Yet it is nothing short of terrifying to recognise that Clay, on his own authority, gave very serious consideration to using an armoured column backed up by support from the air to break the blockade.

ECONOMIST: The cold war

Mr. MALLEY: Well, it certainly sounds like war, and I'm sure that for the people on the ground, whether in Lebanon or in Israel it's feeling very much like war, when you have a naval and sea blockade, when you have air strikes, when you have katyusha rockets fired into Israel.

NPR: Israel-Hezbollah Conflict Redefining Region

But a capital blockade is not physically obvious: There are no naval vessels or Air Force jets visibly interfering with ships and airplanes.

FORBES: Bush's Big One