In addition, the landmine treaty may not have the standard "supreme national interests" clause that provides a fail-safe mechanism by permitting withdrawal from international agreements in the event changed circumstances make them incompatible with those interests.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT CLINTON

Sterling was in crisis and Norman Lamont was forced to announce a humiliating withdrawal from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

BBC: Profile: Jeremy Heywood - the next Cabinet Secretary

After talks in Cairo last month, some Islamists, including former hardliners, broke with the Shabaab and indicated a willingness to accept the Somali government if there were a mechanism for the phased withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops who have been stationed in Mogadishu since the fall of the Islamic Courts government.

ECONOMIST: Somalia's fighting