#4: BRENNN: Excellent point which has some merit. Years ago Italian forces in Afghanistan (ISAF) paid local insurgents not to attack them in their Area of Operation (AO). When the French rotated in that area, the bribes stopped and the attacks re-started, killing and wounding several French soldiers. When Japanese and South Korean soldiers served in Iraq (MNFI), they didn't, ahem, "bribe" the locals; however, they funded millions of dollars for "projects" in their AO and Japan donated thousands of vehicles for the Iraqi police forces. I don't recall any casualties from their contingents in Iraq other than maybe vehicular accidents or food poisoning.

Unfortunately, the Likud junta in Israel sees Iran and their Shia Houthi allies as existential threats, as does the Sunni Saudi leadership. Uh-huh. And so we bomb the Arabs when bribing them makes more sense. Note that Muhammad Bib Salman (MBS) requested that Trumpf halt the bombardment in Yemen until after they conclude their imminent summit in Saudi Arabia.

PS: On 14 or 15 March, Trumpf stared at a computer screen showing the Houthis getting bombed, calling them "savages."