21.   But since Soviet troops withdrew from Kabul, relations have cooled considerably.

22.   But she complained that the administration had not outlined a strategy that would some day allow the troops to withdraw.

23.   But the basic plan is for allied troops to withdraw to their bases if there is an outbreak of fighting or a major challenge to NATO forces.

24.   But the threat is a weak one, because most Kosovars understand that the Western troops cannot withdraw as long as Milosevic is in power in Belgrade.

25.   Chechnya claimed independence when Russian troops withdrew, but Moscow maintains that the republic remains part of the Russian Federation.

26.   Despite a personal appeal from President Bush, the troops did not withdraw for weeks.

27.   Dudayev also said he would no longer insist that all Russian troops withdraw from Chechnya before talks begin, an earlier condition that Moscow did not accept.

28.   Earlier this week, he said his troops would never withdraw from the town, which Eritrea considers its territory.

29.   Even before the last Soviet troops withdrew six years ago, the mujahedeen were at war with each other, dividing the country into a jigsaw of lawless fiefs.

30.   Even after its troops withdrew, Germany would have retained sovereignty over the territory it had annexed.