If At First You Don’t Succeed

Bomb and bomb again. The Washington Post reports that the US military is going to get serious about attacking Yemen.

The US is preparing for a “sustained” bombing campaign in Yemen after ten days of airstrikes failed to undermine the ability of Houthi fighters to target ships in the Red Sea, the Washington Post has reported, citing unnamed officials.

The administration of President Joe Biden does not expect a protracted operation such as the US campaigns in Iraq or Afghanistan, but at the same time it cannot provide a timeframe for when Houthi military capabilities will be adequately diminished, the newspaper reported on Saturday.

Washington’s strategy is to curb the ability of the Shiite militant group to target ships off the coast of Yemen, or at least create safe conditions for shipping companies to resume sending vessels through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, sources added.

That will show them! There’s nothing like shooting several years’ production of ballistic missiles on some empty tents and camels to let people know you mean business. I mean, if I owned a US-flagged cargo ship, that would make me feel good about my chances of transiting the Red Sea, right?

Surely the Yemenis will surrender once they see their industrial intrastructure bombed back to the Stone Age. And by “industrial infrastructure” I mean rocks and sand.

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