61.  As criticism of the French grew, the commander of the peacekeeping force in Kosovo, German Gen. Klaus Reinhardt, issued a statement supporting the French.

62.  As commanders of the NATO peacekeeping force realize, their troops can withdraw only when peace is achieved on a civilian as well as a military level.

63.  As Sierra Leone slid back into war last month, the British were conspicuous as the one Western power willing to shore up the faltering U.N. peacekeeping force.

64.  As the United Nations peacekeeping force pulled out of Haiti this month, the mood was one of frustration at the difficulties of making a failed state work.

65.  As the NATO contingent moved toward the rebels, the group came under mortar fire, according to Richard Heffer, spokesman for the peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

66.  At present a UN peacekeeping force is in Kosovo, protecting Serbian and Albanian Kosovars alike from vengeful forces in either camp.

67.  At a news conference, Contact Group representatives sidestepped suggestions that one of the compromises being floated is for a peacekeeping force made up of other than NATO troops.

68.  At best, U.N. peacekeeping forces have been passive spectators to outrages and massacres, as in Bosnia and Rwanda.

69.  At the same time, it would authorize a U.N. peacekeeping force to be sent to Haiti once the government was restored.

70.  At the very least, their presence could threaten the reconstruction of Bosnia, the future of the Dayton peace agreement and the timely withdrawal of peacekeeping forces.