No Change in Balkans Policy: U.S soldiers’ recent mission to evacuate armed Albanian rebels from a Macedonia town does not signify a change in U.S. policy towards the Balkans country, Pentagon officials said. The evacuation marked the first time that NATO — and the United States — has actually intervened since fighting broke out in February between the government and the so-called National Liberation Army, which is made up of separatist Macedonian Albanians.