Kosovo: No More

The problems of Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic are many and mainly of his own making. His decision to put down with brutal force what began as a minor rebellion against repressive policies in the province of Kosovo has left him facing international condemnation and the possibility of NATO airstrikes against his military assets.

The crisis did not have to come to this point, but given the Serbian leader’s pugnacious diplomacy it was inevitable and now is pressing beyond the point of political resolution.

The world’s democracies cannot stand by while Milosevic’s troops raise havoc in Kosovo, a Yugoslav province with an overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian Muslim population. The Kosovars present no threat to Milosevic’s dominance in Yugoslavia, but attacks by his military and police could light the fuse of Muslim nationalism in neighboring Balkan countries.

Europe and the United States would be irresponsible not to try to stop this sputtering conflict from spreading. The United Nations Security Council late Thursday condemned the Kosovo massacres and called on Milosevic to punish those responsible. It did not directly attribute the violence to Serbian forces.

Outside the U.N. walls, however, the developments were viewed in terms more dire. At the White House, Mike McCurry, the press spokesman, said the United States would respond favorably to an anticipated NATO request for the use of American air power to help send an explosive message to Milosevic. Defense Secretary William S. Cohen said a decision was expected “soon.”

The targets are clear: all Milosevic’s warplanes, tanks and artillery, all the implements of power that he used to divide Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first years of this decade. Three years ago it was NATO airstrikes against the Bosnian Serb capital of Pale that brought that awful war to a conclusion. This time the targets could be on Serbian soil in the Yugoslav homeland.

President Clinton, the Congress and the American people have seen the grisly photos of the conflict in Kosovo, and press reports from the region point to Serb forces as those most responsible for mayhem. In European capitals and Washington, events appear to be moving ever closer to giving Milosevic himself a taste of superior firepower.

Some wise voices counsel against any further Western intervention in the Balkans. Their views should be considered. But prospects of a diplomatic solution, never bright, are fading further. Milosevic could end this crisis in a moment, and should, for Kosovo’s sake as well as Serbia’s. One way or the other, the result will be on his head.