Dire Signs From Kosovo

A U.S. envoy seeking a breakthrough in the Balkans said Tuesday that President Slobodan Milosevic has not met the terms laid down by the United Nations to prevent NATO military intervention in Kosovo.

"U.S. diplomatic observers are doing a terrific job bringing us information, and the information is not good," he said.

Following difficult talks with Milosevic late Monday, Holbrooke met in Kosovo's capital with ethnic Albanian political leaders. They have refused to negotiate with Milosevic until he halts the seven-month crackdown, which has killed hundreds and driven more than a quarter million people from their homes.

Holbrooke was to return to Belgrade for another meeting with Milosevic tonight, but it appeared unlikely that Milosevic would make concessions or agree to a deal that would satisfy Western leaders.

"President Milosevic has not agreed at this time to ... sustainable and irreversible compliance with the demands of the international community," State Department spokesman James P. Rubin said in Jerusalem.

Milosevic told Holbrooke late Monday that his government is willing to seek a political solution to the crisis in Kosovo, where ethnic Albanian rebels are battling for independence.

But he also called the threats of aggression against Yugoslavia "a criminal act" that provided "support for the Albanian villains, not the Albanian people," according to state media.

"If he thinks NATO is bluffing, if he is willing to take that risk, all I can do is convey the views of the U.S. government," Holbrooke said Monday.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Henry Shelton said "we all hope that a diplomatic solution will settle the differences," and added "NATO has a military plan if diplomacy doesn't work."

CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey reports that what is occurring in Kosovo isn't ethnic cleansing in the sense that it occurred in Bosnia. That would be impossible in a place where 90 percent of the population are ethnic Albanians. Instead, it is a form of subjugation that may be hard to reverse.

The KLA guerrillas insist they will fight on. With winter coming, the real fight is to keep refugees alive, no matter what assurances President Milosevic offers that the offensive is over and his troops are being pulled back.

The people say they will never believe anything Milosevic says, and NATO air strikes are not enough. The only thing that will make them feel safe enough to return to their homes is the presence of foreign troops on the ground.

osovo is a province of Serbia, the main republic of Yugoslavia. But ethnic Albanians make up 90 percent of its 2 million people, and many of them favor self-rule.