A similar standoff at the Peruvian Embassy in 1980 set off the Marielboatlift, when 125,000 Cubans left the island.

A similar standoff is setting in among politicians.

Meanwhile, on 59th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, a similar standoff was taking place, in part because the protesters would not - or could not - explain their plans.

After 81 days, the longest armed siege in modern American history ended last week without the violence of similar standoffs at Waco, Tex., and Ruby Ridge, Idaho.

(It could lead to similar standoffs with police.)

That pact, known as the Agreed Framework, was forged after a standoff remarkably similar to the current one.

Backing Off Previous Standoffs A similar standoff a year ago, when Iraq blocked arms inspectors from searching its Agriculture Ministry, also ended with Iraq giving way after President Bush threatened more bombing raids.

Terrorists would then attempt similar standoffs in other cities, with more casualties in the long run.

With the lines thus drawn, there is not much to distinguish the Yonkers case from similar standoffs in cities around the nation, but for two factors.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, fears of a similar standoff soared when the officially-declared loser of elections there, Etienne Tshisekedi, cried foul.