41.   But his primary alliances were with less hard-edged types like President Bush and his son George W. Bush, the Texas governor.

42.   But Hoffman said alliances were essential for competition to emerge.

43.   But industry officials believe that a Nasdaq-Big Board alliance is unlikely, largely because of regulatory and antitrust considerations.

44.   But it remains to be seen just how serious the alliance is about this, given that some Northern Alliance commanders espouse fundamentalist muslim views.

45.   But that alliance has been unraveling.

46.   But the alliance has not been a perfect match.

47.   But the alliance has been a tortured one.

48.   But others say NATO enlargement has been a way to avoid wrestling with whether the alliance is still necessary in a post Cold War world.

49.   But the nervous arrangements for the Khinjan meeting showed how fragile the new alliance could be.

50.   But their alliance is rare, in sharp contrast to the highly publicized confrontations between Hispanics and African Americans in Dallas of late.