  We discuss HERA data on the high energy behavior of the total gamma*p cross
section and on diffraction in deep inelastic scattering. We outline their
novelty in comparison with diffraction in high energy hadron hadron scattering.
As a physical picture, we propose an interpretation in terms of QCD radiation
at small and large distances: a careful study of the transition between the two
extremes represents a new approach to the QCD confinement problem.
