That was a clear sign of a desire to head off trouble.
The trick is recognizing the potential problem early enough to head off trouble before it grows into a major issue.
By this time, the issue had been brought to the attention of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, who also sought to head off trouble.
In others, like Moscow, Swissair workers headed off trouble by contacting hundreds of passengers by phone to warn them that service was suspended.
On gangs, he said he favoured using ex-gang members as "gang interventionists", who work with, not for, the police to head off trouble.
Almost everyone has heard horror stories about remodeling projects from hell, and read the usual tips about how to head off trouble.
In a perhaps quixotic attempt to head off trouble, Goran Persson, Sweden's prime minister, will meet the protesters the day before his VIP guests arrive.The Swedes may not be able to ward off disorder on the streets.
Hoping to head off trouble with the Vatican, the film's Italian distributor, for example, invited Roman Catholic clergy members to an advance screening but described their reaction as "all on edge".
While American officials say the Saudi and Bahraini governments can head off trouble by making political reforms, the Saudis believe that political reforms would only open the door to greater instability.
Moving quickly to head off trouble this time, the central government announced the dismissal of Mr. Gabibov on Thursday evening, and several demonstrators detained earlier in the day were quickly released.
