• D: All Things Digital, Friday, June 13, 2008 11:30 AM

A Microsoft source had this to say to Kara Swisher following the announcement of the Yahoo-Google search deal: "Let loose the dogs of war." Indeed, we've seen this kind of scorched earth rallying cry from the software giant before: last year, Microsoft unleashed its extensive network of lobbyist minions to keep Google's DoubleClick deal from happening. The result: a year of regulatory scrutiny.

As Swisher says, that struggle "is going to be like a minor playground scuffle compared to the howitzers BoomTown expects Microsoft to unleash over this." Even so, the Silicon Valley veteran thinks the expected pressure on the Yahoo-Google deal will be "much deserved," because Google's expanding dominance "is a dangerous and unwelcome development for the Internet."

Swisher maintains her stance that regulators should not pass the deal, because they would be abetting a monopoly. "It is bad for advertisers, it is bad for consumers, it is bad for innovation, no matter how well-intentioned Google is," she says. Meanwhile, Yahoo, "after getting pummeled into tenderness by Microsoft," has effectively become Google bait.

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