Loving the front page of the Express this morning.
Disclosure: When not posting funny Anthony Weiner photos, I design pages like this. I actually did the inside page for the Yemen package (turn to page 11). — Ernie @ SFB
We would be shortsighted to think this doesn’t pose short-term national security concerns. The likelihood is that [al-Qaeda operatives] will be raising their heads.Frank J. Cilluffo, the head of, George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute • Describing the danger that the Saleh’s transition away from Yemeni leadership means for the War on Terror. A key terror cell — al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — could cause serious issues by taking advantage of the instability in the region, while Yemeni opposition leaders deny the group’s existence at all. (Which is troubling because two separate attacks have been tied to the group since late 2009 — including the underwear bomber.) Another way this could force the U.S. into a precarious position: Saleh was an ally of the U.S., and an unstable transition could force diplomats to scramble to make up for a transition that doesn’t favor Americans. A complicated issue all around — and one with difficult answers. source (via • follow)
Sure, he’s gone, but it wasn’t peaceful: Last night, crowds flared up in celebratory tones over the departure of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who left his post under unsatisfactory conditions after he was violently injured during a raid on his palace. The conditions that led to his departure (after he spent more than 32 years in power) have led some activists to be a little less-willing to celebrate it on its own terms. “Our revolution was hijacked by the tribes,” noted Yemeni journalist and activist Shatha al-Harazi. ”How can we establish a civil state if tribes still wield so much power? They forced Saleh out with weapons and we failed to force him out with peace.” source
On Friday, hundreds of tribesmen armed with anti-aircraft mortars, rockets, machine guns, and grenades launched a prolonged attack on the presidential palace in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, wounding Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s president of thirty-three years. It’s a fitting cap on what has…
Reblogged for both the headline and the solid context the article offers.
This may be it in Yemen. Al Jazeera English’s Abdurahman Warsame puts the Saleh situation like so: “What a painful, humiliating and dramatic exit for Ali Abdullah Saleh. Even if he wanted to come back Saudi won’t let him.” He notes that the nature of Saleh’s injuries aren’t life-threatening but do require immediate medical attention. Now’s a good time to remind everyone that Saleh had a chance for a peaceful transition but rejected it.
BREAKING: Ali Abdullah Saleh replaced by acting president: Well … it appears the Arab Spring may have caused a third Middle East leader to lose power, though we’ll see what “acting” means as more details become clear. More details on Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as we get them. Saleh was severely wounded during a raid of his mansion and is currently in Saudi Arabia.
He’s reportedly headed to Saudi Arabia to receive medical attention. He also suffered second-degree burns from the attack.
The scene in Yemen: The depressing, daily drumbeat of violence, upheaval and power struggle continues, and in this case, things are looking like they could get a lot worse before any better. The airport in Sanaa has closed, amidst some of the most sustained, violent clashing in Yemen since the initial protests against the Saleh government. source
41 left dead in clashes: The violence flared up as a result of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh once again refused to cede power after 33 years — a decision that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has criticized. The end result caused last week’s ceasefire to break down, leading Saleh to reinforce his troops and causing bloody street battles — it’s a situation that some diplomats describe as “worse than Libya,” if you can believe that. source
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Yemen’s Saleh passes on signing transition deal: Today in leaders of Arab nations jerking the opposition around until the last second and not actually agreeing to what they said they would.
» Protesters aren’t really into it, either: For whatever reason, the Yemeni leader has started to waver on his agreement last week to leave office in exchange for his immunity, and has refused to sign it. Yemeni protesters want Ali Abdullah Saleh to be tried for both corruption and the deaths of protesters, which currently number around 142. If Saleh doesn’t agree to step down, it could be a huge setback for negotiations (obviously).
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