Polls consistently show Albania to be the most pro-American country in Europe. Under Cold War-era dictator Enver Hoxha, Albania was the continent’s most Stalinist regime, famously breaking with the Soviet Union in 1961 following Soviet chairman Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization.

On Feb. 20, 1991, Albanians tore down Hoxha’s statue in central Tirana, marking the functional end of the communist regime. Albanians embraced not only democracy, but also free markets. On Apr. 9, 1992, Albanians overwhelmingly elected Sali Berisha, a cardiologist whose articles in favor of free speech, thought, and movement had won Albanian plaudits. They picked Berisha over a socialist who sought a Western European social democratic party. Despite the 1997 recession, by the end of Berisha’s tenure, per capita income had quadrupled to $800. He fell from power in 1997 but returned as prime minister in 2005. By the time that tenure ended in 2013, per capita income exceeded $4,400. Today, that figure has tripled.

In 2013, socialist party head Edi Rama took office. Obama administration officials embraced Rama and sang his praises. “Under your........

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