The basics: Yemen is a mostly Arab, mostly Muslim country on the Arabian peninsula. Its capital, Sana'a, is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world, and legend has it that it was founded by Shem, a son of Noah ...
Yemen is the poorest country in the entire Arab world.
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What's happening? The unrest sweeping across the Arab world hit Yemen early. Protests have been held in Yemeni cities since the earliest days of the Egyptian revolution back in January. But as protest movements in Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya forced some degree of political change in those countries, the Yemen protests grew, and the crackdowns by the country's dictator, Saleh, grew increasingly violent. On Friday, March 18, (allegedly government) snipers killed at least 52 protesters with live ammunition. The European Union and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon condemned the attack, Saleh became even more unpopular at home, and the dictator's 30-plus-year rule started to unravel.
By Monday, March 21, Saleh's 66th birthday, the dictator seemed to be clinging to power by his fingertips ...
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How does this affect the US?
Everyone knows about America's wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Libya. Lots of folks also know that our drones strike at targets in Pakistan, too. But few Americans are aware of the full extent of the US role in Yemen. Saleh has been a key US ally in the fight against Al Qaeda, but he doesn't have much power outside of the country's major cities. Anwar Al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born Al Qaeda propagandist and top target of the Obama administration, is thought to be hiding somewhere in Yemen's vast hinterland. (US authorities believe Al-Awlaki encouraged both the Fort Hood shooter and the Christmas Day "Underwear Bomber.")
Secret State Department cables released by Wikileaks show that Saleh worked extensively not only to help the US strike against its enemies in Yemen, but also to cover up America's role in his country ...
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Why are Yemenis protesting? Yemen's citizens are the poorest in the Arab world, and Yemen, for all its talk about being a republic, is a particularly nasty dictatorship, complete with the usual secret police and torture and general repression. The US role in Yemen is also extremely controversial and shouldn't be underestimated as a contributing factor in the uprising against Saleh ...
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