Oh, I got it all right.
Actual quote: "maybe we can figure out how to head off nutcases like this before they blossom?"
Slightly altered quote in later post: "Lets see if we can avoid war by dealing with the nutcases before they blossom."
Maybe you might want to clarify your modified quote a bit by defining the term "dealing with." Or if you really want, you can go back to the original and define "head off."