In a direct confrontation with his former friend, he would lose quickly.

Eventually the General came into direct confrontation with his officers.

Of course a direct confrontation might never have to take place.

You will have to take the lead in direct confrontation,?

Now, these two issues are joined in direct and open confrontation.

Aid her in any way you can, except for a direct confrontation with the king.

And maybe a direct confrontation was really for the best.

But he wasn't about to say anything that would bring him into a direct confrontation with my husband.

This battle was the first direct confrontation between the two.

There hadn't really been any need for that direct confrontation.

Now, the hard-line opposition is more likely to feel it has nothing to lose by resorting to direct confrontation, and the ruling camp is more certain than ever to dig in hard.

But situations lead him to direct confrontation with Mark Antony.

It is to say, however, first, that in Chinese politics indirect challenge to authority is nearly always preferred to direct confrontation.

Jayakrishnan's political views and this love affair leads to direct confrontation between the father and his more 'modern' son.

This, in turn, led to direct confrontation between it and the coalminers in the latter part of 1973.

They remained calm and did not resort to direct confrontation.

"If liquor comes in, we will revert to direct confrontation," Mr. Missick said.

Japanese expansionist policies were leading to direct confrontation with the West.

For now, Mr. Tang and senior Foreign Ministry officials said, China considers the new military exercises as "peaceful" persuasion intended to forestall having to resort to direct military confrontation.

It's when the drama turns to direct confrontation among its four principal characters that it is, curiously, at its least involving or believable.