There are
seven principles that focus on community-building,
strengthening family relationships, education about
black culture, and African American unity and
pride. The principles areumoja(unity),kujichagulia
(self-determination),ujima(collective work and re-
sponsibility),ujamaa(cooperative economics),nia
(purpose),kuumba(creativity), andimani(faith).
Kwanzaa supplies include a mat, seven candles, aThe Nineties in America Kwanzaa 493