Not exactly the anticipated outcome when the check was signed or the ATM withdrawal handed over as a settlement.

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There are a number of implications to a NATO withdrawal that leaves no political settlement behind: continued violence, greater risk of terrorism in South Asia and abroad, resource insecurity.

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Although the Israelis say they would be willing to depart in exchange for security guarantees, they know that Syria would not countenance a negotiated withdrawal in the absence of a wider settlement including the Golan Heights.

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The agreement will result in settlement of all patent litigation between the companies, including the withdrawal by Nokia and Apple of their respective complaints to the US International Trade Commission.

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According to the newspaper reports, the peace proposal calls for steps to rebuild confidence, including a halt to Israel's settlement activities, a lifting of the blockade on Palestinian areas and a troop withdrawal to positions held before the start of the Palestinian uprising in late September last year.

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Like Mr Netanyahu, Mr Barak would have liked to skip the unfinished business left over from the interim agreement, including the withdrawal prescribed at the Wye summit in Maryland last October, and go straight to negotiating a final settlement with Mr Arafat.

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