Nato, master of the world
by Noam Chomsky

Meeting in Washington for the 50th anniversary of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the member states on 26 April
ratified the New Strategic Concept proposed by the United States.
This permits Nato to go beyond its defensive role and intervene
militarily, without a mandate from the United Nations, against a
sovereign state. The token reference to the UN may satisfy France
but does not seriously modify US power. The war in the Balkans,
conducted without the authorisation of the Security Council, in the
name of humanitarian intervention, and the new strategic concept
mark a turning point in the global order. For the first time since
1945 the victors of the second world war (less Russia) have ignored
the sole source of international legality, the UN - without
replacing it. This allows China, India or Russia, for example, to
conduct similar interventions in their own spheres of influence;
and increases the risks of injustice and conflict throughout the
world. (Original text in English)

US aims to win on all fronts
by Michael T. Klare

The United States used to bank on acting through international
organisations it could control. Now the priority is on the sole
exercise of power and unilateral actions. This means a large
military investment. As a result of the current war President Bill
Clinton will be able to justify a budget increase of $112 billion
for his armed forces over the next six years. (Original text in English)

Serbia's outlaw regime
by Jean-Yves Potel

The violence in Kosovo is a direct result of the nature of the
Milosevic regime. Rooted in the Soviet model, the Serbian regime
embodies authoritarian power wielded by a mafia-style oligarchy.
Its ideology is a dangerous cocktail of social demagogy and extreme
nationalism. (Translated by Julie Stoker)

Rise of the Kosovar freedom fighters
by Christophe Chiclet

Unheard of until four years ago, the KLA now dominates the scene in
Kosovo. Radicalised by repression, it has won support away from the
pacifist, Ibrahim Rugova. It owes its success largely to support
from clan leaders, the diaspora and a variety of traffickers and
intelligence services. ()ranslated by Lorna Dale

Sixty years of ethnic cleansing
by Tommaso di Francesco and Giacomo Scotti

During the second world war the occupation forces set about the
extermination of hundreds of thousands of Jews and Gypsies - and
also of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Half a century later the
dismantling of Yugoslavia sparked new massacres in which each
community has been both victim and executioner. (Translated by Ed Emery)

Israel's mosaic falls apart
by Dominique Vidal and Joseph Algazy

On 17 May the Israelis go to the polls to elect their Members of
Knesset, and also their prime minister with an optional second
round on 1 June. The opinion polls predicted that the rightwing
coalition would not have a majority in the Knesset, even if the
religious parties supported them. But the predicted defeat of
Binyamin Netanyahu was looking less than certain, despite the
deadlock in the peace talks, disappointing social and economic
indicators and a disastrous election campaign. The Likud leader
owes his political base largely to his ability to exploit the
fractures within Israeli society. The clash between religious and
secular, but also the intercommunal rivalry, is undermining Israel. (Translated by Wendy Kristianasen)

Peaceful transition in Lebanon
by Walid Charara

As Binyamin Netanyahu fights it out with Ehud Barak in the Israeli
elections, both men have raised the issue of an Israeli withdrawal
from Southern Lebanon, where the Israeli army is up against
increasingly effective armed resistance. The stalemate in the
Arab-Israeli peace talks and the economic, political and social
crisis in Lebanon have resulted in prime minister Rafiq Hariri
stepping down. A new era has opened in Beirut: the talk is of
reform and a campaign against corruption, and Hariri and some of
his ex-ministers are now under investigation. (Translated by Ed Emery)