Reporting from Panama’s Pacific coast, at the very drop zone where my Ranger unit parachuted in during the 1989 Panama invasion.
Over the weekend, Israel executed what can only be called a decapitation strike against the Houthi regime in Yemen. According to initial reports coming out of Sanaa, the prime minister, the Houthi chief of staff, and most cabinet ministers were killed—with only a handful left alive, one badly wounded, and the rest fleeing the capital. Israel had warned that if the Houthis kept firing at Israeli civilians, there would be “a blow to the firstborns.” Biblical language, yes—but now you see what they meant.
The Houthis are vowing revenge. What can they actually do? Short answer: missiles and drones—because marching an army to Israel is off the table. And even those missiles keep breaking up over Saudi Arabia or getting intercepted before they get close. That doesn’t stop the Houthis from claiming victory on TV (more on the “perception war” below), but reality is stubborn.
The Information War: Manufactured “Genocide,” Manufactured Outrage
While Israel hits real military targets, aid agencies and UN-adjacent NGOs have been coordinating press pushes to browbeat global media into labeling Gaza a “genocide” and “famine.” We’ve dismantled that claim repeatedly here:
Genocide has a definition. Israel is not “erasing a people.” In fact, Israel pushes aid into Gaza, warns civilians with calls, leaflets, and roof knocks, and routinely pauses operations for humanitarian corridors—steps no genocidal regime takes.
Famine is weaponized rhetoric. There’s more food entering Gaza than most hot zones on earth, and we’ve all seen the videos of aid discarded in the streets when it isn’t the brand preferred by looters or Hamas handlers.
Meanwhile, the very people chanting “genocide” against Israel are silent about a very real, very measurable catastrophe:
