Comment: THE INDEPENDENT
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THE TIME for dithering is over. What is at stake is no longer confined to the containment of a Balkan crisis in Kosovo, or the protection of civilians fleeing to Albania. It is the credibility of the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and, indeed, the whole ability of the international community to bring even half-peace to the world.
Nato must act, and act swiftly, if anything is to be rescued from this sorry debacle of procrastination and pusillanimity.
Of course there are good reasons for not intervening militarily until now. There always are.
But there are now overwhelming reasons for casting these doubts aside. One is that the international community is up against President Slobodan Milosevic, of the former Yugoslavia, an opportunist without moral qualm. His whole record is one of taking advantage of every weakness by his opponent until physically forced to stop. He started with Kosovo as his means of launching Serbian nationalism and breaking up the federation a decade ago. He is using it again to further his own power within Serbia.
The second reason for action is that the balance of power on the ground has shifted so decisively in favour of the Serbian army and police and against the rebel Kosovan Liberation Army. There is no longer any need to worry that intervention will give victory to the KLA and hence set the whole region aflame.
Nor need intervention be merely a gesture leading to God knows where. It is perfectly possible - and, after this degree of planing, there can be few excuses for it not being so - to destroy many of the weapons which have given the Serbs such awful predominance in the field. What is more, the threat of repeated air strikes can be exercised again and again until Milosevic is brought to the table.
The Russians will oppose. The Southern Europeans will quibble. The UN Secretary- General, Kofi Annan, will try to shift responsibility. So be it. There are those who can act and now have the responsibility to do so.
This newspaper has never urged violence lightly. But for the sake of conscience and credibility we call on Nato to unleash the missiles now before all we have left to view is our own shredded ignominy.
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