The Yemen Strikes Are Mindless Do-Somethingism in Action

Taking military action that you have good reason to expect will make things worse is both stupid and wrong.

This framing of the strikes in Yemen from Bloomberg is mindless do-somethingism at its worst:

Analysts and outside critics — not to mention the Houthis themselves — have said the aerial military campaign won’t prevent them from firing on more ships, especially if the US refuses to target the group’s main backer, Iran. Yet in the absence of any better options for now, the Biden administration may have no choice.

There is always a choice when deciding whether to use force or not, and in practically every case there are better options than resorting to force. Most observers acknowledge that the U.S. will not be able to compel Houthi compliance through the use of force, and it seems obvious that the problem of attacks on commercial shipping will only get worse as a result of escalation. Attacking Iranian targets would only compound the original error of escalation by widening and intensifying the conflict.

The government should not implement a policy that has no realistic chance of achieving the desired result. Taking military action that you have good reason to expect will make things worse is both stupid and wrong.