  We evaluate the contribution of inelastic intermediate states (such as $p\to
N^*$ excitations) to the phase between the one-photon-exchange and the
`nuclear' high energy $pp$ scattering amplitudes as $t\to 0$, caused by
multiphoton diagrams. It turns out to be rather small - much smaller than to
have any influence on the experimental accuracy of the measurements of $\rho$,
defined to be the ratio of the real to imaginary parts of the forward `nuclear'
amplitude.
