It will be a mistake to see the war against Yugoslavia, launched by America and its NATO allies, as a localised conflict brought about by the "humanitarian" concern for the people of Kosovo. Yugoslavia is the signal that NATO, under US leadership, is determined to push forward for a New World order under imperialist domination. The NATO, at its 50th anniversary summit in Washington in end-April, adopted a new strategic concept, which has dangerous implications for the entire world. The NATO will no longer be confined to a European Defence alliance, but will intervene in conflicts and crisis management anywhere in the world. As a global power, the USA has taken the direct responsibility to expand, protect and maintain the economic and political interests of imperialism all over the world. The ideologues of the US ruling circles have clearly linked the goals of the "free market" and "democracy" to the use of military force to maintain the new global order.

The NATO is only an extension of this US goal. In 1991, NATO had stated: "We will continue to support, with all means available to us, reforms undertaken in the East and efforts aimed at creating market economies" (NATO Review, June 1991).

The United States has shown its criminal contempt for international norms and sovereignty of nations in its imperial pursuit for total domination. The bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, which led to the death of three Chinese personnel and injuries to 20 others, and the indictment of Slobodan Milosevic, president of Yugoslavia, as a war criminal are two glaring instances of what the new world order and the Pax Americana will look like.

A few days after the shocking incident of the bombing of Chinese embassy, the NATO governments gave political clearance to widen and intensify the bombing on Yugoslavia. It has now stopped even "apologising" for the mistakes in bombing which is causing the deaths of a large number of civilians in Yugoslavia.

The next step towards sending the NATO troops into Kosovo has been taken with the decision to despatch 50,000 troops to the borders of Kosovo. The US insists that any international force in Kosovo must have NATO troops as the core and must be under the command and control of NATO commanders.

The other arrogant and illegal step is the use of International War Crimes Tribunal, set up by the United Nations, to charge Slobodan Milosevic and four other senior leaders of the Yugoslavian State with war crimes. In the new imperialist order, any head of state or government can be branded war criminal or terrorist if he defies the US dictate.

The US quest for global hegemony has now resulted in active military intervention in other parts of the world, notably Asia. While the air attacks on Iraq continue, US imperialism has now extended its chain of military alliances and strategic pacts, reminiscent of the Cold War days.

Two major events need to be noted in this connection. First, in Japan, the parliament has voted the new war bills, which will enable the Japanese government to cooperate with the United States in areas surrounding Japan. This opens the way for Japan acting as the junior military partner with the US in the Asia-Pacific region -- a demand made for long by the United States., This taken alongwith the theatre missile programme initiated by the US in the region, has alarmed China which has protested against the latest Japanese decision.

Secondly, the United States has succeeded in getting its old ally, the Philippines, to resume visits by US naval ships and joint military exercises. In 1992, after the anti-Marcos upheaval, the Philippines had closed down the last US military base. In 1995, joint exercises and visits by US warships were cancelled by the United States since the Philippines government did not provide for an agreement for the same. Now, after continuous pressure, the Filipino president, Estrada, has got the Senate to approve the Visiting Forces Agreement to resume US naval visits and large-scale military exercises with the Filipino armed forces. The agreement has been passed despite widespread protests by the Left and democratic forces. This is a major reversal after the breaking of military ties with the US.