In a masterful bit of Information Warfare, the coalition managed to have 24 American F-16s operating from a eastern (in the desert) Jordanian airbase, flying over 700 sorties over western Iraq, without it becoming headline (and diplomatically embarrassing) news. Families of the air force personnel were told their guys were at a "classified location in the Middle East." While the king of Jordan supported the American war against Saddam, most of his subjects did not. So it was necessary, to avoid unrest in Jordan, to keep the presence of foreign troops very, very quiet. An isolated Jordanian air base and constant denials did the trick. The F-16 squadron headed home by the end of April.