1.   Arafat was of course defensive, complaining to Western diplomats that of all parties he had the least interest in disrupting the American initiative.

2.   But they also lay the groundwork for possible new American military initiatives in space that could invite a celestial arms race and transform the heavens into a future battlefield.

3.   Even the American initiative on weapons of mass destruction is not without controversy.

4.   He said he did tip off the Soviets to American initiatives coming before the Security Council as a matter of good politics.

5.   Mainstream Palestinian leaders also hoped for a new American initiative based on statehood.

6.   Netanyahu will arrive in Washington to discuss with President Bill Clinton an American initiative for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

7.   Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian official, said Cook was carrying a European peace plan that was considerably tougher than the reported American initiative.

8.   Palestinian expectations are so low that the chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said only that they hoped Albright would make public the American initiative during the meetings.

9.   Other American initiatives have also been moving slowly.

10.   Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat already has his invitiation to the White House, having accepted the American initiative last month.