Please explain balken conflict

First off no one should feel stupid for not knowing whats going on here,elp mentioned hes been reading on the subject for the last 3 months,and only knows 1% of the situation.So could forum members from this region give both a historical and current background to this conflict and all groups involved.I believe problem with US/NATO/UN policy is they wont admit they dont know whats going on,so they hold to a reactionary type of responce.Ive heard ethnic groups have ties to surrounding countries,so this could develop into a really bad situation.To Bad Toms not around,Im sure he could make a thorough explanation of all this.One misconception I believe people have is that they think the moslems are descended from a nomadic peoples.If youve read about the battle of lepanto,youd see that the ottoman turks were a huge power at that time and nearly took complete control of the medeteranian in 1500s.