Apparently the tiny Balkan country of Montenegro has applied for NATO membership. Tucker Carlson, among others, has questioned why we should admit them and be willing to spill blood to defend them.
Given that Montenegro lives in a blood-drenched 'neighborhood' where everyone hates everyone else, this is a question that needs to be asked. For those of you who slept through modern history, World War I began 'next door' in Bosnia's Sarajevo, with a political assassination.
As it happens, the DrsC visited Montenegro a few years back. It is a charming graustarkian sort of vest pocket country, the walled port city of Kotor made us think of Diagon Alley, from the Harry Potter books. We took a bus trip inland to Cetinje, the old Royal Capital, and stopped along the way for some excellent local prosciutto and beer.
A fun fact about Kotor, if you want to open a woman's shoe store, this town would be a great choice. The local women all wore what appeared to be designer shoes with 4-5" spike heels and they were walking around on cobblestone streets in these elegant pumps. Go figure.
Poor little Montenegro shares borders with Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo, and Albania. The Serbs and Croats hate each other, and both hate the indigenous (i.e., European) Muslims of Albania, Bosnia, and Kosovo. I perfectly understand why Montenegro wants NATO protection, I am less clear why NATO wants to make that commitment.
