More information continues to emerge on the failed US hostage rescue operation which sought to free journalist Luke Somers in Yemen. It is now reported that he and another hostage, South African teacher Pierre Korkie, were killed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) during the raid.
They weren’t the only ones, as the overnight raid left a total of 13 people dead, and while one of them was reportedly a local AQAP leader, the slain also included women and children.
This was the second raid attempting to free Somers in the past 10 days, after a previous raid similarly failed and led AQAP to announce their intention to execute him by week’s end if they weren’t paid a ransom.
Yemeni experts say they believe AQAP fully intended to ransom Somers, but that they were angered by the repeated US raids trying to recover him militarily. The first raid managed to free some other hostages, but officials blamed a barking dog for tipping off the militants to US presence.
“Do not use force to overcome evil. If they strike you on the right cheek turn to them the other.”
Unless of course you’re an Empire, for then brutal imperialism is your stock in trade and only by expansion is the plunder great enough to meet your daily operating expenses.
Tribal groups in Yemen & Oman have a long history of ceremonial & retributive hostage-taking that usually ends in the hostages being released unharmed.
Sounds like Uncle Sam don't need no book learnin' on no other cultures, with predictable results.