But a Western diplomat noted that "they are turning and running."

"His mind is there, but it comes in and out," one diplomat noted.

"Every commander has a deputy who's in charge half the time," a diplomat noted.

Diplomats noted that the proposed settlement had been reached only with great difficulty.

"But the outcome of this vote is certainly a plausible compromise," one Western diplomat noted tonight.

It served large quantities of imported hard alcohol, the diplomats noted, "which is against the law".

Several security officers and Western diplomats noted that the investigation remained in its infancy.

But one Western diplomat noted last week, "It's pretty clear that nobody wants to go to war over documents."

"He is the best improvisational speaker in the country, by far," noted one Latin diplomat.

The fine points of Shiite doctrine are important in understanding the adherents' political behavior, one diplomat noted.