The officials, from several agencies, sought to emphasize that the government was not backing off its initial assertions about the seriousness of Mr. Padilla's actions.

The original reports on Niger have been found to be based on forged documents, and the Bush administration has since backed away from its initial assertions.

Despite an initial assertion that the structure would require a building permit, the town of Thetford waived the requirement, ruling that the structure is a work of art.

He said the initial assertions of significant damage inflicted on Iraq appeared to be "an awkward combination of propaganda and complete rubbish."

Through the latest uproar, the substance of Mr. Jordan's initial assertion about the military targeting journalists was largely lost.

In each case, the initial assertion was meek, but the second carried more conviction.

Because of this new evidence, Mr. Aspin has now backed away from this his initial assertion that this is the most likely explanation.

NASA officials denied the scientists' claims shortly after they were released, however, and one of the scientists, Carol Stoker, backed off from her initial assertions.

Viacom officials repeated their initial assertions that Mr. Snyder's dismissal had to do with differences in style and approach.

Other changes in the American command's account of the bombing have included the initial assertion that Mr. Zarqawi was killed outright by the bombs.