Letter: Serbia's obsession

Sir: Fighting forces which cannot be used for fighting are a particular American concept, stemming from the confusion of their anti-colonial politics and the defeat in Vietnam. The British and European approach is different; while nobody wishes to see casualties most people accept that our professional soldiers on joining up have been prepared ultimately to sacrifice their lives, a view widely supported as recently as the Falklands war. The evil in Kosovo cannot be ended without deploying ground troops.

WILLIAM TERRELL

London, SW6