61.  Even before the airstrikes were launched, President Bill Clinton and senior defense officials had raised the possibility that planes could be shot down and pilots could be lost.

62.  French Defense Minister Alain Richard discussed defense cooperation and strategic dialogue with senior Indian defense officials during talks Wednesday.

63.  Government officials and protesting soldiers were locked in discussions to resolve the crisis, a senior defense ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

64.  Hamdi, whose legal status has yet to be determined, will be held in Norfolk, Virginia, a senior defense official said on condition of anonymity.

65.  Her charge has been substantiated by Army investigators, senior defense officials said last week.

66.  He will be held in a military jail at Norfolk, a senior defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

67.  He will be held in a military jail at the Virginia base, a senior defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

68.  In Washington, a senior defense official said the Pentagon held off on sending more al-Qaida and Taliban figures from Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay for security reasons.

69.  In the newly revealed incident, Lindh has an obscene, derogatory word written across his blindfold, a senior defense official said on condition of anonymity.

70.  John Hamre, the deputy secretary of defense, is resigning to become head of a major Washington-based think tank, a senior defense official said today.