Wag the Dog, for the Nth Time?

Yemen...., where did I read about the country just recently? In an obscure piece of news that got little publicity at that time (about 10 days ago, I believe), but it struck me as odd. Yemen? The news was that the U.S. military was bombing Yemen by the direct order from the U.S. president, killing civilians (but claiming the bombing killed a dozen Al-Quada leader, as usual).

This is what was reported in the semi-official White House PR organ, aka ABC News:

Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike on Yemen Terrorists (undated, my best guess is 12/18/09, The Blotter from Brian Ross, ABC News)

"On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, administration officials told ABC News in a report broadcast on ABC World News with Charles Gibson.

"One of the targeted sites was a suspected al Qaeda training camp north of the capitol, Sanaa, and the second target was a location where officials said "an imminent attack against a U.S. asset was being planned."

"The Yemen attacks by the U.S. military represent a major escalation of the Obama administration's campaign against al Qaeda."

Reporter Brian Ross, in a video clip on the linked article, emphasizes the order came directly from Oval Office.

(Perhaps President Obama is getting ready for the next year's Nobel Peace Prize by further expanding the war on terror.)

Then, right on cue, the Christmas Day bomber, a son of a wealthy Nigerian banker, materializes, and says there are more like him coming from Yemen.

Curiously, two attorneys (husband and wife) who were on board the plane the Nigerian was trying to blow up claim they witnessed the bomber being assisted by a sharp-dressed man at the boarding gate in Amsterdam so that he could board the plane without a passport.

Something doesn't quite add up.

I'm not yet sure who benefits from all this or what agenda is being promoted while they wag this dog, but it is very clear who the immediate losers are: air travelers worldwide who are now being subjected to ridiculously lengthy and probably unnecessary pre-boarding screenings to prevent them from lighting up a firecracker or two in their pants.

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