Yemen’s public rejects any presence of American troops, according to an informal Yemen Times internet survey.
CNN reported last week a deployment to Yemen is imminent, in the form of not more than 100 special security force personnel.
“A small number of US special forces, perhaps fewer than 100, could be dispatched to Yemen relatively soon to train their Yemeni counterparts to find terrorists, a U.S. military official said” the news organization reported.
The news was followed by warnings from several Yemeni spokesmen, who condemned any idea of having US troops deployed here under any circumstances and pretexts.
Yemen had been under continuous pressure by the US to help it hunt down al-Qaeda suspects named by the FBI. Among the suspects being chased here are al-Ahdal and al-Harethi, who are still at large despite an intensive search by Yemeni security officials.
Yemen has been trying to clean up its image as a haven for Islamic militants after speculations it could be part of a second phase of the U.S. war on terrorism.
Sana’a launched a manhunt in December for suspected al Qaeda backers, in the first military operation against the group outside Afghanistan, where a U.S.-led military campaign is being conducted to flush out bin Laden and his followers.

Statistics recently given by the central government about Yemen’s rate of poverty that our country continues to move into economic hardship.
The figures offer a sobering picture of Yemen’s economic situation.
There is a rising number of people living below the poverty line. They were estimated at 38% of population in 1999.
The number of jobless people soared to 40% while the economic growth rate deteriorated dramatically. The GDP rate fell from 8.1% in 1997 to 4.9% in 1998.
The number of people who cannot obtain the basic needs of living is estimated at nine million, of which 3.5 million hardly can they keep their soul and body together, depending mainly on alms.
Yemeni economists expect this number to rise to 4.5 million in the year 2010, and eight million in 2025, as long as the economic growth rate remains the same, with the recent level of population growth rate at 3.5%.
Monthly average income per capita fell to 84%.
The growth rate of agriculture has decreased now to 00.88% in comparison with 13.7% in 1998.
The industrial growth rate went down to less than one percent (0.68%) compared to 3.8% in 1998.
A number of local factories and companies closed down as a result of the recent stagnation of local industry , which has been damaged by the unorganized and smuggled flow of foreign products into Yemeni markets.
Economists believe corruption and the absence of accountability and integrity in the centers of power, except for a select few, is the major factor behind these problems.
The economic reform package was initiated in 1995 to revitalize the Yemeni economy and safeguard it from collapse. However, because of the corruption, our efforts of reform failed to make an impact.
It is believed that Yemen’s economy can still be revitalized resources are made use of appropriately, and revenues are channeled to the public treasury.
This could make a difference to improve our economy instead of asking Saudi Arabia and other countries to handle our development process.

With the presence of more than one hundred observers, the draw of the Yemen Times’ “Grand Millions Competition” took place at the newspaper’s headquarters in Sanaa at 21:00 last Monday.
As can be seen from the above photo, the number of readers who participated in the competition, which started October last year, was tremendously high. “We believe we have received tens of thousands of coupons, but who has the time to count?” asked Editor-in-Chief Walid Al-Saqqaf.
The draw took place openly and transparently in front of participants who traveled from across the country.
The names of the 61 winners published on page 2 includes the 10 top winners who took total prizes of YR 2.5 million. The top prize was one million rials in cash. More than YR 1.5 million was in the form of prizes including electronic equipment, air tickets, and vacation packages.
No doubt, the other group of winners are the sponsoring companies. They gained a lot of publicity from the event. “We have been receiving tens of calls a day asking of our products and services” commented Isam Al-Haiqi of Artex, one of the contest’s leading sponsors.
“The Yemen Times has shown how a widely-read and reputable newspaper can gain the trust and confidence of readers and sponsors alike,” added another sponsor.
Contest organizers said prizes will be distributed following Eid. “The top 10 cash prizes totaling YR 2.5 million will be distributed to the winners during our 11th anniversary celebrations scheduled for March 4, 2002” said the head of the committee, Nasri Abu Bakr. “Once again, we have proven that we promise, and we deliver” he added.