THE KLA AND TIRANA KEEP SILENT. THE US EXPRESSES DOUBTS

Le Monde 6 QUESTIONS ABOUT A WAR François Heisbourg* Six weeks after the start of Operation “Allied Force,” we have the right to ask questions about the reasons that led to the present twofold escalation. Let us not deceive ourselves: even if Slobodan Milosheviç is at a dead end, he is nonetheless achieving his war aims in Kosovo, while NATO, for the moment, has not fulfilled its political and humanitarian aims. If some of the questions raised are retrospective, it is not because of a “hindsight” critical mindset, but in order to avoid repeating past mistakes in the future. 1- How can the lack of an alternative strategy be explained in the event that Milosheviç, as was immediately confirmed, would not submit to the Rambouillet agreement after a few days of bombing? Statements on the subject that “it is a matter of days, not weeks” were common at the outset. But the chess game, the rule—or rather the confusion—with which such issues as the oil embargo, the three— Continued on page 7

RARE INCIDENT Killed while defending his bunker Nephew dies, 70-year-old uncle seriously injured On page 18

The New York Times MOSCOW’S BACKCHANNEL DEALINGS WITH WASHINGTON Jane PERLEZ Clinton administration officials said Tuesday that they believe they have persuaded Russia’s envoy to the Balkans that a military force, even one with a purely monitoring mission, will be necessary in Kosovo after the bombing campaign. The White House highlighted some details of the talks that special envoy Viktor Çernomirdin held on Monday with President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Çernomirdin continued his offers to Continued on page 7

Ibrahim Rugova