Word: buffer
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...hands of the mad and reckless hermit dictatorship of North Korea. There is not. Disarming Kim Jong Il would require China to starve and break his regime. Why doesn't Beijing act? Because China has a prime interest in maintaining a friendly communist ally as a buffer between itself and U.S. forces in South Korea; as a roadblock to a dynamic, capitalist, reunited Korea; and as a distraction keeping America tied down in the northern Pacific, while China maneuvers to regain Taiwan and extend its influence throughout the Pacific...
...Determined never to be at the mercy of foreigners again, many Asian countries have since built up huge foreign-exchange reserves as a buffer against financial shocks. Emerging Asia now has currency reserves approaching $2 trillion. Self-insured against everything short of Armageddon, these nations have little incentive to engage in discussions about the international financial system. But the world needs such dialogue more than ever. There are risks to the global economy posed by mounting trade imbalances, especially the U.S.'s huge trade deficit (around 6% of GDP) and the soaring surpluses in emerging Asia, some European economies...
...storms are causing more and more damage every year in the U.S. More than 50% of Americans live in coastal areas, which means heavy weather increasingly runs into people and property. Also, the elimination of wetlands to make room for development means there's less and less of a buffer zone to absorb storm surges and mitigate damage. So our biggest problem is not the weather but our romantic urge to live near water...
...council voted unanimously late last week for a 15,000-strong international force to help the same number of Lebanese troops keep a 12-mile buffer zone free of "any armed personnel," whether Hizballah or Israeli. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said he would work over the weekend to determine the exact date and time Israeli troops will move out as the Lebanese move...
...Olmert's caution is reinforced by military experts who note that even if Israel clears a buffer zone - which would require the forced eviction of tens of thousands of Lebanese villagers - Hizballah rockets fired from beyond the Litani River could still reach north and central Israel. And war planners have not forgotten that the last time Israeli forces dug in north of the border, their bases and supply lines were easy prey for Hizballah's guerrilla units...