 The U.S. military draws down its forces for most of the 1990s, starting with deployments during Operation Desert Shield and Latin American interventions, while abolishing most of its nuclear arsenal, in parallel with the (fictionally perennial) Soviet Union; in addition, the drawdowns affect the military intelligence community due to what was proving to be over-dependence on automated means of intelligence gathering.The situation comes to a head in 2005 when instability in Zaire's Shaba province prompts the South African Defence Force (equipped and trained by Japan) to seize mineral-rich sections of the area.The United States sends the XVIII Airborne Corps along with associated air and naval assets to repel the aggression.