Apology and Yemen

First, I would like to apologize to anyone who tried to buy a copy of the book "1775: A Good Year For Revolution" covered in my last column. While I do read hard copy books I also buy books to read on my Kindle Fire e-reader. It turns out that "1775" is available from amazon.com as either an e-book or a hard copy.

In other subjects, violence in the Mideast is in the news again with Saudi Arabia leading a coalition of Middle Eastern nations in attacking the Houthi rebels' troops, camps and missile sites. The Saudis have put 150,000 troops and 100 fighter aircraft into the fight as their Saudi Apache helicopters have attacked the Houthi positions along the border.

The Houthis are supporters of the Yemeni government of Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was deposed three years ago during the "Arab Spring" uprisings. The Houthis are a Shia force supported by Iran and intent on replacing the current government of Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has enlisted the United Arab Emirates, the Sudan, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt; all offered aircraft and/or troops to the fight. Other nations that support the coalition include Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan and Somalia. Middle Eastern nations have finally begun to pick up the sword to fight extremists intent on overthrowing their governments.

I believe these nations were not taking action in anticipation of the U.S. stepping in to the fight. Instead, the U.S. is supplying logistical and intelligence support to the coalition. My opinion is that we have spent too much and shed too much U.S. blood fighting Islamic extremists while the other nations in the region gave us support with lip service. We have repeatedly fought for nations that would not do the same for themselves. The slow learners in D.C. have not learned and are still ready, if not anxious, to send our forces into combat in the Mideast.

There will be battles we must fight to assist our allies or to protect ourselves, but the risks and costs should be shared. Also, the development of nuclear weapons by Iran has caused most of Washington to ignore that Iran is supporting ongoing extremist military actions in many countries. For Iran, it is and has been an effective distraction from what is happening on the ground.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.