11.  But Boucher, in Washington, said there are no specific plans for such a force or a timetable for having it in place.

12.  But Burns, speaking to reporters traveling with the secretary of state to Cairo, repeated that the shape, purpose and size of such a force remained unclear.

13.  But many barriers stand in the way of organizing such a force.

14.  But such a force would lack the prestige of a Security Council mandate and would not be financed by the United Nations.

15.  But they said such a force is not needed now because the alliance itself is providing security.

16.  But without such a force, Afghanistan appears likely to remain unstable.

17.  Christopher arrived Saturday in South Africa, where President Nelson Mandela said a proposal for such a force should come through the United Nations, not one country.

18.  Cooperation with such a force is inconceivable.

19.  Discussions in the Bush administration toward creating such a force have made little progress.

20.  Diplomats say such a force could begin to be sent quickly, once this conference ends and after an authorizing vote by the Security Council.