In Yemen, Hardly a Revolution
To Yemenis, violence in the streets and threats of state collapse are nothing new. Despite reports portraying the protests in Yemen as something of a revolution, democratic change has little possibility of success. President Ali Abdullah Saleh is essentially a figurehead; whether he stays or goes, the regime of technocrats and thugs he represents is unlikely to fold under pressure.
Since Mr. Saleh came to power in North Yemen in a 1978 coup, his regime has selectively used state violence to maintain its hold, often working through militias and other loyalists, including radical Sunni Muslims sympathetic to Al Qaeda. Predictably, the violence has come at great cost to a country struggling with high unemployment and widespread poverty.… Seguir leyendo »