1.   By Friday, the rhetoric had cooled, and both sides were talking, but an agreement seemed close, only to slip away.

2.   Rhetoric cooled for a few months.

3.   Since then the rhetoric has hardly cooled.

4.   The education-as-war rhetoric cooled after November.

5.   But the U.S.-Iraq rhetoric has cooled in recent days, and renewed strikes are not certain.

6.   Rhetoric has since cooled, but these next years could get complicated.

7.   The United States promised retaliation, but the rhetoric has cooled as U.S. forces have gathered.

8.   The United States promised retaliation for the attack on its jet, but the rhetoric has cooled as U.S. forces have gathered.

9.   The United States promised retaliation for the attempt on its jet, but the rhetoric has cooled as U.S. forces have gathered.