While protests have been building over the past weeks in Yemen, the president remains defiant in the face of criticism. This is in spite of the fact that high-ranking military officers have thrown their lot in with the rebels. This fracture within the military is becoming more noticeable as time goes on: with some soldiers finding themselves fighting Republican Guardsmen loyal only to the president.
The Yemeni president has offered to not run for re-election, much in the same vein as former Egyptian president Mubarak did in hopes of appeasing the protesters. In the case of president Saleh's offer, however, there is much skepticism because he made a similar promise in 2005 yet later decided to run for re-election the following year, which he won.
Many Yemeni diplomats have broken with the president, either resigning in protest of a brutal government crack-down against dissidents last week. Yemen's ambassador to France has now called president Saleh's resignation "unavoidable" and has indicated support for the rebels.
A major complication in the matter, however, is a strong Al-Qaeda presence in the country. The United States and Saudi Arabia have come to rely on the heavy hand of Saleh in keeping the terrorists, if not in check, at least unable to operate freely and there is concern that, with the unrest and possible removal of the president from office, Yemen will become a safe haven for the group.
