Sentence:  It occurred to me that you might be interested in some thoughts which I expressed privately in <WSD>recent</WSD> years , in the hope of clearing up a certain confusion in the public mind about what foreign policy is all about and what it means , and of developing a certain compassion for those who are carrying such responsibilities inside Government . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  of the immediate past or just previous to the present time