For the greater good

Principles and realpolitik often collide. Taking Kosovo out of the black hole of March 2004 like Petersen did takes astuteness that only a few politicians can possess. Yet many have accused Petersen for being too close to the Hague-indicted Ramush Haradinaj. In fact, some believe that Petersen knew in advance of the indictment but did not stop Haradinaj from becoming prime minister.

But Haradinaj's 100 day government was considered the best 100 days of government that Kosovo has had in its last seven years. During this time Haradinaj began a new dynamic era of making serious efforts to reconcile with minorities and to streamline government. I have argued that only a former KLA commander could have done this rapprochement, including diversion of government funds to pay for the damages to Serb houses and churches done in March. It doesn't matter if Haradinaj was guilty of all he was charged with; he was a way too useful leadership asset to be thrown away just like that, on top of being a liability with the war veterans behind him. War criminals roaming the Balkans are plenty; leaders able to deliver are harder to come by. The West has made deals with much more awful men when the situations needed it. Milosevic was as guilty at Dayton as he was after Kosovo. Yet at that moment he was needed and correspondingly used. Biljana Plavsic continued to serve in the Republika Srbska government and only was taken down when at a convenient moment for NATO only to be appropriately rewarded at Hague with a short sentence and a luxury jail for her post-war cooperation.

The post-war Balkans would be a much happier place if there were more indictees like Haradinaj and Plavsic. Petersen in the midst of it all was more perceptive of the situation then New York or Hague could ever be.