By James Gundun – Washington, D.C.
In early January 2011, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
landed in Sana’a to manage the autocratic habits of a useful ally in
the war against al-Qaeda.
Having warned other allies (Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Algeria) of a
youth bulge prior to the Arab uprisings, the Secretary now found herself
just above the surface of a ripe volcano as she mingled with Yemeni
president Ali Abdullah Saleh. U.S. policy needed his approval to
facilitate an expansion of military and counter-terrorism platforms in
the country, but that need required less antagonistic leadership atop
the government. For Clinton, this meant walking Saleh away from a
parliamentary proposal that would eliminate term limits and allow him to
run indefinitely, which he eventually agreed to in return for
Washington’s political and military assistance.
Read more
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment