"This is an out-of-area operation," he said, referring to the NATO alliance. "Recently, there was a lot of momentum to expand out-of-area to include the Middle East and Africa. I think that after this, that will be pulled back."

Alvis attributed NATO's willingness to act in Kosovo to its strategic location and proximity to member nations.

"Kosovo is wedged in an area where stability starts to come into play," he said. "It's also an embarrassment for atrocities to occur in modern, high-tech Europe."

Alvis also noted problems with intervention by coalition. The 19 NATO nations directing the conflict all have veto power, leading to indecisiveness.

"Milosevic knows how fragile the coalition is," he said.

According to Alvis, NATO will win if it has the resolve, but the only sure way to win is to occupy Kosovo and lay out conditions for the return of refugees. However, he is not sure that NATO has the resolve to send in ground troops.

"Clinton doesn't need combat during a presidential election," Alvis said.

A 40-minute question-and-answer period followed the presentations. Topics of discussion included the U.S. hesitance to call the conflict a war.

"As [Sen.] John McCain [R-Ariz.] said, `We're trying to win war without waging one,"' Alvis said. "We're willing to throw our treasures at it, but we're not willing to throw our blood at it."

However, one audience member, Asti Pilika '99, an ethnic Albanian from Albania, offered enthusiastic support for the U.S. effort.

"It is my opinion that America had to take a leadership role in this situation," he said. "The European leadership [in past Balkan conflicts] became tools in the hands of Serbian propaganda. Europe is just too much in the possession of nationalism to make rational decisions in this conflict."