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Milosevic's obduracy on such matters, among other things, leaves the U.S. and its allies deeply divided on the question of his reliability as broker of a Balkan peace. In the Clinton Administration, U.N. ambassador Madeleine Albright leads the list of those said to despise Milosevic; others in the State Department, while skeptical of him, think he is worth a risk: After all, what choices are there? This week Senator Robert Dole is expected to renew his call for lifting the arms embargo, which would give Bosnian government forces the ability to wage war with the Serbs on a more equal footing. At a moment when the future of the U.N. peacekeeping presence in Bosnia is in question and when Croatian troops appear to be deploying for an offensive against the Croatian Serbs that many expect in a matter of weeks, it is small wonder that Milosevic's overtures are taken seriously even by those who ultimately dismiss them. "My judgment," says a senior Administration official close to the situation, "is that he can deliver. But opinion is divided in Washington. He has embarrassed a lot of people there." The same official, however, admits, "If he got what he wanted in his briefcase, he could bring about the end of the war." As Congressman Richardson puts it, "Like it or not, Milosevic is the key player in the region. And we haveto deal with him, come hell or high water."
--With reporting by Massimo Calabresi and Marguerite Michaels/ Belgrade and J.F.O. McAllister, Douglas Waller and Mark Thompson/Washington