He may have been released from the hospital yesterday, but Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will not be returning to his country, “US sources” say.
Saudi paper Asharq al-Awsat reports Saleh has backed down under US pressure and could remain in Saudi Arabia, where he has been receiving treatment for wounds received in a missile attack on the presidential palace in Sanaa. He is reportedly staying in a Saudi government residence while he recuperates.
The United States is on record asking its longtime ally to step down as protests and insurgencies rage across the small country. The US continues to fund his government, but wants a new head of state in Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi. Saleh has rejected several deals to step down that woule be favorable to him; it’s not clear what sort of extra pressure the US might have exerted to make him finally change his mind.
Saleh’s absence has seen his military lose ground to “al-Qaeda fighters” and protests continue to rage. Even if he returns, there may not be much left for him to rule but the capital city.
Aaaaah, Saleh has received his marching order from the US. Now that there is chaos and almost civil war in Yemen, amid drone strikes, the US is happy.
President Saleh fights for the upper half of society with all the wealth, protesters fight for the lower half with all the debt, and time will tell if the drive for wealth is greater then the drive to get out of debt.