"Dick Holbrooke flew out this afternoon, and the situation now is really tense. There's no way either NATO or Milosevic can back down, and the Serbs are mobilizing for war. To degrade Milosevic's military power, NATO is going to attack tanks and troop formations inside Kosovo. Once people start getting killed, it's going to be hard for either side to pull out. In the worst-case scenario, that could prompt the disintegration of Serbian society -- this is a conscript army and already the mothers are protesting. If the conscripts turn and run in Kosovo, they're going to take their weapons with them and head for Belgrade. There are a lot of old political scores to be settled here.
"There's no curfew or any other sign of preparation here in Belgrade, although people stored a lot of food last time there was a bombing threat and probably still have it. We don't expect missiles to fall close to the capital, but many local journalists are moving their families out to the countryside. For Americans, there's no place to hide -- all across the country there'll be people looking for an American on whom to take vengeance. Even inside my hotel, Americans are already being threatened."