Still others say that whatever blow has been dealt to American credibility, no one doubts American determination to confront the issue.

As Mr. Rostenkowski put it, the bill would be the "first step in opening the eyes of the world" to American determination to narrow its trade deficit.

There was, I thought, something both wonderful and goofy about all this persistent American determination to reform the world.

They are a consequence of an American determination that places a premium on liberty and justice and an American attitude that nothing is impossible.

Arafat himself is said to be surprised by both the length of his captivity and the American determination to marginalize him.

Americans deserve a military that can quickly overwhelm and defeat any adversary, and most of the globe has tied its fate to such American determination.

This isn't an American determination.

Some argue, for instance, that the first intimations of American determination to wage war in Iraq came from a Bilderberg gathering in 2002.

They, too, wish urgently to avoid another costly crusade in the name of American determination that ends up dissipating American resolve.

It reflects, she said, "American determination to show that multilateral arms negotiations don't work."