Word: softener
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...explained to Washington that Western Europe's defense capability is inextricably linked to its economic well-being and social stability. That view so far has failed to sway the White House, where aides blamed Haig for having misled the Western Europeans into thinking that Reagan had agreed to soften his opposition to the pipeline. In fact, when Reagan left Versailles, unhap py over the soft European stand on credit to the Soviet bloc, he still had not made up his mind whether to toughen the anti-pipeline sanctions...
...pipeline decision confirmed suspicions within the Community that Washington, in pursuit of its goals, was riding roughshod over Western Europe's economies. Rightly or wrongly, Western European leaders had been led by Secretary of State Alexander Haig and other officials to believe that the U.S. was willing to soften its opposition to the pipeline in the interest of harmony, and specifically in exchange for a European agreement-feeble though it was-to tighten credit to the Soviet bloc...
...defense. Remnants of Roman walls exist in the City of London, where the Barbican Center, a $280 million arts-cum-business complex, has been erected. Slabs and columns of pebbled concrete suggest a fortress built in modern medieval style. Splashed with bright reds and oranges on the inside to soften the austerity of the stone, the Barbican, which officially opened in March, is a labyrinth in which crowds still wander like students during freshman week, seeking the proper doors and directions. The center contains Barbican Hall, home of the London Symphony Orchestra, three cinemas, an art gallery, two restaurants...
Trying to retake the Falklands, the British task force needed three kinds of warplanes: a naval interceptor to protect the fleet, a ground-attack aircraft to soften up enemy defenses on the islands, and an agile troop-support plane to cover British forces as they advance from their bridgehead toward the main Argentine garrison at Port Stanley. All those roles have been filled by what the British regard as their magnificent flying machine: the Sea Harrier, a vertical short-takeoff and landing jet whose maneuverability and advanced avionics have made it more than a match for the land-based attack...
...imperative to keep future inflation from pushing up benefits as rapidly as it did from 1975 to 1981. Besides saving money for the trust funds and helping to trim the overall budget deficit in the short run, a limit on future increases could also help build up reserves to soften the 21st century's demographic crunch. Any increase decreed now will almost certainly be frozen into the benefit rates paid to future retirees; the cumulative cost over the decades is gigantic...