[defenderSD]

Safire needs to chill out and take a look at the world map. There are no likely terror targets that could be reached by a Scud missile fired from Yemen. If we stop Yemen from reselling the missiles, then there's no harm in letting them keep the Scuds. Safire sounds like another frustrated armchair President who's never done much in his life except write about other people's actions and decisions. What happens when people write for the NY Times? Do they lose some of their IQ? There's never perfect intelligence about the secret weapons trade. Spain was not "humiliated" and I'm sure the Spanish leaders were told that we didn't know who was the intended recipient of these missiles. Neither would I call this a high-risk mission for the Spanish Navy. A group of Korean merchant sailors is not exactly a tough group to intercept on the high seas. Safire, go have another brandy and eggnog and return to your armchair.

[swarthyguy]

Djibouti and the entrance to the Red Sea?

[america-rules]

This was an excerise to show the North Koreans that we are watching them and know what they're doing and nothing more.

[Stavka2]

Incoming traffic through the straight of Harmuz...say sink a transport tanker or two and block up the narrow sea lane.