Mission Impossible

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Friday, 2 p.m., Pristina. Bleary-eyed and discouraged, Holbrooke has stayed up all night, phoning diplomats in Kosovo and officials at the State Department, the U.N. and NATO headquarters. He is concerned that the next Balkan war could start at Kijevo, a village so tiny that it's not even on the map. A few thousand Albanians, 80 Serb families and 250 Serb military police are surrounded by K.L.A. checkpoints. But no one there is able to tear down the K.L.A. barricades. Ambassador Hill will return this week to try to get the checkpoints cleared, and U.S. Envoy to the Balkans Robert Gelbard will continue to work on Rugova. But Holbrooke leaves Kosovo empty-handed: "I have no magic solution to offer."

As his C-20 waits for takeoff, Holbrooke accepts that this mission has at best bought some more time before war breaks out. His words betray a weary resignation: "There's no dishonor in trying and failing to prevent a war." His plane lifts into the air, Serb soldiers ready missile launchers and air-defense guns that ring the airport, while machine guns rattle in the distance.

--With reporting by Massimo Calabresi/Pristina