The Blair government has given whole-hearted support to the Nato operation, both militarily and diplomatically. As in the bombing of Iraq, it has acted as the Clinton administration's staunchest ally. Prime Minister Tony Blair has taken a lead in seeking the maximum support for the Nato air strikes, both in Britain and internationally.

But this hasn't prevented a heated debate. Veteran political figures have joined prominent military men in questioning whether air strikes alone can achieve Nato's stated objectives. Some newspapers have warned that Europe is stumbling into its first major conflict since the Second World War.

The Labour peer Lord Healey, a former defence minister, has called the Nato operation a "terrible error". The former Conservative foreign secretary, Lord Carrington has also expressed serious misgivings. Another former foreign secretary, Lord Owen, has argued that Nato should have prepared ground troops. "Nato seems to think it can have half a war," he said.

But many in Britain favour military action, on the grounds that the West could not ignore the bloodshed and suffering in Kosovo - albeit with misgivings about the outcome of the Nato action.