Obviously neither side wished to risk an all-out confrontation.
Perhaps an all-out confrontation with the sources of turmoil is the only way to become a Buddha.
Do you think the Klingons could want an all-out confrontation?
Half an hour later, after dropping off his friend, Jerry came home ready for an all-out confrontation.
The risk of an all-out confrontation is low for that reason and the stakes important enough to accept that risk.
Both sides scrupulously avoided committing their full forces, obviously not wishing all-out confrontation.
In recent years Palestinian factions have periodically battled one another, but they have always stopped short of all-out confrontation.
The deaths that have resulted thus far are but a fraction of the lives that would he spent in an all-out confrontation.
The quarantine on offensive weapons going to Cuba was the step, short of all-out confrontation, that helped to resolve the crisis.
I am told that he worked behind the scenes to undermine the agreement and insure the all-out confrontation that everyone wanted to avoid.