Only on this understanding was David Trimble, leader of the Ulster Unionists, able to persuade his party to retreat from its earlier position of insisting that it would never sit in government with Sinn Fein unless decommissioning was already under way (itself a retreat from the position that decommissioning would have to be completed first).
However, with calls growing inside and outside Pakistan for some outside review, the Pakistani government seems to have backed away from its earlier position.
The N.F.L.'s letter indicated a subtle shift from its earlier position that all talks should be in the form of collective bargaining with the union.
This is the strongest language the White House has used on the issue and a far cry from its earlier position that the science was too uncertain to proclaim global warming a problem.
The commission scheduled this week's proceedings after the Justice Department reversed its earlier position that anything less than stringent regulations would pose legal and technical obstacles to the ability of law enforcement agencies to do wiretapping for criminal and terrorism investigations.
Estimates had been failing in particular to capture in-house software in financial and business services.Could Britain's new position near the head of the software-investment country rankings prove as illusory as its earlier position near the bottom?
That reversed its earlier position that passengers could apply for refunds if they had paid the tax before the F.A.A. shutdown on a ticket that was used during the last two weeks.
The capital of India is to be removed from Calcutta to Delhi, and following on this the Bengali Provinces are to be reunited, Assam will revert to its earlier position as a Chief Commissionership, and a new Province is to be created by uniting districts of Behar, Chota Nagpur, and Orissa under a Lieutenant-Governor in Council.
I happened to see "The Conspirator," a new historical drama directed by Robert Redford, on the day that the Obama administration, reversing its earlier position, announced that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four others would be tried by a military tribunal for their suspected roles in the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The government have made important concessions on its earlier position," shadow attorney general Dreyfus said.
