Word: deflecting
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Moscow's reluctance to let Rust off with a wrist slapping, and thus deflect attention from its embarrassment, only underscored the extreme seriousness with which the Soviets viewed Rust's romp through more than 400 miles of well- guarded airspace. Soviet and Western military experts were still digesting the news of the abrupt departure of Defense Minister Sergei Sokolov, the first official of that rank to be ousted since Nikita Khrushchev's celebrated firing of Georgi Zhukov for meddling in party affairs in 1957. Marshal of Aviation Alexander Koldunov was also dismissed. Further casualties were expected in the course...
...distant South Pacific remains unclear. "There's no plausible explanation in terms of geography or legitimate national interest," a suspicious Hawke said last week. One possible explanation is that Gaddafi simply wants to irritate the U.S. and France, his chief Western enemies, and at the same time deflect attention from domestic economic troubles and the defeat of Libyan troops in the African country of Chad. Some Western observers, however, believe a Libyan presence in | the Pacific may foreshadow a larger political offensive by its ally, the Soviet Union. In recent months Moscow has been enlarging its Pacific fleet and trying...
...some of the others tainted by dishonor, deceit and hypocrisy were to show a similar ability to understand their moral accountability for their actions, perhaps an air of redemption would ensue. But the new American gospel is damage control, using the arts of public relations to deflect blame. "Mistakes were made," was President Reagan's explanation for the Iran- contra affair. His absolute refusal to admit even the slightest responsibility for the ethical chaos around him is telling...
Senator Hart, too, sought to deflect responsibility, first claiming that his only mistake was not realizing that his meetings with Donna Rice could be "misconstrued," then blaming the media for the mess he was in. Even Jim Bakker, who by profession alone should have an intimate acquaintance with the theological concept of sin, resisted simply confessing his dalliance with Jessica Hahn. Instead, Bakker insisted that his troubles were all part of a "diabolical plot" by rival preachers...
...MiGs arrived over Spina Bora, some 20 miles from Jalalabad, Afghanistan's fifth largest city, just before 7 a.m. Half a dozen jets flew out of the northwest, dropped parachute flares to deflect heat-seeking missiles, and then began their bombing runs. Mujahedin 12.7-mm and 14.5-mm heavy machine guns opened fire from the surrounding mountains, shooting in wide arcs across the sky. At the guerrilla base, Commander Khan Emir and about 20 of his men stood defiantly on an open knoll, firing at the jets with AK-47 assault rifles and RPG-7 grenade launchers. Other nearby guerrilla...