Key players 
 
Although the US government plays an important role in determining the course and the outcome of the NATO military action in Kosovo, the strategies and tactics they pursue will be framed in large measure by the activities of other key players:  
Slobodan Milosevic, The Kosovo Liberation Army, General Wesley Clark, Javier Solana, Yevgeny Primakov,Robin Cook.
 
 
Slobodan Milosevic  
The Yugoslav president has built his power base on one major pillar since his rise in 1989 as Serbia's president: his drive, sometimes at all cost, for a Greater Serbia. The mission has led his military, either directly or indirectly through surrogates, into murderous campaigns against Croatia, Bosnia and now Kosovo. Milosovic's take-no-hostages approach has earned him the title of "Butcher of the Balkans." His policy of ethnically cleansing areas where his opponents reside -- by removing entire populations -- has led to worldwide outrage. A wily master of bluff and brinksmanship, Milosevic, by his stubbornness this time, has led his nation over the brink and into military conflict with NATO.  

The Kosovo Liberation Army  
Serb brutality, rather than their military prowess, has propelled the guerrillas of the Kosovo Liberation Army to the center of the Balkan stage. When the West sought to bring them into negotiations last fall, U.S. diplomats had trouble even identifying the organization's leaders. Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority had begun pushing for independence by nonviolent means after President Milosevic revoked the region's autonomy in 1989. Small-scale guerrilla attacks on Serb police in the territory began as early as 1992, but in the spring of 1998 the Kosovo Liberation Army launched a major guerrilla offensive against the Serb authorities. Although Western observers and moderate Kosovar leaders initially discounted the KLA's claims, the Serb response to its campaign -- systematically targeting civilians and creating a massive refugee crisis -- rallied Kosovars to the KLA, and made the guerrilla organization the key to peace. 
  
NATO  
Of NATO's 19 member nations, 11 are contributing forces to Operation Allied Force, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Member nations not participating are the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Turkey.General Wesley Clark, NATO's supreme commander in Europe is the man in charge of the battle. Javier Solana is NATO's secretary-general.  

Yevgeny Primakov  
If Slobodan Milosevic has any sort of a friend, it is Moscow -- and unlike ailing President Boris Yeltsin, Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov is a wily diplomat and former top spook renowned for his skill in playing Russia's admittedly weak geopolitical hand. Under pressure from the Communist and nationalist majority in his legislature, Primakov has fiercely opposed NATO air strikes. While Russia's desperate need for Western loans will limit any counterstrokes, Moscow has indicated that it will ignore the arms embargo against Yugoslavia in response to air strikes on Kosovo. 

Robin Cook  
Cook has been getting considerable airtime as a vocal proponent of NATO's stance on Kosovo. The 52-year old Cook who is also chair of the Labor Party, has been a Member of Parliament since 1974, and was named foreign secretary in 1997.