"They're good at breaking arms and shooting people in the head," Van Evera said.

While there was a general consensus among panelists that ground troops were required in Kosovo, there was little agreement on what could be done after that.

"[Kosovo's] not like Kuwait," said Anna Husarska, a correspondent for the New Republic. "There isn't a government to turn it over to once we liberate it."

Van Evera said he supported the establishment of a protectorate under American control until an Albanian government could be put together.

Lubbers added that he thought the most positive thing to come out of this crisis was what he perceived as a shift in U.S. foreign policy to be more sensitive to humanitarian concerns.

The use of force in Kosovo, he argued, was supported by the American people despite the fact that it was "seen not as a security issue, not as national interest, but as an issue of human rights."

--Alysson R. Ford contributed to the reporting of this story.