Six reasons: No. 1: the Balkans represent a bridge between Europe and the Middle East and therefore are of strategic interest. No. 2: unless we stop this conflict. it will spin into Albania. Macedonia. Greece and Turkey. The First World War started there. Another could again. No. 3: we have a humanitarian obligation to stop massacres and refugee flight. No. 4: what we do in Kosovo has a direct bearing on what has been achieved in Bosnia. No. 5: what we do in Kosovo represents our leadership role in NATO. the credibility of NATO: both relevant to the future of NATO into the next century.