President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ...
called the White House on Wednesday to express regret for "misunderstandings" related to his remarks about the United States and Israel and say he is firmly committed to political reform in Yemen, the White House said.
Saleh called President Barack
B.O.Obama's top anti-terrorism advisor, John Brennan, a day after the White House complained he was scapegoating, after he described the Arab uprisings as an Israeli plot backed by Washington.
"President-for-Life Saleh
... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence...
called assistant to the president, John Brennan, this morning to convey his regret for misunderstandings related to his public remarks that Israel and the United States have engaged in destabilizing activities in Arab countries," the White House said in a statement.
"President Saleh also said that he is firmly committed to meaningful political reform in Yemen and that he is reaching out to opposition elements in an effort to achieve reform through a democratic, inclusive, and peaceful process."
"Mr. Brennan expressed appreciation for the call and said that any comments that seek to attribute blame for recent developments in the region are unhelpful, as they ignore the legitimate aspirations of people in the Arab world," the White House statement said.
Brennan also encouraged Saleh to continue trying to reach out to opposition groups, amid mass protests against his rule in Yemen, and called on all sides of the political dispute to eschew violence.
Saleh is a key U.S. anti-terror ally for Washington, largely due to the presence on Yemeni soil of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has plotted several recent foiled attacks against the United States.
But he complained on Tuesday about Obama's critiques of the wave of protest and revolt sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, accusing Washington of backing an Israeli plot.