Word: blusterer
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...rebel camp looked scornfully down at a police base in the valley below, then added, "If the Macedonians lose one son or brother they will stop fighting." He claimed the authorities were using mercenaries from Ukraine and elsewhere because their own men were too frightened to fight. Such bluster is expected, especially from rebels whose only successes have come in surprise attacks on police convoys and outposts. But a senior government official, speaking under condition of anonymity, seemed equally unimpressed by the security forces. "The rebels are not very good fighters," he said. "But even against such a poor enemy...
There's certainly room for straight talk and firmness in U.S. diplomacy. Bush's clarity could inspire sounder policy. To keep the tough talk constructive, though, Bush will need perfect pitch. Some may dismiss his verbal "realism" as the bluster of a green President who wants to puff up his toughness and resolve. Others may see the candor as a sign of overt hostility?and simply stop listening. Bashing Russia fuels anti-American forces in Russian society. Isolating North Korea doesn't reduce its threatening missiles. The Aegis could hurt rather than help Taiwan's security. How, asks Brookings Institution...
...apologize for its conduct in World War II. Bush is living in a 24-hour news cycle, in which impatience is a virtue. "Bush's tough instincts were right," says a Republican lobbyist, "but they were counterproductive. He should have known that the Chinese don't respond well to bluster." It would have been better, say several Republican foreign policy veterans, to be belligerent in private and play a sweeter song in public. "By saying we won't apologize," says a veteran, "we set the bar way too high...
There's certainly room for straight talk and firmness in U.S. diplomacy. Bush's clarity could inspire sounder policy. To keep the tough talk constructive, though, Bush will need perfect pitch. Some may dismiss his verbal "realism" as the bluster of a green President who wants to puff up his toughness and resolve. Others may see the candor as a sign of overt hostility--and simply stop listening. Bashing Russia fuels anti-American forces in Russian society. Isolating North Korea doesn't reduce its threatening missiles. The Aegis could hurt rather than help Taiwan's security. How, asks Brookings Institution...
...never a high priority for Ronald Reagan. He offered a different model for dealing with the Russians. The '80s model went by the name of peace through strength. But it was more than that. It was judicious but unapologetic unilateralism. It was willingness--in the face of threats and bluster from foreign adversaries and nervous apprehension from domestic critics--to do what the U.S. needed to do for its own security. Regardless...