One of the key issues of civilized life that is at stake here is the rule of law. What we have seen in this last century is the attempt to create a global rule of law. Like its predecessor the rule of law in individual states, getting it in place and working is going to be a long, difficult and bloody struggle. Within individual states, the goal has been to establish rule of law for individual citizens.
Citizens are to obey the law or suffer the consequences.
The goal of the twentieth century ever since the League of Nations and now the United Nations is to obtain this same level of commitment to the principles of rule of law. That is what the Gulf War was all about with Saddam Hussein and presumably that is what NATO is doing in Kosovo. But for the nations to abide by rule of law internationally will be an enormous step forward. These are important questions. To some degree the Kosovo conflict is a new collision of East and West.