Uzi Landau, the minister of public security, visited the scene and called for a stepped-up campaign to destroy the Palestinian Authority.

Applications have more than tripled in recent weeks, with many applicants blaming a stepped-up campaign of violence by the army.

But American and Iraqi officials also pointed to recent successes that they attributed to the stepped-up military campaign.

Even before the lawsuits, university administrators felt the heat of the music industry's stepped-up anti-piracy campaign.

It was the new group that met in the bullet-scarred villa to plan the stepped-up campaign.

As part of their stepped-up campaigns, many airlines now encourage employees to report incidents, offering them legal advice and paid leave to testify in court.

The detentions are the latest in a stepped-up American campaign to root out insurgents and pacify the country as the elections planned for January approach.

In Budapest, the effects of a stepped-up campaign by the Government appeared to have had some effect.

Diplomats said it was unclear whether the incidents marked the beginning of a stepped-up campaign of political repression.

Although the timing was coincidental, officials in both states said the mass arrests were part of a stepped-up campaign to compel parents to meet their financial responsibilities.