"We have these profound divisions, but when it comes to security - and we are constantly under threat - that is paramount."

"What we've seen now is what you often see in diplomacy - it takes more than a year and a half to bridge profound historical divisions."

But the government's decision to invite only American corporations to bid on these contracts has added to the profound international divisions that already surround the war.

Disputes like these pale, however, compared with the profound divisions over history.

Ahead lies a far more difficult policy agenda that touches on profound philosophical divisions - and Medicare is at the top of the list.

"Knowing what you know now, about how that lack of communication led to such a profound division between us, how can you not trust them?"

The political weakness of the liberals reflected not only their fear of the threat from below but also the profound divisions within the middle classes.

This indicates a profound division of opinion between different sections of the middle class over methods and objectives.

They also show profound Palestinian divisions about the shape of a future government.

But above all, the Greens were thought to have suffered from their profound internal division and their inability to find a coherent position toward unity.