ARTICLE: "Serbs See Rift With West if Kosovo Gains Independence: A country's entry into the European Union seems more distant," by Nicholas Wood, New York Times, 16 September 2007, p. WK3.

If Serbia wants to go to the mattresses--in diplomatic terms only, mind you--over Kosovo, then so be it. Backsliding along the seam is to be expected. And if you're telling me Serbia could end up in Moscow's "camp," then I'm really unimpressed.

Setbacks to some, just normal give and take to me. Big point is how anger gets expressed and whether you get back on my security radar or not. If you think Putin and his crowd will do anything for Serbia that costs them anything real, I think you're dreaming. So this is all one great exercise in pissing in the wind. Serbia's always had a pride issue, just like Russia. But again, it ain't a question of you being squeaky, it's a question of whether or not there's any real danger of kinetics being attached. The rest is simply finessed.