1.   Britain, France and others have long pressed Washington to send ground troops to assist them, a step that the Clinton administration has assiduously avoided.

2.   But on the Middle East, the administration avoided involvement for as long as it could and then waded in only tentatively.

3.   But the administration is commendably avoiding the big new tax cuts that some Republicans have started advocating.

4.   But Rose said that if the tobacco companies went along, the administration could avoid a nasty political fight over tobacco.

5.   During the American election campaign, the administration has avoided deciding whether American troops would remain in Bosnia beyond the promised withdrawal date.

6.   In a confidential memorandum to Bush after her trip to Italy, she had explicitly recommended that the administration avoid being seen as opposed to the Kyoto accord.

7.   President Bush has said little about the arts, and his administration has avoided making comments on cultural issues that may set off conflict.

8.   Recognizing the difficulty of its military task, the Bush administration has also avoided building expectations that one or two raids would put an end to the threat.

9.   Such missions were derided by George W. Bush during his campaign as exactly the kind of action that a new Bush administration would avoid.

10.   The administration has so far avoided an official answer as it tries to balance competing interests.