While the media concentrate on the storms of Kosovo even more menacing clouds are gathering behind them. One dimly visible cloud is the unraveling of arms control agreements between the world's two nuclear superpowers, the U.S. and Russia. If this continues the world could find itself back on the road leading towards World War III. PNS associate editor Franz Schurmann writes extensively on international affairs. He is Professor Emeritus from UC Berkeley and author of "The Logic of World Power" and "The Foreign Politics of Richard Nixon."

Could the Kosovo war spread beyond Yugoslavia, maybe even beyond Europe?

The day NATO attacked Serbia, Clinton said without that intervention the war would certainly spread. But Russians fear just the opposite is the case -- war is spreading because of NATO's intervention.

Russian political commentators are speculating that Yeltsin may soon move nuclear-tipped missiles back into Belarus. That, along with Clinton's Theater Missile Defense (TMD) project, could end global nuclear disarmament.

Some commentators talk of going back to Stalin's isolationism of the 1930's -- "we are a camp under siege." Others observe that even though a turn inward is unlikely, the mere fact that responsible people are talking this way is dangerous.

Boris Yeltsin frayed nerves even more when he announced: "The war in Kosovo -- it's a war in Europe, and maybe, something more." Puzzled journalists admonished him: "Boris Nikolayevich, stop speaking in half sentences, tell us what you mean." But he said nothing more.

Some observers in Europe think there's no reason to fear Russia. But the reality is that, despite all the chaos, Russia retains a lot of military and high-tech power. Its cache of nuclear weapons can wipe out the United States. Its aerospace industry is second only to that of the U.S. (the biggest transport plane in the world is Russian). There is talk that Russia may soon undergo a "re-militarization" of its economy, society and state.

Nobody thinks World War III could break out in a few weeks. But a lot of people are worried that Kosovo could be the first step on a longer journey leading in that direction.

There is no consensus as to what WW III would look like. Some see it as smaller wars bunching up into bigger ones. Others see it as some kind of star wars. Still others see it as chaos spreading until it engulfs the globe. The danger is that the world could slip into WW III without anyone knowing it.

For six months after Hitler and Stalin devoured Poland in September 1939, Europe's guns (except for the Soviet-Finnish war) were silent -- it was called a "Sitzkrieg," a sit-down war. Then all hell broke loose.

A lot of Russians -- and Americans -- are worried that Western publics have become so giddy over the market's crashing through the 10,000 mark that they just don't want to hear about war dangers.

The world has gone through many scary crises since August 1945. But only one frightened a lot of people with the threat of imminent nuclear war: the Cuban missile crisis of October, 1962. Western airports were full of people frantically trying to buy tickets to South Pacific locations.

The crisis was broken because two leaders -- Kennedy and Khrushchev -- realized how fine the dividing line was between peace and war. A few telephonic contacts between the two -- the first "hot line" -- sufficed to end the crisis.

This time three leaders hold the fate of the world in their hands: Clinton, Yeltsin and Milosevic. It's much trickier when three decide than when it's two. Clinton and Yeltsin have nukes but Milosevic can spread a pandemic of chaos beyond Yugoslavia and maybe beyond Europe too.

In October 1962 Kennedy and Khrushchev knew they had to move fast and agree before the diplomatic tapestry of mutual understanding and arms control unraveled. This time too neither Clinton nor Yeltsin want an even bigger arms control tapestry to unravel. The loose scissors is Milosevic.

Milosevic certainly is playing his Russia card. He knows he can't scare the U.S. but Russia can. His aim is to conjure up fears of World War III so great that Clinton will let him have his Greater Serbia. Failing that he'll let the war rage and spread. The big question is: Can Clinton and Yeltsin -- like Kennedy and Khrushchev in 1962 -- agree on a solution? If so, then Milosevic and Greater Serbia will have to go.