1.   At its summit in Prague in November, the alliance may well decide to invite the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to join.

2.   At that meeting the alliance will decide which Central European countries will be the first to be invited to join NATO.

3.   But if the alliance decides to turn to ground troops, military experts say, they should go in before the weather begins to worsen in September and October.

4.   But some NATO officials noted that some of the forces could also play a combat role if the alliance decides to mobilize for a land attack.

5.   But when parade organizers would not budge, the alliance decided to march anyway.

6.   For that matter, the brave new alliance has not decided what to call its shining little beacon of future-tech.

7.   Ordinarily, research is limited to U.S. scientists, but Klippel said the alliance decided to extend grants to foreign researchers as well.

8.   There is a general understanding, however, that if the alliance decides to send in ground troops this summer, it needs to start preparing now.

9.   But the alliance decided it was not ready, and invited only Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic.

10.   Cohen began his Polish visit Monday after talks in Denmark and Brussels, where the Western military alliance decided on the air exercises.