Rollback -- Hoisting the Net, 1998

-Since Iraq's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War, it has remained a nuisance to the United States. The notion of defeating Saddam once and for all has been whispered around the corridors of power. Debate has raged about how to accomplish this without the difficulty of another direct invasion and occupation, and Iraqi exiles have promised that they can indeed raise a force big enough to defeat what they consider a paper tiger. -Extremely tense and difficult negotiations with regional partners are following. With many traditional allies skeptical of the plan, the US is already turning to more unlikely (and unsavory) partners. But as diplomats negotiate, the military is already, using no-fly zone violations and standard provocations as justification, beginning to launch the first blows of what would become know as the "Rollback Strategy". -As the first "hard" blows land against the Iraqi regime, just as crucial "soft" ones are being struck. One such blow has been the identification and interdiction of supplies headed for Iraq.