Today they're called issues

Usage examples of problems.

Furthermore, Iraq relied excessively on curative treatment and paid little attention to preventive care, creating additional problems when the medicines and equipment needed for cures disappeared.

Nevertheless, he still had all of the same problems to juggle, and his latest confrontation with the United States had only made them worse.

British Empire, which tolerated the American trading presence if only because the British had too many other problems in the area.

The Iranians were paralyzed and distracted by their own internal problems but quickly began to recall military personnel dismissed by the revolution, form local bands of Revolutionary Guards, and buy up weapons wherever they could.

First, the administration believed that Saddam could not hold on to power much longer and therefore it was probably unnecessary to march on Baghdad and incur the problems of occupying and rebuilding an Arab state.

Because we focused on Saddam and the problems he created for the larger Middle East, it was easier not only to recognize that it would take force to keep him in place and that we needed to be thinking about getting rid of him, but also to argue that the United States should devote considerable resources to those efforts.

Saddam weak and focused on his internal problems, and the Iraqi military was running to stand still.

Especially when coupled with the shortages of tires and spare parts for vehicles, these problems began to badly affect hospitals, water, and sanitation facilities.

He may have believed the United States to be so distracted by problems in Haiti, Bosnia, and North Korea that it would not be able to respond effectively.

Second, Desert Fox had knocked Saddam off balance, and for much of 1999 he was forced to turn inward and deal with the problems that the strikes and his overreactions had created.

Similar problems, albeit not so severe or widespread, occurred toward the end of the Iran-Iraq War.

Iraq had become very serious, creating the internal problems that prompted Saddam to threaten Kuwait in 1994, provoke a showdown with UNSCOM in 1995, attack Arbil, and then accept UNSCR 986 in 1996.

Here the problems were the lack of medical supplies and working medical equipment, inadequate or unstable energy supplies, contaminated water, inadequate sanitation, inadequate transportation, and unsanitary medical conditions.

Over the long term, it would have encountered problems regardless of other factors.

Interestingly, this point has led critics of the sanctions to blame the United States and the United Nations for the problems Iraq has experienced since the Gulf War.