War is a harsh fact of life. Often in the history of the world, nations have had to draw a line in the sand and insist that it not be crossed.

Yugoslav President Slobodon Milosevic has been given such a warning, and still he refuses to come to terms with the fact that the world wants him at the peace talks signing an agreement to end the strife in his country.

But Milosevic refuses to do so, and now the bombs are falling.

The Soviets and the Chinese have stated their opposition to what they feel is an illegal military action.

But NATO has decided that military action is the only way to finally put an end to the bloodshed in that region.

While we cannot whole-heartedly support war, we cannot deny the distinct possibility that firm military action has been an effective measure in the past.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed when Japan refused to surrender at the end of World War II.

Even those dedicated to peace have to acknowledge that that action did, inevitably, save the lives of potentially thousands of American service men.

Men who would have otherwise died while the Japanese delayed the inevitable for as long as possible.

Nothing less than a full- scale war would have stopped Hitler from taking over the world.

Wasn’t it Chamberlain’s failed attempts at diplomacy which allowed Hitler enough time to build his armies and dig in for the bloodiest war of this century in the first place?

Swift military action early on could have prevented a World War.

Sometimes words are not enough and, regrettably, brutal military force is all that will work on men incapable of seeing reason.

This does seem to be one of those instances.

Milosevic had to know that NATO was serious.

When in the past has NATO ever made empty threats?

This is final stunning proof that President Milosevic must be made aware that the world will no longer tolerate the vile brand of harsh dictatorship which he wields over his populace.

The world cannot sit by the wayside and allow ethnic cleansing to kill thousands while we rest on our laurels enjoying the fruits of freedom.

War is terrible, but perhaps a limited engagement now can help prevent the spread of tyranny.