Actually, I think this action is perfectly justified. We are at war with Al-Quaeda in Yemen, Because of that we have sullied ourselves by getting in bed with a very ugly and dirty government which is despised by its people.

Although I don't think we should be taking sides in a civil war, there is an independent entity, Al-Quaeda, operating there we are at war with, and we know the consequences of them
gaining the upper hand in that country. Remember, the UK invaded Iceland to keep the Nazis from taking it over. This is an opportunity to strike at them in what would otherwise be a lose-lose situation.

This is different from muscling into Central America to protect the profits of the United Fruit Company. These people flew airliners into our office buildings.

As for recent presidents in the 20th century, the world is a more complicated and dangerous place these days. I know its a cliche, but it is still true. The easy solutions are all used up, and all the low fruit on the tree has been picked.