The Yemeni people invariably expressed feelings of immense grief at the passing away of His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan. In the media, in public gatherings, and in private homes, the mood was somber. The number of Yemenis who have visited the Jordanian Embassy in Sanaa to pay tribute to the late king has hit record levels. Ordinary people stood patiently in long lines in order to offer their condolences.

"I am very touched by the deep and spontaneous feelings of the Yemeni people," said Mr. Fuad Al-Batayeneh, Ambassador of Jordan in Sanaa. "I would like to thank H.E. President Ali Abdullah Saleh for his gracious condolences. He is the only leader who personally came to welcome home the ailing King a few days earlier, and he came back for the funeral," Mr. Batayneh added.
The Yemeni leader and people also used the occasion to congratulate the new monarch, King Abdullah II.

 

Two of the world's poorest nations have gone to war. Ethiopia and Eritrea, Yemen's neighbors across the Red Sea, are now engaged in the beginnings of what could evolve into a full-scale war. It could be a menace to the southern Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. It will also inflict unbearable suffering on the people of the warring countries, and will bring untold damage to their economies.
The reasons behind the inability of the leaders of the two nations to reach a negotiated settlement to their differences is a strong sense of dignity and pride. To be sure, Eritrea's leaders - with their repeated attempts to grab a disputed territory and then negotiate later - created this new instability in the region. But, Ethiopian leaders for their part decided they will not accept anything short of unconditional Eritrean withdrawal from the disputed areas, or they will go to war, no matter what the price.
Efforts at intermediation by the UN, the OAU, the USA-Rwanda Initiative, and other parties all failed because of the intransigence of the two leaders. A misplaced sense of pride, together with the strong personal feelings of the revolutionaries turned rulers is fast bringing disaster to the region.

Over the last 6 months, the 2 poor nations spent more than half a billion US dollars in preparing for war. Most of the money went into buying military hardware. Some expenditures were incurred in the drive to win world support and sympathy. The two states will incur more expenditures in their internal mobilization effort to meet the needs of waging war and sustaining its costs.
Those leaders will bring much suffering to their people, and could disrupt the whole region.

 

On Friday, February 12th, 1999, the US Senate brought the trial of President William Jefferson Clinton to a close. The man was found "Not Guilty" on the two impeachment charges that were brought against him.
But that is not the real story.

The real story is that the Americans, building on the wisdom of their founding fathers, are perfecting what is already the best system in the world today. They have a highly developed sense of checks and balances between the structures of government which can stop the excesses of any one individual, group or authority.
Many societies - including Europeans - had complained about what they saw as the puritanical zeal of the US system. Today, it is clear that the Americans knew what they were doing.

No system on earth can hold its top person to such a level of accountability. Americans have a right to be proud of their system of government.
As a Yemeni and an Arab, it is quite frustrating for me to see such excellence in governance and compare it to the rotten situation back in Yemen. Will there come a time when we Yemenis and Arabs can hold our rulers accountable for even some of their decisions? Think about it.