Much of what you say in your briefing about the effect of the financial crisis on Eastern Europe holds water (“What Next?” October 25, 2008). Many of the countries in the region will face debt restructuring, currency collapse, and depression with bankruptcies and unemployment rocketing. All this raises the specter of political upheaval, too. For countries still outside the European Union, prospects are even bleaker. But this is where you stop. With the exception of Macedonia, which you mention in passing in the penultimate paragraph, you leave the so-called Western Balkans out of your analysis. In your map of Eastern Europe, the region is left out, as well. This is precisely where the prospects are bleakest, however, and where political instability may well lead to open strife. In addition to Macedonia, the strife may quickly heat up in Serbia and Kosovo, and especially in Bosnia. This is where the bailout by the Union, as well is the International Monetary Fund, requires special sensitivity. It is thus surprising you have nothing to say about such matters. One can only hope that everyone else does not forget the Western Balkans, too.