1.   But Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the likeliest candidates to provide it, will not risk it without firm American backing.

2.   Pique also expressed firm backing for Plan Colombia, which many European governments had criticized for relying too heavily on a military solution.

3.   Then, as now, Clinton intervened at the last moment and overturned an approach that had the firm backing of his China experts.

4.   With the firm backing of Treasury, the fund initially forced Thailand to accept austerity, including budget cuts and high interest rates.

5.   But he will need firm backing to make the hard budget cuts he envisions.

6.   Cohen was not expected to get any firm backing from Turkey which suffered financially and politically from the division of Iraq after the Gulf War.

7.   Conference host Russia has given its firm backing to the U.S.-led war against terrorism.

8.   Expect firm backing for the U.S.-led fight in Afghanistan.

9.   The centrist party has joined forces with leading pro-Kremlin parties and given its firm backing to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

10.   The efforts to secure a return of the property have received firm backing from the United States.