21.   The painstaking counting of ballots was carried out by hand, as UN and other Western observers looked on.

22.   The rebel force, never a totally cohesive structure, may dissipate, but it may also throw out dangerous splinter groups, a Western military observer warned.

23.   The Western observers also offered an explanation why the Iraqi military offered so little resistance during the fighting.

24.   There was no sign of shellfire around the village, and Western observers said it looked as if the church had been mined.

25.   To some Western observers, it appeared to be the emergence of a dangerous strain of nationalism, stirred up partly by the Chinese government.

26.   Western military observers said that if the rebels have the weapons they claim to have, they might well be able to keep control of this city.

27.   Western observers doubt the OSCE presence would stop a Russian advance to crush the rebels.

28.   Western observers said that date might not stick.

29.   Western observers say the country does face a genuine armed threat from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, which Bush has said is linked to bin Laden.

30.   Other Western observers, however, have said it is less important who wins than the installation of a working parliamentary majority capable of running a government.