Standing upright with an assertive and correct posture: famously "chin up, chest out, shoulders back, stomach in".

In the House, Representative Thomas Ewing, a Republican who represents a largely rural district in Illinois, has introduced a measure that takes a more assertive deregulatory posture.

The German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, said after his talks with President Clinton that his nation, now that it is reunified, was ready to assume the more assertive posture Washington is seeking.

But it represents a more assertive American posture than has been displayed in the weeks since, in which United States soldiers have remained essentially confined to guarded compounds.

After this and until statehood, Revisionist Zionism became known more for its advocacy of more belligerent, assertive posture and actions against both British and Arab control of the region.

"There absolutely is a more assertive posture," said Kathleen McGinty, the head of the White House environmental policy office.

But the stuff about "standing by your man" has changed to a more assertive posture.

The Indian leader's assertive posture followed similar warnings to Pakistan by the Home Minister, Lal Krishna Advani.

But in a nod to Panama's increasingly assertive posture regarding the running of the canal, the board also created a new position, that of vice chairman, and named a Panamanian, Jorge E. Ritter, to the job.

This year China has challenged Hanoi by taking a more assertive posture toward its territorial claims.