Hindsight is Truly 20/20
This made me chuckle in a grim way, as it proves the old adage that you should be careful what you wish for - you just might get it.
Case in point:
Way back in 1963, the shrinking British Empire had only one remaining outpost on the Arabian Peninsula. The port of Aden and its surrounding hinterland had been a British port since 1837, and now two separate nationalist groups decided they wanted the British out.
What followed was the Aden Emergency, which dragged on until 1967 and ended when the British pulled their forces out of Aden. The transition was not a smooth one, with one faction seizing power and proclaiming an independent South Yemen. Later it merged with North Yemen ... and the rest, as they say, is history.
Which is what brought this article to my attention, and raised the grim chuckle I mentioned earlier.
It seems that some of the former nationalist, Marxist rebels are now regretting driving the British out, because the merger with the North has not exactly conferred much in the way of benefits. The population gets disaffected and leaves the young prey to alienation, leaving the field open to extremist views and recruitment by terrorist groups. We must remember that the USS Cole was bombed in the port of Aden, back in the 90s.
And now the aging rebels are regretting their actions.
Case in point:
Way back in 1963, the shrinking British Empire had only one remaining outpost on the Arabian Peninsula. The port of Aden and its surrounding hinterland had been a British port since 1837, and now two separate nationalist groups decided they wanted the British out.
What followed was the Aden Emergency, which dragged on until 1967 and ended when the British pulled their forces out of Aden. The transition was not a smooth one, with one faction seizing power and proclaiming an independent South Yemen. Later it merged with North Yemen ... and the rest, as they say, is history.
Which is what brought this article to my attention, and raised the grim chuckle I mentioned earlier.
It seems that some of the former nationalist, Marxist rebels are now regretting driving the British out, because the merger with the North has not exactly conferred much in the way of benefits. The population gets disaffected and leaves the young prey to alienation, leaving the field open to extremist views and recruitment by terrorist groups. We must remember that the USS Cole was bombed in the port of Aden, back in the 90s.
And now the aging rebels are regretting their actions.
posted by Walt at 3:42 PM
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