President Saleh Taken Out of Yemen's Future by Saudi Arabia

A Saudi Arabian official has stated, anonymously, that President Saleh will not return to Yemen. He was taken to Saudi Arabia after being badly burned in an attack while he was at prayers on June 3.  

The Saudi official said it had not yet been determined where Saleh will reside after he is fit to leave doctor’s care in the Kingdom. It is also not clear whether Saleh has agreed to quit Yemen voluntarily or whether Saudi Arabia has imposed exile on him.  

Wednesday, a Yemeni spokesman for Saleh announced he was improving rapidly and would return to Yemen soon. This has been contradicted by others in Riyadh, where Saleh is receiving medical treatment, who say that Saleh is badly injured and suffering problems in breathing caused by his burns. During the mosque attack, 11 of his palace military bodyguards were killed and 124 others injured. Many other Saleh regime officials are also in Saudi Arabia being treated for their injuries suffered in the mosque attack.

Meanwhile, Yemeni demonstrators continue their protests in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and have announced that they want to form a provisional council to provide for a transition from Saleh’s rule.

The opposition in parliament also says it will fight to keep Saleh from returning to Yemen.

Saleh, at age 69, has become a pariah in his own country and may have no real choice but to stay in exile.

The future role of the Gulf monarchies and the United States in the transition to a different form of Yemeni government is not yet clear. Their fears are for the al-Qaida unit in Yemen and its possible ability to de-stabilize not only Yemen but also the entire Arabian penninsula. With Saudi Arabia’s petroleum reserves at stake, the transition will certainly be heavily monitored and steered, if they can figure out how to do it, by the Gulf States and America.