Today's Story Line

Bombing Serbian forces from 15,000 feet was the easy part. Now, on the ground, NATO faces the task of disarming thousands of rebels in the Kosovo Liberation Army. The KLA will try to keep its weapons, but NATO threatens to withhold reconstruction money unless the arms are handed over. Quote of note: "They don't trust anybody. They want to stay armed in case anything backfires on them. It's euphoria right now, and everybody is bouncing around. But when this settles down, it's going to get hard." - a British mercenary who trained a KLA unit and fought with it.

NATO also needs to come to terms with the United Nations. After winning the cold war and now the Kosovo war, the Western alliance finds it can ignore the world body. But UN leaders say they still have a vital role behind the scenes.

The loss of Kosovo and a flood of Serb refugees have put Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic on the defensive at home. But his security forces can keep any dissent in check for now.

- Clayton Jones, World editor

REPORTERS ON THE JOB.. * A WALKING PHONE BOOTH: Jonathan Landay, on the ground in Prizren, inside Kosovo, reports that the city has electricity and water, in contrast with many burned-out villages through which he has passed with Monitor photographer Andy Nelson in recent days. But food is limited. People stand in long lines for bread and vegetables in the city. The countryside seems bereft of food, though there are signs of loose livestock. Jonathan and Andy packed in their own supplies, including dry goods, potatoes, bottled water, and three cases of PowerBars. But more in demand than their comestibles was the gasoline they had brought and the use of their satellite phone. Many newly returned ethnic Albanians are eager to call family members sheltering elsewhere in Europe and report on the status of their homes.

Let us hear from you. Mail to: One Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115 via e-mail: world@csmonitor.com