Sorry, I didn't reply to the point earlier about the chronology. Actually, it's not fuzzy anymore. The NATO action in Kosovo accelerated the ethnic cleansing which was already taking place. It was estimated that 11,000 men of military age had been killed or detained by the Serbs by the time the NATO response was initiated. Though this figure was disputed at the time, it was later shown to be accurate.

It was calculated by, among other things, estimating the number of military age men who should have been showing up at the Albanian border with the women and children, but weren't.

It remains a good question whether the NATO action did more harm than good, however. The fact that the Serbs were already known to have gotten away with a genocide was, I think, the determining factor. And is a slow(er) ethnic cleansing (I'm wondering about the settlements on the West Bank at the moment) any better than a fast one?

Another question entirely to ponder.

"It Can't Be Just About Us"
--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire