Letter: Collateral casualty

Sir: Professor Callinicos (letter, 4 May) appears to be arguing that the morality of an action must be judged by its results. Therefore, since the Serb goons in Kosovo are still extirpating the Albanian population, we are wrong to make war on Serbia.

Far from it. At the very least, we are serving notice that a state may no longer assume impunity if it persecutes its minorities; its territory and very existence are then in jeopardy.

This would be a new principle in international law, and one well worth establishing if we hope for a more just world.

Dr LESLIE PALMIER

Bath