More Iraqi Missiles Needle Allied Jets

Right now Saddam Hussein's most effective weapons may be the SAM batteries he is using to peck away at the United States' resolve to maintain no-fly zones over Iraq. Wednesday, Iraqis fired six to eight missiles at a British jet patrolling the southern no-fly zone, drawing return fire from two U.S. planes -- and once again tweaking the U.S. presence in Iraqi airspace. For Saddam, the benefits far outweigh the cost of a few SAM installations, says TIME State Department correspondent Douglas Waller. "Saddam demonstrates to his people and the world that he's still fighting back. It allows him to keep this issue before the U.N. Security Council -- reminding them that the no-fly zones aren't a U.N. invention but were imposed by the U.S. -- and he can appear to be the victim."

The big prize in the drip, drip, drip of this water-torture war we're settling down to is a pilot, preferably American. "That would be a huge coup for Saddam," notes Waller, "to be able to display a POW, and it could really turn the tables." Since the U.S. shows no signs of abandoning the skies over Iraq, Saddam will get plenty more chances.