There will be a very serious counterreaction, certainly in conventional military buildups but also in examining the nuclear option.”

As noted in the last chapter, you should tighten up your argument and prose when you revise the first draft for substantive change.

There are some very puzzling aspects of the discussion : it is a puzzle, for example, how Gilmour (in his smart way) can say that he is not asking for much more money to be spent than Howe already overspends every year (or that is what it sounds like); because if that is so, how can it be that Howe is some sort of manic flagellist who enjoys bleeding the economy to death just for the sake of religion?

You couldn’t have told it from my manner, but I was feeling more than a bit nonplussed. The spectacle before me was enough to nonplus anyone.