Israeli officials justify it as an essential military step in time of crisis.

European officials justify their stand by citing recent examples of the privacy issues that have been raised by the Bush administration's airline-security campaign.

Some officials justify their graft by saying they have been poor too long and deserve a chance to take part in the economic boom.

"Top officials did not always justify their freedom from aggressive oversight with a willingness to respect and implement their social duties."

Now officials must justify rejecting proposals that include affordable housing.

However officials have justified destroying bridges, saying they help resupply Yugoslavia's forces.

For years, the president and top officials have justified their refusal to grapple seriously with global warming by insisting that more research is needed.

It would also require the officials to justify their decisions to designate a document as secret.

The traffic volume is so large that "officials could justify widening the road to as many as five lanes in each direction."

Each day, vote on several of these measures that no elected official could justify.