In Yemen, tens of thousands march against president

[Casino67]

LATimes.com:

Demonstrators angry over unemployment and oppression under President Ali Abdullah Saleh demand political change. The unrest worries the U.S., which has been working with the government to defeat an Al Qaeda offshoot.

Reporting from Cairo and Beirut — The current unrest in the Middle East spread to impoverished Yemen on Thursday as tens of thousands of protesters angry over unemployment and political oppression marched in the capital against President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Instability in Yemen is a major concern for Washington, which has been working with Saleh's government to defeat an entrenched Al Qaeda offshoot that claimed responsibility for last year's attempted bombings of planes over U.S. airspace. Officials fear anarchy in the country would give militants a strategic base in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for 32 years, has been unable to stem unemployment and improve education, healthcare and sanitation in the region's poorest nation. Anger toward him and his government has been steadily growing, especially among young activists and tribal leaders. He has also faces an intensifying secessionist movement in the south.

[ErnstBlofeld]

This nation worries me the most. During the 1980s, thousands of Yemenis took to jihad to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets and some were exposed to Al Qaeda. In fact, Al Qaeda has taken hold in this country and controls the country side.Foreigners are not allowed to leave Sana‘a.This country is also very strategic because it is bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea. If this country government does fall, it will be a certain Al Qaeda country. The Saudis have been investing millions of dollars to quash any Jihadist threat.

 

Post Script:Three of the USS Cole bombers were from this country. They were "imprisoned" and escaped the country. A nice litle biblical trivia. Yemenis believe that Noah and the Queen of Sheeba lived here.