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have been so difficult to convey, not only the possibility of the war
spreading into Albania and then on to Greece and eventually Turkey–
disrupting NATO's own integrity and security-but also connecting the
conflict in Kosovo with other conflicts between militant Christians and
Muslims that were occurring in Africa, especially in Sudan, and in the
Chechnyan region of the Russian Republic, all of which amplify the par–
ticular dynamics of the conditions that exist in Kosovo. Moreover, had
Muslims been slaughtering Serbs to the degree that the latter were car–
rying on an "ethnic cleansing," it is doubtful that either the Europeans
or the United States would have dithered around for so long before
using force to stop the war.
It
is of some significance that Oswald Spen–
gler, early in the century that has recently passed, predicted that the
wars at the end of this period would be primarily religious conflicts.
It
seemed a foolhardy statement then during a time of increasing secular–
ization, but it has, in fact, proven to be correct.
It
was the possibility of the conflict moving beyond Kosovo into
Albania, already in a fragile condition due to the complete collapse of
its economy following a fraudulent pyramid financial scheme launched
by its former government, that brought me to this country as a member
of a team consisting of officials from the World Bank and the Policy Sci–
ences Center at Yale's Law School. We went there to assist in launching
a
$
50-million economic and cultural development project aimed at
shoring up Albania's southern coast, which borders directly on Greece.
The meeting with the Prime Minister took place at Butrint, designated
a world historical site by UNESCO. Butrint is a remarkable place. Vir–
gil wrote the
Aeneid
there, and the site also contains an enormous
amphitheater, the first Roman baptistry, and the remains of several civ–
ilizations, including those of the ancient Illyrians, who acquired signifi–
cant power because, from this site, they could control the Straits of
Corfu .
It
was initially saved for preservation and research by two Eng–
lish lords, and now Lord Rothschild, former head of the Bank of Eng–
land, is trustee of the Butrint Foundation and has joined us for the
meeting to ensure that Butrint's unique treasures will be preserved and
protected in an environmentally sound manner as the area around it is
being developed for more commercial uses.
Responding to criticisms of the World Bank's previous programs,
aimed at large public-works projects that often neglected environmental
concerns and the need to bring aid directly to the poor rather than
enhancing the private bank accounts of corrupt officials in developing
countries, the program for developing Albania's southern coast has been
constructed from the grassroots level with continuous discussions with
