1.   American and Saudi officials said they believed that a peace initiative with strong international backing will undermine resistance to compromise and peace.

2.   And U.S. officials have sought international backing for the military action with some success.

3.   Bush should also send Secretary of State Colin Powell to mobilize international backing for a new peace effort.

4.   But in return, the U.S. would gain international backing for trade sanctions so that every dispute does not turn into a bilateral foreign policy spat.

5.   But the latter would place Hariri in conflict with UNESCO, undermining his efforts to secure international backing for reconstruction.

6.   Others say they were lulled into complacence by a presumption of international backing for the Russian experiment with markets.

7.   Still, Washington is either misleading the public or fooling itself with claims of strong international backing, even from Arab states, for action against Hussein.

8.   The effect was immediate, dissolving the international backing for military action.

9.   The region stirs fears among the Communist authorities that religion and separatism are colluding to create a violent independence movement with international backing.

10.   The United States recently scored a diplomatic coup by winning broad international backing for an unconditional extension of the treaty.