Word: focus
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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History Lessons When I saw your cover story, "Starting Anew," I immediately remembered reading your excellent cover article about Afghanistan by Rory Stewart in late July last year [July 20]. Stewart recommended, among other things, that U.S. troop numbers be reduced and that the military strategy should focus on counterterrorism, not counterinsurgency. How depressing, then, to read that the U.S. is planning to increase the number of troops in the country and is pursuing a counterinsurgency strategy in Helmand province, with running ground battles with the Taliban. The new policy of refraining from air strikes that might kill innocent Afghans...
...Unifying the three tales is the theme of unrealized aspirations, forcing the protagonists to re-evaluate their everyday existences. Illustrated in three distinct styles, from Disney pastiche to childish simplicity and monochromatic detachment, this is poignant stuff. The Eternal Smile lacks the focus and anger that dripped from the pages of American Born Chinese, but like that work it stresses the importance of confronting reality - ironic, when comics and graphic novels are often labeled as fantasy by their detractors...
...with China, Asia's export-driven economies are sputtering back to life. Overall, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that in the three years from 2008 to 2010, China will, astonishingly, account for almost three-quarters of the world's economic growth. Not surprisingly, China has now become the focus of a world that is looking for a way out of the swamp. As Shanghai-based economist Andy Xie puts it, "Everyone wants to know the same thing: Can China save the world...
...warns of a ? different sort of conflict between Dutch Muslims and the rest of his country's citizens. Many of his arguments begin with the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the ensuing "war on terror," which have helped create a toxic alchemy that has given a new focus to far-right politics in the Netherlands and elsewhere. (Read: "Is Islam Growing More Militant...
Terrorist groups often boast about their unity of purpose, the single-minded pursuit of their apocalyptic goals. But when it comes to leadership succession, history shows they are rarely united. The death of a charismatic leader often leads to fragmentation and infighting, followed by a loss of focus and effectiveness. Case in point: al-Qaeda's Iraqi arm never recovered from the killing of Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi...