The United States, and its main regional ally in the war, Pakistan, had warned that the Northern Alliance should remain outside the city.

Even before the treaty was worked out, Democratic allies of the Administration were warning the White House not to seek approval in the Senate.

Such moves led to Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation; Gorbachev's former ally warned of an impending dictatorship.

Only weeks ago Jim Wright's allies warned members who dared oppose him to "pray" for their political futures.

You can't eliminate even a few firehouses because people will surely die, the firefighters' union and its allies warned.

Mr. Warner and his allies have warned that if that happens, they will introduce amendments to make the president's legislation look like theirs.

The allies have warned Mr. Milosevic that they will not stand idly by if there is an outright attempt to overthrow Montenegro's constitutional government.

But even Mr. Bush's conservative allies have warned that those inflows will not be enough to cover the continued growth in overall government spending.

He later suspended the provision allowing the lawsuits after America's allies warned of retaliation and officials within the Administration began to fear a trade war.

In recent weeks, as some longtime allies warned against a rush to war, Mr. Bush had left the bully pulpit to others.