The Obama administration has agreed to a request from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to travel to America, framing it in a thinly veiled excuse for him to seek medical treatment.
Mr. Saleh said on Saturday he would leave Yemen for the U.S. “in the coming days… to get out of sight… to calm the atmosphere for the unity government to hold the presidential election” in February. But he has also said he would return later as “an opposition figure.”
The erratic behavior has been characteristic of Saleh since he signed a peace deal last month which was pushed by the U.S. and the Gulf states. In the agreement, Saleh would hand power to his deputy and leave government entirely by February in return for immunity for the crimes he has committed while on U.S. support.
But the deal has so far proved to be a farce, as many see Saleh still as acting dictator of Yemen and the thousands of reform-minded Yemenis protesting in the streets have been demanding Saleh not just step down, but face trial. This in the midst of continuing U.S. aid and rhetorical support for the government’s violence repression.
Surprise surprise. Well, maybe not so much. Criminy, our government sucks! Large.
We have a fairly long history of giving "medical" treatment to disposed dictators as long as they stayed our puppets till the end.
He stayed loyal till the end. Against the entire population, he remained steadfast. The "deal" is to have his loyal general, a puppet all his life, take over, and remain in power UNOPPOSED for two terms. And Saleh's sons, uncles and cousins will remain in charge of security, money and everything that matters. Being between the rock and the hard place, Saleh did good. He saved himself and his immediate family. Many puppets, when faced with political survival, turn against their masters. They inevitably end very bad. From Chaushesku in Romania, through Saddam, Noriega, Gadhafi, to the South Vietnamese ruler whose name I do not remember. All sad cases of not understanding their position.
"Visit for medical treatment" = political asylum circa end of 2011. How coy! And while he's here getting "medical treatment" (snicker, snicker) he'll probably take a little detour by Wall Street to collect the millions the CIA has deposited into it over the decades of loyal service to the USan master. While he's at it, she should also run as the GOP presidential candidate in 2012. He's perfect for the job and has decades of experience as a puppet. He's already trained, experienced and a seasoned shill, what could be better? No down time, he can jump into Wall Streets' pockets on the first day on the job.