They're a tribal-based society, so of course there's going to be chest-beating in response to a passive threat from the Obama administration, with Brown and Sarkozy in tow. If they didn't chest-beat it would be out of the ordinary and might signal something to be more concerned about.
Ace, if you get the time, please give this a read:
It's the Tribes, Stupid (not calling you stupid, it's the name of the article)
It's a basic introduction to tribalism in the modern world especially in Islamic countries.