Yemen President Granted US Visa for Medical Care
Yemen's president has been granted permission to enter the U.S. for medical treatment despite the Obama administration's initial hesitation.
Embattled president Ali Abdullah Saleh was injured back in June after a near-fatal attack on his compound that some believe was an attempted assassination.
Saleh's injuries include severe burns and shrapnel wounds, and the U.S. government has issued him a visa to allow for treatment at New York Presbyterian Hospital, according to The Associated Press.
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While the government insists Saleh's visa has been granted strictly for health recuperation purposes, critics accuse Saleh of trying to use the U.S. as a safe haven due to boiling tensions amongst anti-government protesters in Yemen.
Saleh has been accused of killing hundreds of anti-government protesters in response to mass political demonstrations similar to those in Tunisia, with many calling for an end to Saleh's presidency.
The White House claims that Saleh's visa was approved under strict terms, which requires that he agree not to enter with a large entourage nor use the trip for political gain.
Saleh recently told reporters that he was leaving Yemen “not for treatment, but to get out of sight and the media, to calm the atmosphere for the unity government to hold the presidential election."
White House critics fear that the U.S. could fuel tensions and spark conflict between the U.S. and the Arab world for providing a safe haven to such a controversial Arab leader.
“In the end, we felt there was enough good to be gained that it was worth managing the criticism that we’d get, including any comparisons to past episodes,” an unnamed U.S. official was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
Yemen is said to be one of the poorest countries in the Arab world.
Yemen's economy is heavily reliant on the country's oil reserves, and experts predict that these same reserves could likely diminish within five years, which would result in an economic crash.
