Only then, said a alliance spokesman, Maj. Trey Cate, would the alliance call a pause in the bombing, which has continued despite the impending accord.

A meeting between a Russian general and Gen. Ratko Mladic, the commander of the Bosnian Serb army who has been indicted for war crimes, occurred on Thursday without the knowledge or approval of NATO, an alliance spokesman said.

"It is still our firm intention that there should be a single, unified command structure under Sir Michael Jackson," said the alliance spokesman, Jamie P. Shea.

But a Kurdish alliance spokesman denied such an effort existed.

The decision was reached Aug. 4 between Lt. Gen. David Barno, the commander of the American-led alliance in Afghanistan, and President Hamid Karzai, Maj. Scott Nelson, an alliance spokesman, said at a news briefing.

Wing Cmdr Mike Bracken, an alliance spokesman in Naples, Italy, said Nato is "not involved in the ground battles," although he acknowledged the alliance is tracking the fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.

Bob Carolla, an alliance spokesman, said the company first resisted meeting before Valentine's Day but then agreed to meet on Feb. 8.

"When the alliance spokesman says one thing, the other leaders immediately issue press releases stating their own opinion."

But alliance spokesmen still are not talking about casualties on the ground, the operation's cost, the dogfights that downed five Yugoslav MIG's and the country-by-country makeup of each day's attacking air forces.

Another alliance spokesman, Herb Steinberg, said of Mr. Mancuso: "There's a vote coming up Wednesday and he wants the writers to take stock of where they are.