Word: pretexting
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Bush insisted he would not use Iraq's violation of diplomatic norms in Kuwait last week as a pretext to launch a military attack. That is not a real option yet; the U.S. commander in the gulf, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, says shipments are behind schedule, and it will be a month before all the heavy armor en route is actually delivered. While its power builds, Washington intends to pursue the diplomatic and economic tracks until they have either visibly begun to strangle Saddam or been proved a failure. Meanwhile, Washington is debating some unsettled questions...
That strategy has its own potential dangers. The biggest threat is that Saddam would order his extensive network of agents in Jordan's predominantly Palestinian population to rebel against the King. Under the pretext of restoring order, Saddam could then move troops into Jordan. That would trigger intervention by Israel. Saddam would have accomplished his goal of transforming the confrontation between Iraq and most of the world into a showdown with Israel and the U.S. that would unite Arabs behind...
...Sandinistas seemed disinclined to push their protest as far as full- scale revolt. Nevertheless, Chamorro acted wisely to bring a swift halt to the unrest. As the rapid acceleration of violence showed, militants of all political stripes are eager to use any pretext to bash former foes. At the height of last week's confusion, her staunchest conservative critic, Vice President Virgilio Godoy, called for the formation of "Brigades of National Salvation," apparently hoping to deputize the armed groups that clashed with strikers. Not surprisingly, Chamorro's prudence was denounced by Godoy and other conservatives within her 14-party alliance...
...amendment "would make a good 30-second spot." In an unusual interjection in his dissenting opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens had taken a shot at such cynicism: "The integrity of the symbol has been compromised by those leaders who . . . seem to manipulate the symbol of national purpose into a pretext for partisan disputes about meaner ends...
...issue of foreign military presence in Europe. We are ready to bring our own soldiers home. We're already doing so. The U.S. Administration assumes that Soviet troops on foreign territory are an absolute evil while American troops are always good. Therefore the Americans are looking for any pretext to delay their departure...