In Yemen, the truth is a casualty of war

Source Los Angeles Times

The terrorist who's dead is still alive. A perverse contradiction? No, just another day in the Yemen news cycle, where rebels, separatists, extremists and government officials conjure a surreal world of spin, lies and propaganda. It makes one wonder if reality exists at all in this cruel and beautiful land. Yemen is a testament to the maxim that the first casualty of war is truth. And the conflicts here are many: Civil war in the north, secession pangs in the south, running battles with Al Qaeda across tribal strongholds rich in weapons and oil. Hunkered men with Internet connections and laptops post videos on YouTube and hyperbolic messages on extremist websites challenging the government's take on everything from body counts to who captured whom when.