Word: off-guard
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...scientific community has been caught off-guard by the immediacy of the greenhouse effect because the long-held view that increasing carbon-dioxide levels could be predicted by looking at pollution levels has been shattered. Scientists have discovered that there are innumerable factors that cause a given amount of pollution to cause a greater build-up of carbon dioxide. Deforestation and the decreasing ability of ocean sediments to absorb carbon dioxide ,for example, has severely disrupted the carbon cycle--the process by which terrestrial life absorbs and breaks down carbon compounds and emits pure carbon into the atmosphere. Climatologists assert...
There were disturbing reports that the U.S. and its NATO allies had been caught off-guard by the Soviet maneuvers. The Supreme Commander of NATO Atlantic forces, Admiral Wesley McDonald, said he had been "very impressed" by the size of the Soviet fleet, and called for an upgrading of Western defenses in the region. During a trip to Turkey for a NATO meeting, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger denied that the alliance had been unprepared for the Soviet maneuvers, although Defense Department Spokesman Michael Burch later conceded that "perhaps the size of the exercise was somewhat unexpected...
Saudi diplomacy tends to be cautious, and the initial Saudi response to the new war in Lebanon seemed confused, as if the monarchy had been caught off-guard. "They are almost in a schizophrenic state," said Wolf Mendl of the war studies faculty at King's College in London. Mendl noted that "like all Arab states, the Saudis don't have much time for the P.L.O., but they are absolutely committed to the Palestinian cause." Saudi Arabia has a significant Palestinian population of its own. Many Palestinians hold influential positions in the government...
...University does not deserve full blame for being unable to find suitable housing for its NoHo nomads. Harvard was caught largely off-guard by the current student forego leaves absence and complete their Harvard educations while tuition is still in five digits. Then again, we're not entirely sure the University's critics are wrong in suggesting that the surplus also reflects Harvard's desire to do almost any thing to bring in more cash...
Other old Kennedy hands were uncritical, even though their own off-guard remarks may have been recorded. Conceding that he knew nothing about the taping practice, General Taylor said he was "not in the least" resentful, since "important discussions require accurate records," and "I'm in pretty good company...