While that may be biggest “no, duh” headline ever for readers of The BRAD BLOG, happily it’s actually news today at Washington Post [emphasis added]:
SANAA, Yemen — In its strongest language yet, Yemen’s government declared Thursday that there are limits to its military cooperation with the United States, warning that any direct U.S. action in this impoverished Middle East nation could bolster the popularity of Islamic militants.
“If there is direct intervention by the United States, it will strengthen al-Qaeda,” warned Rashad al-Alimi, Yemen’s deputy prime minister for security and defense.
Note to rest of media: Begin ignoring the above immediately. It never happened.
Before British French occupation, British experimentation with poison gases, dropping them from planes on Middle Eastern targets, the Muslim world was known as exceptionally hospitable. Friendly (read Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger travel books to see what I mean). Dropping bombs on civilians will, to the surprise of the Obama administration (aka Bush Part III), cause people to be angry enough to take hostile action. Unbelievable, I know. Look how upset Americans were after the Twin Towers were bombed (with results that could not have been cleaner than if they had been controlled demolitions). Believe it or not, use of explosives on civilians will bring out the worst in people.