23 ms·
If that's true, it's insane that it worked. It should be obvious to not take orders from twitter. There's a chain of command for a reason and random people on s
by autoexec 20d ago
If that's true, it's insane that it worked. It should be obvious to not take orders from twitter. There's a chain of command for a reason and random people on social media are no part of it. Sounds like the opposition forces would have to be so stupid that any number of Looney Tunes style tricks would have worked. Maybe next they can send out a rabbit in a dress to make opposition fall in love with it.
- consumer451 20d agoTwitter is huge in KSA. Much more significant a share than other countries. Something like 60% to 70% of the population are active users.
- BLKNSLVR 20d agoYep, the Commander In Chief only issues orders on Truth Social.
- InsideOutSanta 20d agoI just realized how much money one could make by hacking Truth Social and posting some "truths" under Trump's account. It's a relatively new, relatively complex platform; surely there are bugs.
- Barrin92 20d agothey've already had a very similar idea at truth social themselves, they're now selling premium early access to market moving news https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/12/truth-social-suit-trump-early-access-offer https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/12/truth-social... it's actually amazing to type that out and notice it's not a joke
- noir_lord 20d agoOh we see it as a joke outside the US, just not a very funny one.
- apexalpha 20d agoThe US President routinely announces policy decisions on social media… You’d lose a lot of money always waiting for news through officials channels. Who knows how slow Yemini military channels are. You’d bet your life on it?
- autoexec 20d ago> The US President routinely announces policy decisions on social media… Yes, our current President also does stupid things, and our military forces shouldn't be using his incoherent ramblings on Twitter to make snap judgements on the battlefield without checking with their chain of command either.
- ElProlactin 20d ago> ...and our military forces shouldn't be using his incoherent ramblings on Twitter to make snap judgements on the battlefield without checking with their chain of command either. You mean the chain of command that has been purged of experienced professionals?
- sixothree 20d agoWe really are in a bad spot aren't we. In so many ways, strategically, reputationally, introspectively. It's hard to imagine coming back from this.
- ElProlactin 20d ago> It's hard to imagine coming back from this. You don't even need to try because it's not happening.
- apexalpha 20d agoYou don't come back, you slide back to normal country status while 2 generations of people pretend you're still an empire until you really can't anymore. Most European countries know this feeling. :)
- CommanderData 20d agoDonald duck lies every other minute, especially on Fridays it seems. Fog is a tactic of war and a way to make money I guess.
- throwaway85825 20d agoThis belies a fundamental misunderstanding of Yemeni society. Arab political structure is based on tribal loyalty. Leaders of tribes pledge allegiance to other tribes or coalitions of tribes. They're not part of the same command structure because such a thing does not exist. Usually instead of being defeated tribal loyalties change with the political winds and tribe leaders neogtioate with other leaders. Twitter is also ubiquitous in Arabia and the natural place for political announcements.
- bluegatty 20d agoWhile that's helpful and insightful, it's not hugely the issue. The military units are not very well organized, they don't have clear and stringent command, control and communications. They understood a regional commander to be fleeing, units fell back. This is kind of stuff is absolutely as old as time, and it's #1 rule in conflict aka deception. The parallel would be reproducing a General's order to withdraw - meaning the command would have legitimacy among troops and junior officers, believing their own commanders were just out of the loop. And yes - their command structure will be de facto organized along social lines, but it's more descriptive.
- CoastalCoder 20d ago> This is kind of stuff is absolutely as old as time, I've only very recently become interested in ancient history, so I'm still very ignorant about this. Are there any particular examples of this tactic you'd suggest studying?
- pseudohadamard 20d agoNot the military stuff but Arab tribal society, read "The First Muslim" by Lesley Hazleton, about Arab society around the year 600. It's an absolute eye-opener.
- CoastalCoder 20d agoThanks for the tip about that book! I'm case it's helpful to anyone, here's one review of it: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2vxts5/comment/com56ej https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/2vxts5/comme... Seems like a tough area of history to be certain about.