Success for the EU, the United States, and Kosovo occurred on February 17, 2008, when the Kosovo Assembly declared independence under the Ahtisaari Plan. Widely feared risks of general unrest did not materialize.

Although President Sejdiu and Prime Minister Thaçi, joined by U.S. and European diplomats, had refused to confirm the specific date on which the Kosovo Assembly would declare independence, a flood of press and media stories claimed that it would be either Sunday, February 17 or Monday, February 18. On Saturday, February 16, a flight from London to Pristina was packed with Albanians.

One Albanian passenger was taking his nine-year-old son back to Kosovo for Independence Day. He lived in London, but was originally from Pristina, and his son was born there. “We are going to be free like any other country,” he said to Chad Mair, one of my former students who was sitting next to him on the flight. “We will have freedom. I don't know how to say it. Now is the end.” He expected Kosovo to be recognized by most countries. “I do not expect problems – who will [cause] problems now?” he asked. “Everything is controlled by Albanians, KFOR. There are not the same issues as the United States has in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

He disclaimed any hatred for the Kosovo Serbs. “I don't believe the Serbians in Pristina can't leave their homes [for fear of being beaten or intimidated]. I am from Pristina and have lived there for twenty-plus years,” he said.