"Yemen president ready to leave nation in 'safe hands’; Ouster sought as protesters fear renewed" by Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press / March 26, 2011
SANA, Yemen — Facing growing calls for his resignation, Yemen’s longtime ruler told tens of thousands of supporters yesterday that he is ready to step down but only if he can leave the country in “safe hands,’’ while antigovernment protesters massed for a rival rally.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh spoke in a rare appearance before a cheering crowd outside his presidential palace in the Yemeni capital.
Across town, an even larger number of people converged on a square in front of Sana University chanting slogans calling for his ouster and waving red cards emblazoned with the word “leave,’’ despite fears of more violence a week after government security forces shot dead more than 40 demonstrators in the capital.
Yes, no stern criticism or resounding speeches from Obama or his (not mine; I disown 'em as of this minute) government.
Protesters carried through the square the bodies of two protesters hit in last week’s shooting who recently died of their wounds, their coffins draped with Yemeni flags. Demonstrators prayed over the bodies and chanted to the president, “Everyone who falls as a martyr shakes your throne, o Ali!’’ as the bodies were taken for burial.
Armed with assault rifles, soldiers from units that defected to the uprising patrolled the square to protect protesters. Hundreds of people lined up to be searched before entering, many clad in white robes and turbans, with prayer mats over their shoulders for noontime prayers.
Makes me want to weep because it is what armies should be about.
Thousands also marched in antigovernment protests in two areas of the southern port city of Aden. Security forces dispersed one of the protests with tear gas, participants said.
I keep waiting to read the paragraph with U.S. reaction, etc.
Last week’s bloodshed prompted a wave of defections by military commanders, ruling party members, and others, swelling the ranks of the opposition and leaving the president isolated.
Yeah. not only is it ALL the PEOPLE, but their president is in the same boat as ours.
Saleh, in power for nearly 32 years, responded by imposing a state of emergency that allows media censorship and gives authorities wide powers to search homes and arrest suspects without judicial process, censor mail, and tap phone lines.
And the U.S. issued a stern warning about freedom of spee.... and human righ.... oh, never mind.
Actually, Obama has programs like that; Bush left 'em to him. And lucky Americans, our corporate media is self-censoring.
He has made gestures trying to appease the protesters, to no avail....
Isn't that atrocious reporting considering one gesture was sniping away at crowds of people peacefully protesting?
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"Exit talks in Yemen yield no progress; President holds on; militants may expand reach" by Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press / March 27, 2011
SANA, Yemen — Allies of Yemen’s president and his political opponents failed to make progress yesterday in talks on a possible exit for the man who has led the nation through 32 years of growing poverty and conflict and whose rule is now deeply imperiled by a popular uprising.
Officials on both sides of yesterday’s talks, which were attended by the US ambassador, said the parties refused to give any ground. After six weeks of unprecedented protests in Yemen, Saleh says he is willing to step aside in a peaceful transition of power, but has left himself room for maneuvering by adding the condition that he wants to leave the country in “safe hands.’’
The protesters — whose ranks have been bolstered by defecting military commanders, lawmakers, Cabinet ministers, diplomats, and even Saleh’s own tribe — are insisting he go immediately.
What is so hard to understand about that?
The demands and defections have only grown since government security forces shot more than 40 demonstrators to death in the capital of Sana a week ago.
Yeah, MURDERING YOUR OWN PEOPLE OFTEN BACKFIRES!
As the political turmoil deepened, there were signs that Islamic militants in the remote reaches of Yemen were seeking to make gains on the situation. Residents and witnesses in Jaar said suspected Al Qaeda militants moved from the mountains yesterday to seize control there a few weeks after police fled.
Oh, no, not Al-CIA-Duh again!!
President Ali Abdullah Saleh asserted in a TV interview that without him, the country would be at grave risk of breaking apart.
“Yemen is a ticking bomb and if the political system collapses and there’s no constructive dialogue there will be a long civil war that will be difficult to end,’’ he told the Al-Arabiya network....
The United States holds a large stake in Yemen’s future.
Just not in its own.
It considers Saleh a key ally against an active Al Qaeda branch that calls Yemen home....
Yeah, well, which "Al-CIA-Duh" would that be, huh?
The made-up "Al-CIA-Duh?"
Or the "Al-CIA-Duh" CREATION for the COURTROOM!?
Related:
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh and the OSI
Prop 101: Al-CIA-Duh's Greatest Hits
Prop 101: The "Terrorism" Business
New York Times Admits War on Terror is U.S. Creation
Oh, AmeriKa's MSM KNOWS ALL ABOUT and yet STILL PUSHES the CHARADE, huh?
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Yup, the "terrorists" are coming to power because of "protesters."
"Yemen leader drops offer to leave" by Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press / March 28, 2011
SANA, Yemen — Yemen’s president, clinging to power yesterday despite weeks of protests, scrapped an offer to step down by year’s end, and Islamic militants took advantage of the deteriorating security to seize of another southern town.
So which intelligence agency is overseeing them, CIA or Mossad?
President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s opponents — a group that started with university students and has expanded to include defecting military commanders, politicians, diplomats, and even Saleh’s own tribe — had immediately rejected his offer a week ago to leave by the end of this year.
Yup, the WHOLE POPULATION is enabling "terrorists!"
The offer’s formal withdrawal indicates that an attempt by both sides to negotiate a transfer of power to end the crisis has failed.
In a sign of what is at stake in Yemen if security further unwinds, Islamic militants seized control of a small weapons factory, a strategic mountain, and a nearby town in the southern province of Abyan, said a witness and security officials.
What is a WEAPONS FACTORY doing in YEMEN?
They have POVERTY and NO JOBS, but one fine weapons industry?
No wonder AmeriKa loves her dictator ally so much!
A day earlier, militants believed to belong to Yemen’s active Al Qaeda offshoot swept into another small town in the area called Jaar. In both cases, the militants moved in with no resistance because police had withdrawn weeks earlier in the face of challenges by antigovernment protesters.
Yup, I TOLD YOU!! Yup, PROTESTERS ENABLE TERRORISTS!!!
What a PATHETIC DOSE of PROPAGANDA!
Saleh, who has ruled for 32 years, is a key ally of the United States in battling Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which the Obama administration considers the top terrorist threat to the United States.
The Obama administration is concerned that the cooperation could be imperiled if Saleh departs....
Yes, they are NOT WORRIED about PEOPLE being MOWED DOWN by GOVERNMENT FORCES HERE!
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Related: Yemen factory blast kills 110, underlines authority collapse (By Laura Kasinof, New York Times)
My print copy carries an AP piece, and I'm sick of "Al-CIA-Duh" is taking over is Saleh splits.
Sure is strange how a WEAPONS factory taken over by CIA-Duh explodes once the poor public comes upon the scene to salvage what they can. The cover-story lie, 'er, excuse is someone tossed a lighted cigarette into the last of the explosives.
Do they really expect us to believe this crap anymore, or do they just not care? Throw as much s*** on the wall and see if it sticks?
