As Yemenis Celebrate Revolution, U.S. Media Shrugs

The U.S. media is skilled at saying a lot while not saying much of anything, especially the three headless horsemen who would prefer not to mention Yemen’s nine-month revolution. One of many explanations as to why awareness of Yemen's situation and culture is so low.

New York Times: "As the West celebrates al-Awlaki’s death, the Mideast shrugs”

Commentators evaluated his killing mainly as a potential factor in the Obama administration’s relations with Yemen, where pressure on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down has intensified. 'The White House: This will not change our call for the departure of the Yemeni president,' was the headline in the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Alawsat.

Some feared Mr. Saleh would use the killing to try to convince the United States that he remained an essential ally in the battle against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Others hoped that the American perception of a defeat for Al Qaeda might encourage the Obama administration to turn its back on Mr. Saleh.

Washington Post: “Yemeni al-Qaeda took a blow but remains a threat to us”

U.S. officials said cooperation with Yemeni security agencies has improved significantly in recent months despite rising political instability in the country.

Wall Street Journal: “Killing Al-Awlaki"

Then there is the view that the U.S. cannot carry out strikes against terrorists in countries that, like Yemen, are not at war with us. Last year, Awlaki's father filed a case in federal court on those grounds. Federal Judge John Bates dismissed it by noting that "there are circumstances in which the [President's] unilateral decision to kill a U.S. citizen overseas" is 'judicially unreviewable...'

In our asymmetrical war on terror, intelligence and drones are two of our rare advantages. Mr. Obama's expansion of the drone campaign is his most significant national security accomplishment. For ridding the world of the menace that was Awlaki—even while ignoring the advice of some of its ideological friends—the Administration deserves congratulations and thanks.

The Wall Street Journal never mentions Ali Abdulah Saleh or confronts the reality that supporting his murderous regime is America’s crime. Saleh recently escaped unharmed from the UN Human Rights Council's 18th session after being incriminated for a multitude of human rights abuses, many committed by U.S. trained "counterterrorism" units. Yemen's Coordinating Council of the Youth Revolution of Change (CCYRC) quickly reacted, "The exceedingly weak response to the rapidly deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Yemen by the United Nations Human Rights Council is a clear failure by the international community to protect innocent civilians against violent attacks and brutal repression."

al-Awlaki's killing has drowned out Saleh's contrived fatwa, which now "outlaws" anti-government protests and is being violently enforced. State media also announced the following on Saturday:

An official source in the presidency office welcomed Saturday the statement of the USA White House on the significance of the cooperation between Yemen and the USA.

Concerning what has been mentioned in the statement on the significance of starting transfer of power in Yemen immediately, the source said that was welcome in accordance with the Yemeni constitution, the Gulf-brokered initiative and its timeline executive mechanism.

'The one who kills Yemenis and resorts to violence against them is not the government. They are the outlaw elements who are allied with al-Qaeda,' the source said.

All evidence that Saleh is Yemen's leading extremist.