Think again. History has taught us important lessons about when to storm the barricades and when to enforce them - in many cases, enforcing sanctions and embargoes has done more to ensure national security or achieve political or military objectives than an all-out offensive.

In the former Yugoslavia, for example, a U.S. supported embargo hindered the supply process on which Serbian troops depended as they made their way into Bosnia. Without enough oil to move equipment and troops, forces headed toward civilian populations in Bosnia were waylaid or permanently detained - an inconvenience credited with saving thousands of lives. Cutting off an opponent's supply or distribution process works. Politically, the strategy offers valuable solutions to seemingly intractable problems. Practically, sanctions and embargoes offer an alternative to the loss of human life, an outcome more nations are increasingly reluctant to support, especially if an alternative is available.

What the public doesn't know is how critical a role Customs plays in the enforcement of sanctions and embargoes. The Customs Office of Investigations routinely acts as the enforcement arm for the Office of Foreign Assets Control within the Treasury Department. That means Customs agents around the world must stand ready to implement sanctions and embargoes implemented by Congress or mandated by Executive Order. The Cuban embargo; the Iranian embargo; and the Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficking program - in each of these cases, Customs agents were responsible for investigating breaches of the law and pursuing offenders. The duty is hard and frequently dangerous, but Customs remains a primary player in a game that demands a high level of intelligence and skill.

On January 11, 2001, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control presented an award to the Strategic Investigations Group, Office of the Resident-Agent-in-Charge, Philadelphia, for its success at enforcing a wide array of sanctions and embargoes.

The groups' inventory of cases is impressive - especially for people outside the agency.

Customs agents apprehend a major crime ring involved in smuggling Cuban cigars. Stop the Iranian Government from illegally acquiring biological pathogens. Catch a major pharmaceutical company that's been illegally exporting to companies in South America linked to the manufacture of cocaine - it could easily be the stuff of a Hollywood film.

For the Strategic Group in Philadelphia, however, rolling up cases like these translates into more than a hard day "on the set." Each case means countless hours of demanding investigative work and a single-minded commitment to enforcing U.S. law. When the call comes to guarantee the integrity of lawfully imposed sanctions and embargoes, agents like the men and women who make up the Strategic Investigations Group in Philadelphia show us, time and time again, how to do it right.