UNSHEATHING THE SWORD

"We should bomb, bomb, bomb until the Serbs agree to give up all their ill-gotten territorial gains to save their life." TRUMAN HUNTER Oxford, Ohio IT'S ABOUT TIME THE WEST FINALLY acquired a conscience and used force in order to stop the Serb campaign of genocide in Bosnia [COVER STORIES, Sept. 11]. But the Serbs have every reason to believe that the resolve of the West will quickly dissipate. The only chance of bringing them to the bargaining table in earnest is for nato forces to continue air strikes until the Serbs have lost significant military assets. Only then will they have a real incentive to sue for peace. DAVID W. SELF Chandler, Arizona Via E-mail

THE "PEACE THROUGH BOMBING'' CAMPAIGN is destroying what could have been America's most significant contribution to a resolution of the conflict. A "peace'' externally imposed by military force upon the Bosnian Serbs will never hold. Those who think otherwise understand neither the Serbs nor the history of the Balkans. The Serb aspiration to be united and free is as rightful as was the aspiration of the two Germanys to be united. The same goes for the Croats and the Muslims. An equitable partition mutually agreed upon is the only answer. Stop the bombing. Call for an all-parties cease-fire. Lift the crippling economic sanctions on Serbia. And let mediators untainted by bloody hands impartially broker a just partition. (THE REV.) THOMAS LEE BASICH Advent Lutheran Church St. Paul, Minnesota

THE U.S.'S EXTREMELY TARDY BUT WELCOME change in policy is to be applauded. The international community has finally taken a side--the side of international law. May we have the conviction to stay the course. STEVE MUELLER Chicago

WE SHOULD BE PROTECTING INNOCENT Serb civilians just as we should protect the Bosnian Muslim civilians, no more no less. If not, the U.S. may someday be accused of crimes against humanity. Remember Vietnam. VLADISLAV A. TOMOVIC Williamsville, New York

THE U.N. HAS NO PART TO PLAY IN THE ethnic struggles going on in the states of the former Yugoslavia. These are localized clashes with no adverse effect beyond the states' boundaries. The U.N. should withdraw its forces without delay in order to regain the moral strength on which its effectiveness rests. SUMALYA CHAKRABORTY Rooty Hill, Australia

THIS WAR HAS PROVED THE INEFFECTIVENESS of the U.N. because of the strong influence exerted on it by the major countries of the West, as well as the unwillingness of the European Union members to sacrifice their economic interest in the area in order to follow a path of dialogue and understanding. IOANNIS TSIONAS Salonika, Greece Via E-mail

FOCUSING ON CROOKED COPS