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Yemeni Prez Will Receive Medical Care in US: Officials

Aid for despised dictator will likely spark criticism

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff

Posted Dec 26, 2011 7:18 PM CST

(Newser) – The debate is apparently over: Washington will allow Yemen's embattled president to visit New York for medical treatment, US officials tell the New York Times. They say the move will effectively disempower Ali Abdullah Saleh by removing him from Yemen, where demonstrators are still waging a deadly battle for democracy. “In the end, we felt there was enough good to be gained that it was worth managing the criticism that we’d get," says a US official.

Critics will likely slam Washington for harboring a despised Arab dictator whose government forces have killed hundreds of protesters. But "the main goal is to remove him physically from Yemen so there’s no way he can meddle in the political process there,” the official says. For his part, Saleh says he won't be visiting to treat his shrapnel wounds, burns, and inner-ear balance problem; he'll just be getting "out of sight" to "calm the atmosphere" before a Yemeni election slated for February.

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011.
Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011.   (AP Photo/Mohammed Hamoud)
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh speaks during a meeting with leaders of the ruling party in Sanaa on December 7, 2011.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh speaks during a meeting with leaders of the ruling party in Sanaa on December 7, 2011.   (Getty Images)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
USEAGLE
Dec 27, 2011 4:49 PM CST
So what is this to us! like we need to bring terrorists over here! watch how fast Obama goes to talk to him about matters he will keep from the American people! He is up to all kinds of trash! He needs to be locked up for fraud,and for what he has done to this country by placing us in harms way!
USEAGLE
Dec 27, 2011 4:47 PM CST
what! all this BS to bring this man over here and he is not even coming here to be treated for his health! he has no business here in America! what is going on with this Obama! time to put a stop to this foolish crazy crap! happening in our country! We are sick of it! here is what it said- But the main goal is to remove him physically from Yemen so there’s no way he can meddle in the political process there,the official says. For his part, Saleh says he won't be visiting to treat his shrapnel wounds, burns, and inner-ear balance problem; he'll just be getting "out of sight" to "calm the atmosphere" before a Yemeni election! 
Sphinx
Dec 27, 2011 5:03 AM CST
So Yemen is one of the only places where Al-Qaeda has significant influence, and, in the midst of a power vacuum, the U.S. decides to harbor the one person that everyone in the country hates? Is their goal to unite the country in hating America? Bad, bad idea. This guy brutally cracked down on dissent. He had protesters killed. And decisions like this one right here, they are the reason for anti-American sentiments in the Arab world. Washington will do what it wants in the end, but just don't try to feed me anymore bullshit about terrorists hating us for our freedom. Trust me, that's not what they hate us for.

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