Then came a range of competent war films (Destination Gobi, The Desert Rats, both 1953), melodramas (So Big, 1953, and Executive Suite, 1954), epics (Helen of Troy, 1956) and westerns (Tribute to a Bad Man, 1956, starring James Cagney, stepping in for Spencer Tracy, whom Wise fired for turning up on set six days late).
But Winterbottom, a competent pre-war centre-half for Manchester United, unfairly sneered at by some England international veterans as one who had never played, was, in essence, a bureaucrat rather than a technician, who would admit his other job – yes, he had two! – as FA director of coaching was the more important of the two.
The second is that al-Nusra and similar groups have proved to be particularly competent in waging war against the Assad regime.
Many voters hold stereotypes that women aren't as knowledgeable or competent on issues like war and terrorism.
After a dramatic success in the Falklands in 1982, a less dramatic, less complete, but still impressive record in Northern Ireland, a competent role in the war to liberate Kuwait in 1991, a useful part in the campaign to force Serbia out of Kosovo in 1999, and a smart in-and-out intervention in Sierra Leone in 2000, the British army thought well of itself.
Article 5 of the third Geneva Convention requires that if there is any doubt regarding the status of captured combatants, they must be treated as prisoners of war until a "competent tribunal" determines their status.
Kim Gordon-Batespokesmanesman for the committee, said in a telephone interview that when there is doubt about a person's status, "anybody captured in an international conflict is presumed to be a prisoner of war unless a competent tribunal decides otherwise".
Cohen also takes on the argument that recent U.S. experience in several conflicts demonstrates that the United States is not all that competent when it goes to war.
Philby was a man universally liked, a highly respected professional - competent and industrious, decorated after the war - and a charming and amusing companion.
Garry Abrams overlooked a fascinating aspect of John Jakes' "Love and War" in his otherwise competent review (Book Review, Dec. 2).
The show has a high budget, focuses on the action of war and uses a competent writing style that doesn't try anything weird.
