21.   Before last week, the administration had vowed that U.S. ground forces would be used only to police a comprehensive peace settlement, or to assist a U.N. withdrawal.

22.   Behind them are a series of support bases where Taliban tanks and artillery can fire on advancing ground forces.

23.   Blair has been the most outspoken of the NATO leaders in urging the deployment of ground forces.

24.   - Haqqani, in his Pakistani newspaper interview, also taunted American ground forces.

25.   A ground force of that scale cannot possibly be reassembled.

26.   A Pentagon official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said if ground forces were discussed, it was only in passing.

27.   Administration officials said no decision had been made on using American ground forces should Milosevic halt the violence.

28.   Afghan and U.S. ground forces were also engaged in heavy fighting, officials said.

29.   After all, she said, ground forces typically put the opposition on the move and more vulnerable to air strikes.

30.   Against that background, NATO is considering combining its air strength with ground forces to carve out an area of control of its own.