1.   Clinton held open the possibility of lifting the sanctions threats as soon as Habibie carried through on the commitments he made Sunday night.

2.   Clinton won sorely needed points for toughness by using the sanctions threat, and he was seen defending auto workers, an important part of his Midwestern political base.

3.   He added that customers appear unconcerned about the sanctions threat.

4.   Helms used trade sanction threats to force Japan to buy American cigarettes.

5.   In response to the sanctions threat, Nazarbayev dismissed his closest aide, Chief of Security Nurtay Abykaev, and his defense minister, Mukhtar Altynbaev, last fall.

6.   Japanese diplomats told their U.S. counterparts Japan would not return to the negotiating table until the U.S. has lifted its sanctions threat.

7.   The sanction threat should remain in place to pressure Belgrade and its Bosnian Serb allies to honor their other obligations under the peace agreement.

8.   The sanctions threat was lifted after the U.S. and Japan reached a last-minute trade agreement late last month.

9.   The sanctions threat annoys Europeans, who object to U.S. moves to force them to honor U.S. foreign-policy objectives.

10.   To be effective, the American approach should be backed by specific sanction threats.