There were few direct clashes, with the exception of the debate over nuclear power.
They do so not just with hidden bombs and a campaign of intimidation against civilians suspected of collaborating with outsiders, but with more direct clashes with Marine patrols.
But this administration, like its predecessor, has had difficulty grappling with a rising power that seems eager to avoid direct clashes with the United States but affects its interests in many areas, including currency policy, nuclear proliferation, climate change and military spending.
However, the path is long, messy and fraught with problems, even dangers, such as a direct clash with Russia.
In Japanese baseball, the most highly prized virtue is doryoku, or unflagging effort, and Ramirez's stubborn stand-offishness, at least in the early days, seemed a direct clash with the polite forbearance of Matsuzaka.
Mr. McCain already faces a direct clash with another of the Republican candidates, Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, who has come out against the bill as he intensifies his efforts to win the support of conservatives who are wary of Mr. McCain and Mr. Giuliani.
PWGs decision to build an army came from its experience in Andhra Pradesh, where its "Land to the Tiller" campaign led to a direct clash with the landlords, and resulted in the kind of police repression that the Party found impossible to withstand without a trained fighting force of its own.
In a coincidence for which even the Rugby Football League can hardly be blamed for failing to anticipate, Hull City's run to a first the FA Cup final appearance in their 110 years of existence has led to a direct clash with the Hull derby at Super League's Magic Weekend, which also kicks off at 5pm.
The report edges away from a direct clash with the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, over allowing councils to borrow more for housebuilding, but urges greater flexibility and points out that the way local council borrowing for housing is treated against public debt is uniquely restrictive in the UK.
The League, whose attempt to preserve the cultural purity of northern Italy (Padania) has entailed virulent anti-immigrant rhetoric, fears that the EU is trying to impose political values that may lead to a direct clash with the aims of the party.The European institutions in Brussels have reasons of their own to be wary of regionalism.
The Chinese would seek to avoid a direct clash with the U.S.; therefore, initial Chinese reactions likely would involve active diplomacy to effect a cease-fire.
