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Yemen has exploded on to the political scene as a central front in the battle against al Qa’eda. Long a stomping ground for al Qa’eda affiliates, the country has witnessed the organisation’s revival in the past few years under a new leadership.

In response, the Obama administration in Washington appears to be emphatically throwing its weight behind the unpopular Saleh regime in Sana’a. The US president has made it “a priority to strengthen partnership with the Yemeni government”, and the US Central Command chief, General David Petraeus, has announced that security assistance to the country will more than double, from $70 million to $150 million.

So for now it seems that Washington and Sana’a have renewed their troubled...