Now it's Yemen

Michael Balter 1/03/2010 06:48:00 AM Politics


The year is not starting off well. The Obama administration, having made the fatal mistake of escalating troop presence in Afghanistan, is now going down a dangerous road in Yemen (with much of the news media, so far at least, tagging along relatively uncritically.) But as Obama seeks to "strengthen" the Yemeni government, the consequences of propping up and allying with a repressive regime will become obvious soon enough. Human Rights Watch has got the Yemeni government's number; will the U.S. government continue to repeat the Cold War policy of supporting (ie, giving arms and money to) any government that promises to cooperate with the "war on terrorism," just as they did with the war on Communism? Can American troops be far behind? Will Americans support a policy that actually strengthens the terrorists and provides them with an ever greater number of recruits?

It's so sad and tragic that things have to get so much worse before they can get better. Bad times ahead.

PS--How is the closing of the American Embassy in Yemen going to be viewed by potential terrorist recruits? A victory for their movement, perhaps? So much for projecting strength, at least American strength.
Michael Balter

Posted by Michael Balter

I have been a working journalist for more than 40 years, beginning in Los Angeles as an investigative reporter and then in Paris as a travel, food, and science writer. For more than 20 years I have covered anthropology and archaeology writer for Science, Audubon, Scientific American, SAPIENS, and other publications. I have also covered sexual misconduct for The Verge, Scientific American, and others; I write about mental health, especially schizophrenia; and I engage in occasional media criticism. I returned to the USA in October 2017 after 30 years in Paris, and now live in the New York City area, where I currently teach journalism at City College of New York (I previously taught journalism at Boston University and New York University.) For more about me and what I do, copies of my articles, information about my book, and other goodies, please visit MY WEB SITE

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4 Comments

Anne Gilbert said…
I don't know what I can even say about this. I read an article yesterday, by someone who has visited the area(and unfortunately, I don't know what I did with it, so I can't dig it out of my files), that clearly described Yemen as being something of a "state" along the lines of Afghanistan and Somalia, among other things. On top of that, there is also a Sunni/Shiite problem in some areas. I do hope the current administration has somebody,somewhere, who knows at least a little about the place -- enough to tell President Obama and his advisers that they are just getting themselves into another dangerous "mess".
Anne G
January 3, 2010 at 4:44 PM
Ann Diamond Mother of Darkness said…
American troops will soon be everywhere on the planet. They're now in Haiti, giving "aid" although it's more like Command and Control. Canadians are expecting them for the Olympics in Vancouver. I don't understand how America manages to maintain so many troops -- unless it's by making life in the ghettos so unbearable and hopeless for so many black kids they actually look forward to being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

America's image in the world? I don't think Americans have the slightest idea! Even the Inuit of Frobisher Bay know 911 was an inside job.
January 17, 2010 at 2:58 AM
Ann Diamond Mother of Darkness said…
American troops will soon be everywhere on the planet. They're now in Haiti, giving "aid" although it's more like Command and Control. Canadians are expecting them for the Olympics in Vancouver. I don't understand how America manages to maintain so many troops -- unless it's by making life in the ghettos so unbearable and hopeless for so many black kids they actually look forward to being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

America's image in the world? I don't think Americans have the slightest idea! Even the Inuit of Frobisher Bay know 911 was an inside job.
January 17, 2010 at 2:58 AM
Ann Diamond Mother of Darkness said…
American troops will soon be everywhere on the planet. They're now in Haiti, giving "aid" although it's more like Command and Control. Canadians are expecting them for the Olympics in Vancouver. I don't understand how America manages to maintain so many troops -- unless it's by making life in the ghettos so unbearable and hopeless for so many black kids they actually look forward to being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

America's image in the world? I don't think Americans have the slightest idea! Even the Inuit of Frobisher Bay know 911 was an inside job.
January 17, 2010 at 2:59 AM
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