OK, Mr. Milosevic -- Now It's Time to Get Personal

This time it's personal -- that's what NATO wants Slobodan Milosevic to believe. Bombing his army and his cities hasn't moved the Serb leader to accept NATO's peace terms; now the alliance is showing signs of going after the man himself. CNN reported Wednesday that the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague is about to indict Milosevic as a war criminal -- a move likely facilitated by evidence provided by NATO countries' intelligence services. "An indictment would signal Milosevic that NATO isn't desperate to make a deal," says TIME U.N. correspondent William Dowell. The Serb leader recently sought immunity from prosecution as a precondition for a peace agreement. "Indicting him could complicate efforts to reach a political solution," says Dowell. "On the other hand, it may also be a means of piling on the pressure on Milosevic to accept NATO's terms."

The indictment report is the latest in a series of moves designed to target Milosevic. President Clinton has reportedly authorized a covert operation that includes tampering with Milosevic's overseas bank accounts, and NATO warplanes bombed the Serb leader's Belgrade home on two consecutive nights this week. Even though an indictment may take immunity off the negotiating table, it won't render a deal impossible. "He may be formally indicted but not actually arrested," says TIME Central Europe reporter Dejan Anastasijevic. "Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic was indicted as a war criminal, but five years later NATO hasn't made a serious attempt to go after him." Still, the alliance is clearly betting that a paranoid Milosevic is a more pliant Milosevic.

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