The national government briefly considers federal intervention.

Just by the flooding alone, the residents of the area had their lives interrupted to the point that they considered intervention the only option.

This is not considered normal intervention, and it did not have much impact.

Campbell compared the committee to Enron, the collapsed energy trading company, and said he would consider federal intervention if the group did not reform on its own.

One official insisted that the Administration would not consider military intervention because the idea had little support in Congress or among the public.

The incident that sparked a change in their relationship might be considered bovine intervention.

On 28 August, the Commission considered Soviet military intervention to stabilise the region.

A decade ago it would have been inconceivable that we would now know enough about the molecules of cancer to consider genetic intervention.

The Stalinists, added another, were still considering armed intervention.

"A majority are willing to consider intervention if all else fails," a senior Administration official said.